head to head · open source
copyparty vs PairDrop
copyparty has 46,729 GitHub stars, 1,905 forks, 252 open issues and last shipped yesterday. PairDrop has 11,435 stars, 693 forks, 111 open issues and last shipped 5 months ago. copyparty leads on adoption by 309% (46,729 vs 11,435 stars). copyparty is written in Python under MIT; PairDrop is written in JavaScript under GPL-3.0. copyparty has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, PairDrop 6%. copyparty was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (file-sharing), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| copyparty | PairDrop | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 47K | ★ 11K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-04-22 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.9K | ⑂ 693 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick copyparty if
- You weight community size — 47K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick PairDrop if
- You want the PairDrop feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and PairDrop fits your workflow better
About copyparty
copyparty is a portable file server that turns almost any device into a file server with resumable uploads and downloads through any web browser, built for self hosters, homelab operators, NAS owners and anyone who wants to share files directly from their own hardware.
read the full copyparty overview →
About PairDrop
PairDrop is open source JavaScript web app for file sharing. It lives in browser PWA ecosystem, using WebRTC, WebSockets, IndexedDB, Node.js. It is fork of Snapdrop. It is inspired by Apple AirDrop. It is listed as Productivity & Utilities / File Management & Sync. License is GPL 3.0. GitHub metadata lists 11390 stars and 690 forks.
read the full PairDrop overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is copyparty or PairDrop more popular?
copyparty has 46,729 GitHub stars and PairDrop has 11,435. copyparty has the larger community by that measure.
Are copyparty and PairDrop free?
Both are open source. copyparty is licensed under MIT and PairDrop under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between copyparty and PairDrop?
copyparty is written in Python and PairDrop in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, copyparty or PairDrop?
Choose copyparty if you want the larger community (46,729 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose PairDrop if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.