head to head · open source
Nextcloud vs cryfs
Nextcloud has 37,408 GitHub stars, 5,336 forks, 3,657 open issues and last shipped yesterday. cryfs has 2,330 stars, 174 forks, 154 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. Nextcloud leads on adoption by 1,505% (37,408 vs 2,330 stars). Nextcloud is written in PHP under AGPL-3.0; cryfs is written in Rust under LGPL-3.0. Nextcloud has attracted 14% as many forks as stars, cryfs 7%. Nextcloud was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (cloud), 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Nextcloud | cryfs | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 37K | ★ 2.3K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | LGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | PHP | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-10-31 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.3K | ⑂ 174 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Nextcloud if
- You weight community size — 37K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick cryfs if
- You want the cryfs feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the LGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and cryfs fits your workflow better
About Nextcloud
Nextcloud Server ☁ A safe home for all your data. Why is this so awesome? 🤩 📁 Access your Data You can store your files, contacts, calendars, and more on a server of your choosing. 🔄 Sync your Data You keep your files, contacts, calendars, and more synchronized amongst your devices. 🙌 Share your Data …by giving others access to the stuff you want them to see or to collaborate with. 🚀 Expandable with hundreds of Apps ...like Calendar, Contacts, Mail, Video Chat and all those you can discover in our App Store 🔒 Security with our encryption mechanisms, HackerOne bounty program and two factor authentication…
read the full Nextcloud overview →
About cryfs
CryFS 2.0 (Alpha) ⚠️ ALPHA VERSION WARNING ⚠️ CryFS 2.0 alpha is experimental software. You WILL lose your data. Do not use it for anything important. For stable CryFS, please use CryFS 1.0. You can find installation instructions for the stable version here. CryFS 2.0 is in an alpha stage that has not undergone extensive testing. Use it only for testing purposes and please report any issues in the GitHub issue tracker. What is CryFS? CryFS encrypts your files so you can safely store them in cloud storage services like Dropbox, iCloud, or OneDrive. Unlike other encryption tools that encrypt files individually…
read the full cryfs overview →
More in Productivity & Utilities
Related comparisons
More File Management & Sync projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the File Management & Sync field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Nextcloud or cryfs more popular?
Nextcloud has 37,408 GitHub stars and cryfs has 2,330. Nextcloud has the larger community by that measure.
Are Nextcloud and cryfs free?
Both are open source. Nextcloud is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and cryfs under LGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Nextcloud and cryfs?
Nextcloud is written in PHP and cryfs in Rust. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Nextcloud or cryfs?
Choose Nextcloud if you want the larger community (37,408 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose cryfs if its feature set, stack or LGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.