head to head · open source
copyparty vs zrok
copyparty has 46,739 GitHub stars, 1,905 forks, 252 open issues and last shipped yesterday. zrok has 4,711 stars, 224 forks, 125 open issues and last shipped 3 months ago. copyparty leads on adoption by 892% (46,739 vs 4,711 stars). copyparty is written in Python under MIT; zrok is written in Go under Apache-2.0. copyparty has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, zrok 5%. 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 | zrok | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 47K | ★ 4.7K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-06-22 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.9K | ⑂ 224 |
| 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 zrok if
- You want the zrok feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and zrok 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 zrok
zrok is an open source, Apache 2.0 licensed secure sharing tool written in Go that lets developers, operators, and self hosters expose web services, folders, and TCP or UDP resources over the internet or to specific users without firewall changes or port forwarding.
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Frequently asked questions
Is copyparty or zrok more popular?
copyparty has 46,739 GitHub stars and zrok has 4,711. copyparty has the larger community by that measure.
Are copyparty and zrok free?
Both are open source. copyparty is licensed under MIT and zrok under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between copyparty and zrok?
copyparty is written in Python and zrok in Go. 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 zrok?
Choose copyparty if you want the larger community (46,739 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose zrok if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.