head to head · open source
Files vs syncthing-macos
Files has 45,602 GitHub stars, 2,931 forks, 458 open issues and last shipped today. syncthing-macos has 3,933 stars, 202 forks, 45 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. Files leads on adoption by 1,059% (45,602 vs 3,933 stars). Files is written in C# under MIT; syncthing-macos is written in Objective-C under MIT. Files has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, syncthing-macos 5%. 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 | syncthing-macos | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 3.9K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | C# | Objective-C |
| Last push | 2026-09-22 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 202 |
| 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 syncthing-macos if
- You want the syncthing-macos feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Objective-C
- You evaluated both and syncthing-macos 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 syncthing-macos
Syncthing for macOS is the official frugal, native macOS tray application bundle for Syncthing, aimed at Mac users who want peer to peer file synchronisation to behave like a native application instead of a command line utility with a web browser interface.
read the full syncthing-macos overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Files or syncthing-macos more popular?
Files has 45,602 GitHub stars and syncthing-macos has 3,933. Files has the larger community by that measure.
Are Files and syncthing-macos free?
Both are open source. Files is licensed under MIT and syncthing-macos under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Files and syncthing-macos?
Files is written in C# and syncthing-macos in Objective-C. 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 syncthing-macos?
Choose Files if you want the larger community (45,602 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose syncthing-macos if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.