head to head · open source
LocalSend vs safebucket
LocalSend has 93,380 GitHub stars, 5,224 forks, 1,113 open issues and last shipped yesterday. safebucket has 964 stars, 41 forks, 36 open issues and last shipped 7 days ago. LocalSend leads on adoption by 9,587% (93,380 vs 964 stars). LocalSend is written in Dart under Apache-2.0; safebucket is written in Go under Apache-2.0. LocalSend has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, safebucket 4%. LocalSend 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
| LocalSend | safebucket | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 93K | ★ 964 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Dart | Go |
| Last push | 2026-10-04 | 2026-09-28 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.2K | ⑂ 41 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick LocalSend if
- You weight community size — 93K 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 safebucket if
- You want the safebucket 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 safebucket 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 safebucket
Safebucket is an open source, self hosted file sharing platform written in Go for teams that want to keep file storage and access on their own infrastructure rather than with a cloud provider.
read the full safebucket overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is LocalSend or safebucket more popular?
LocalSend has 93,380 GitHub stars and safebucket has 964. LocalSend has the larger community by that measure.
Are LocalSend and safebucket free?
Both are open source. LocalSend is licensed under Apache-2.0 and safebucket under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between LocalSend and safebucket?
LocalSend is written in Dart and safebucket 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 safebucket?
Choose LocalSend if you want the larger community (93,380 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose safebucket if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.