head to head · open source
LocalSend vs updog
LocalSend has 97,970 GitHub stars, 5,587 forks, 1,113 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. updog has 3,429 stars, 338 forks, 14 open issues and last shipped 12 months ago. LocalSend leads on adoption by 2,757% (97,970 vs 3,429 stars). LocalSend is written in Dart under Apache-2.0; updog is written in Python under MIT. LocalSend has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, updog 10%. 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 | updog | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 98K | ★ 3.4K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Dart | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-08 | 2025-11-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.6K | ⑂ 338 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick LocalSend if
- You weight community size — 98K 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 updog if
- You want the updog feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and updog fits your workflow better
About LocalSend
LocalSend [![CI status][ci badge]][ci workflow] [![Translations][translate badge]][translate link] [![Packaging status][packaging badge]][packaging link] [ci badge]: [ci workflow]: [translate badge]: [translate link]: [packaging badge]: [packaging link]: [Homepage][homepage] • [Discord][discord] • [GitHub][github] • [Codeberg][codeberg] English (Default) • 中文 [homepage]: [discord]: [github]: [codeberg]: LocalSend is a free, open source app that allows you to securely share files and messages with nearby devices over your local network without needing an internet connection. About Sponsors Screenshots Download…
read the full LocalSend overview →
About updog
Updog is a replacement for Python's SimpleHTTPServer . It allows uploading and downloading via HTTP/S, can set ad hoc SSL certificates and use HTTP basic auth. Installation Install using pip: pip install updog Or using pipx (recommended for CLI tools): pipx install updog For development: Usage updog [ d DIRECTORY] [ b ADDRESS] [ p PORT] [ password PASSWORD] [ ssl ssl cert CERT ssl key KEY] [ cors] [ hide base path] Examples Serve from your current directory: updog Serve from another directory: updog d /another/directory Serve from port 1234: updog p 1234 Password protect the page: updog password…
read the full updog overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is LocalSend or updog more popular?
LocalSend has 97,970 GitHub stars and updog has 3,429. LocalSend has the larger community by that measure.
Are LocalSend and updog free?
Both are open source. LocalSend is licensed under Apache-2.0 and updog under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between LocalSend and updog?
LocalSend is written in Dart and updog in Python. 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 updog?
Choose LocalSend if you want the larger community (97,970 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose updog if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.