head to head · open source
Files vs Nextcloud
Files has 45,547 GitHub stars, 2,920 forks, 458 open issues and last shipped today. Nextcloud has 36,863 stars, 5,232 forks, 3,657 open issues and last shipped today. Files leads on adoption by 24% (45,547 vs 36,863 stars). Files is written in C# under MIT; Nextcloud is written in PHP under AGPL-3.0. Files has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Nextcloud 14%. Nextcloud 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 | Nextcloud | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 37K |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C# | PHP |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 5.2K |
| 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 Nextcloud if
- You want the Nextcloud feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You evaluated both and Nextcloud 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 Nextcloud
Nextcloud is a self hosted cloud collaboration platform built in PHP, licensed under AGPL 3.0. It enables organizations and individuals to store, synchronize, and share files, contacts, calendars, and other data on infrastructure they control, replacing reliance on third party cloud services. The project lives in the open source cloud software ecosystem and serves as a decentralized alternative to proprietary suites like Dropbox, Google Workspace, and Microsoft 365.
read the full Nextcloud overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Files or Nextcloud more popular?
Files has 45,547 GitHub stars and Nextcloud has 36,863. Files has the larger community by that measure.
Are Files and Nextcloud free?
Both are open source. Files is licensed under MIT and Nextcloud under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Files and Nextcloud?
Files is written in C# and Nextcloud in PHP. 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 Nextcloud?
Choose Files if you want the larger community (45,547 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Nextcloud if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.