head to head · open source
ranger vs projectsend
ranger has 17,418 GitHub stars, 940 forks, 896 open issues and last shipped 29 days ago. projectsend has 2,027 stars, 360 forks, 9 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ranger leads on adoption by 759% (17,418 vs 2,027 stars). ranger is written in Python under GPL-3.0; projectsend is written in PHP under GPL-2.0. ranger has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, projectsend 18%. projectsend 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
| ranger | projectsend | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 17K | ★ 2.0K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | PHP |
| Last push | 2026-09-09 | 2026-10-07 |
| Forks | ⑂ 940 | ⑂ 360 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick ranger if
- You weight community size — 17K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick projectsend if
- You want the projectsend feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You evaluated both and projectsend fits your workflow better
About ranger
Ranger is a console file manager with VI key bindings, written in Python and released under the GNU General Public License version 3, for terminal users who want to browse, preview, and manipulate files without leaving a Unix shell.
read the full ranger overview →
About projectsend
ProjectSend is a self hosted, GPLv2 licensed PHP and MySQL application that lets you share files with clients from your own server, with each client signing in to a private page, and it is aimed at freelancers, agencies and teams who would rather not hand client documents to a third party service.
read the full projectsend overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is ranger or projectsend more popular?
ranger has 17,418 GitHub stars and projectsend has 2,027. ranger has the larger community by that measure.
Are ranger and projectsend free?
Both are open source. ranger is licensed under GPL-3.0 and projectsend under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ranger and projectsend?
ranger is written in Python and projectsend 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, ranger or projectsend?
Choose ranger if you want the larger community (17,418 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose projectsend if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.