head to head · open source
Nextcloud vs OpenCloud
Nextcloud has 36,828 GitHub stars, 5,222 forks, 3,657 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenCloud has 6,003 stars, 242 forks, 449 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Nextcloud leads on adoption by 513% (36,828 vs 6,003 stars). Nextcloud is written in PHP under AGPL-3.0; OpenCloud is written in Go under Apache-2.0. Nextcloud has attracted 14% as many forks as stars, OpenCloud 4%. 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
| Nextcloud | OpenCloud | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 37K | ★ 6.0K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | PHP | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.2K | ⑂ 242 |
| 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 OpenCloud if
- You want the OpenCloud 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 OpenCloud fits your workflow better
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 →
About OpenCloud
OpenCloud is an open source platform for file management, sharing and collaboration, positioned as a self hosted alternative built for digital sovereignty. The project lives in the Productivity & Utilities / File Management & Sync category of the open source ecosystem, and the repository in question is the main repository of the OpenCloud server: it contains the Go codebase for the backend services that the rest of the platform is built on. The server is released under the Apache 2.0 licence, and the wider project is backed by OpenCloud GmbH, with documentation and installation guidance published at opencloud.eu …
read the full OpenCloud overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Nextcloud or OpenCloud more popular?
Nextcloud has 36,828 GitHub stars and OpenCloud has 6,003. Nextcloud has the larger community by that measure.
Are Nextcloud and OpenCloud free?
Both are open source. Nextcloud is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and OpenCloud under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Nextcloud and OpenCloud?
Nextcloud is written in PHP and OpenCloud 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, Nextcloud or OpenCloud?
Choose Nextcloud if you want the larger community (36,828 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose OpenCloud if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.