head to head · open source
Files vs OpenCloud
Files has 45,518 GitHub stars, 2,918 forks, 458 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. OpenCloud has 6,021 stars, 242 forks, 449 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Files leads on adoption by 656% (45,518 vs 6,021 stars). Files is written in C# under MIT; OpenCloud is written in Go under Apache-2.0. Files has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, OpenCloud 4%. OpenCloud was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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
| Files | OpenCloud | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 6.0K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | C# | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 242 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Files if
- You weight community size — 46K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick OpenCloud if
- You want the OpenCloud 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 OpenCloud fits your workflow better
About Files
Files is a modern, MIT licensed file manager for Windows, written in C and maintained by an open source community, for Windows users who want a customizable, actively developed alternative for organising files and folders.
read the full Files overview →
About OpenCloud
OpenCloud is an open source platform for file management, sharing and collaboration, positioned as a self hosted alternative built for digital sovereignty. The project lives in the Productivity & Utilities / File Management & Sync category of the open source ecosystem, and the repository in question is the main repository of the OpenCloud server: it contains the Go codebase for the backend services that the rest of the platform is built on. The server is released under the Apache 2.0 licence, and the wider project is backed by OpenCloud GmbH, with documentation and installation guidance published at opencloud.eu …
read the full OpenCloud overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Files or OpenCloud more popular?
Files has 45,518 GitHub stars and OpenCloud has 6,021. Files has the larger community by that measure.
Are Files and OpenCloud free?
Both are open source. Files is licensed under MIT and OpenCloud under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Files and OpenCloud?
Files is written in C# and OpenCloud 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, Files or OpenCloud?
Choose Files if you want the larger community (45,518 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose OpenCloud if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.