head to head · open source
Files vs psitransfer
Files has 45,762 GitHub stars, 2,945 forks, 458 open issues and last shipped 7 days ago. psitransfer has 1,953 stars, 247 forks, 109 open issues and last shipped 4 months ago. Files leads on adoption by 2,243% (45,762 vs 1,953 stars). Files is written in C# under MIT; psitransfer is written in JavaScript under BSD-2-Clause. Files has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, psitransfer 13%. Files 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 | psitransfer | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 2.0K |
| License | MIT | BSD-2-Clause |
| Written in | C# | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-24 | 2026-06-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 247 |
| 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 psitransfer if
- You want the psitransfer feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the BSD-2-Clause license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and psitransfer 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 psitransfer
PsiTransfer is a simple, open source, self hosted file sharing service written in JavaScript under the BSD 2 Clause licence, intended for individuals and teams that want to send large files without accounts, logins or a paid provider.
read the full psitransfer overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Files or psitransfer more popular?
Files has 45,762 GitHub stars and psitransfer has 1,953. Files has the larger community by that measure.
Are Files and psitransfer free?
Both are open source. Files is licensed under MIT and psitransfer under BSD-2-Clause. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Files and psitransfer?
Files is written in C# and psitransfer 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, Files or psitransfer?
Choose Files if you want the larger community (45,762 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose psitransfer if its feature set, stack or BSD-2-Clause licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.