head to head · open source
copyparty vs pairdrop-android
copyparty has 46,907 GitHub stars, 1,904 forks, 252 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. pairdrop-android has 1,076 stars, 81 forks, 29 open issues and last shipped today. copyparty leads on adoption by 4,259% (46,907 vs 1,076 stars). copyparty is written in Python under MIT; pairdrop-android is written in Java under GPL-3.0. copyparty has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, pairdrop-android 8%. pairdrop-android 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| copyparty | pairdrop-android | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 47K | ★ 1.1K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Java |
| Last push | 2026-10-03 | 2026-10-05 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.9K | ⑂ 81 |
| 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-android if
- You want the pairdrop-android feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and pairdrop-android 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-android
PairDrop for Android is an open source Android client that lets you quickly send files from your phone to a PC or other devices over a local network using the PairDrop and self hosted Snapdrop services.
read the full pairdrop-android overview →
More in Productivity & Utilities
Related comparisons
More File Management & Sync projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the File Management & Sync field.
Frequently asked questions
Is copyparty or pairdrop-android more popular?
copyparty has 46,907 GitHub stars and pairdrop-android has 1,076. copyparty has the larger community by that measure.
Are copyparty and pairdrop-android free?
Both are open source. copyparty is licensed under MIT and pairdrop-android under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between copyparty and pairdrop-android?
copyparty is written in Python and pairdrop-android in Java. 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-android?
Choose copyparty if you want the larger community (46,907 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose pairdrop-android if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.