head to head · open source
PairDrop vs ownCloud
PairDrop has 11,740 GitHub stars, 720 forks, 111 open issues and last shipped 7 months ago. ownCloud has 2,175 stars, 286 forks, 628 open issues and last shipped yesterday. PairDrop leads on adoption by 440% (11,740 vs 2,175 stars). PairDrop is written in JavaScript under GPL-3.0; ownCloud is written in Go under Apache-2.0. PairDrop has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, ownCloud 13%. ownCloud 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
| PairDrop | ownCloud | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 12K | ★ 2.2K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | Go |
| Last push | 2026-04-22 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 720 | ⑂ 286 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick PairDrop if
- You weight community size — 12K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick ownCloud if
- You want the ownCloud 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 ownCloud fits your workflow better
About PairDrop
Send it , with PairDrop Local file sharing in your web browser . Inspired by Apple's AirDrop. Fork of Snapdrop. Report a bug Request feature Features File sharing on your local network that works on all platforms. A multi platform AirDrop like solution that works. Send images, documents or text via peer to peer connection to devices on the same local network. Internet transfers Join temporary public rooms to transfer files easily over the Internet. Web app Works on all devices with a modern web browser. Send a file from your phone to your laptop? Share photos in original quality with friends using Android and…
read the full PairDrop overview →
About ownCloud
ownCloud Infinite Scale ownCloud Infinite Scale Introduction Quickstart Overview Clients Web Office Applications Authentication Installation Important Readings Run ownCloud Infinite Scale Use the Official Documentation Use the ocis Repo as Source Documentation Admin Documentation Development Documentation Security Contributing End User License Agreement Copyright Introduction ownCloud Infinite Scale (oCIS) is the new file sync & share platform that will be the foundation of your data management platform. Make sure to download the latest released version today! Quickstart For details of the commands used see the…
read the full ownCloud overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is PairDrop or ownCloud more popular?
PairDrop has 11,740 GitHub stars and ownCloud has 2,175. PairDrop has the larger community by that measure.
Are PairDrop and ownCloud free?
Both are open source. PairDrop is licensed under GPL-3.0 and ownCloud under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between PairDrop and ownCloud?
PairDrop is written in JavaScript and ownCloud 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, PairDrop or ownCloud?
Choose PairDrop if you want the larger community (11,740 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose ownCloud if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.