head to head · open source
Files vs Seafile
Files has 45,547 GitHub stars, 2,920 forks, 458 open issues and last shipped today. Seafile has 15,257 stars, 1,677 forks, 94 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Files leads on adoption by 199% (45,547 vs 15,257 stars). Files is written in C# under MIT; Seafile is written in C under a custom or non-standard licence. Files has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Seafile 11%. Files 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 | Seafile | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 15K |
| License | MIT | Custom / other |
| Written in | C# | C |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 1.7K |
| 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 Seafile if
- You want the Seafile feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and Seafile 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 Seafile
Seafile is an open source cloud storage system written in C and positioned as a self hosted alternative to Dropbox and Google Drive. It organizes files into libraries, each of which can be synced separately, encrypted with a user chosen password, and shared between users or groups. The project lives in the self hosted file sync and document management ecosystem, where it combines storage, collaboration, knowledge management, and metadata features.
read the full Seafile overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Files or Seafile more popular?
Files has 45,547 GitHub stars and Seafile has 15,257. Files has the larger community by that measure.
Are Files and Seafile free?
Both are open source. Files is licensed under MIT, and Seafile has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Files and Seafile?
Files is written in C# and Seafile in C. 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 Seafile?
Choose Files if you want the larger community (45,547 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Seafile if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.