head to head · open source
LocalSend vs rclone
LocalSend has 92,017 GitHub stars, 5,135 forks, 1,113 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. rclone has 59,830 stars, 5,407 forks, 1,273 open issues and last shipped yesterday. LocalSend leads on adoption by 54% (92,017 vs 59,830 stars). LocalSend is written in Dart under Apache-2.0; rclone is written in Go under MIT. LocalSend has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, rclone 9%. rclone 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
| LocalSend | rclone | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 92K | ★ 60K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Dart | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-14 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.1K | ⑂ 5.4K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick LocalSend if
- You weight community size — 92K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Dart
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick rclone if
- You want the rclone feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and rclone fits your workflow better
About LocalSend
LocalSend is a free, open source, cross platform application that shares files and messages directly between nearby devices over the local network, and it is built for anyone who wants AirDrop style transfers without an internet connection or a third party server.
read the full LocalSend overview →
About rclone
Rclone is an MIT licensed, Go based command line program that syncs files and directories to and from cloud storage providers, built for anyone who needs one tool for many backends instead of a separate client for every service.
read the full rclone overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is LocalSend or rclone more popular?
LocalSend has 92,017 GitHub stars and rclone has 59,830. LocalSend has the larger community by that measure.
Are LocalSend and rclone free?
Both are open source. LocalSend is licensed under Apache-2.0 and rclone under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between LocalSend and rclone?
LocalSend is written in Dart and rclone 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, LocalSend or rclone?
Choose LocalSend if you want the larger community (92,017 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose rclone if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.