head to head · open source
syncthing vs Spacedrive
syncthing has 89,712 GitHub stars, 5,539 forks, 388 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Spacedrive has 39,296 stars, 1,367 forks, 57 open issues and last shipped 13 days ago. syncthing leads on adoption by 128% (89,712 vs 39,296 stars). syncthing is written in Go under MPL-2.0; Spacedrive is written in Rust under Apache-2.0. syncthing has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Spacedrive 3%. syncthing 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
| syncthing | Spacedrive | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 90K | ★ 39K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-10-24 | 2026-10-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.5K | ⑂ 1.4K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick syncthing if
- You weight community size — 90K stars and counting
- You want the MPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Spacedrive if
- You want the Spacedrive feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and Spacedrive fits your workflow better
About syncthing
[![Syncthing][14]][15] Goals Syncthing is a continuous file synchronization program . It synchronizes files between two or more computers. We strive to fulfill the goals below. The goals are listed in order of importance, the most important ones first. This is the summary version of the goal list for more commentary, see the full [Goals document][13]. Syncthing should be: 1. Safe From Data Loss Protecting the user's data is paramount. We take every reasonable precaution to avoid corrupting the user's files. 2. Secure Against Attackers Again, protecting the user's data is paramount. Regardless of our other goals…
read the full syncthing overview →
About Spacedrive
Spacedrive One file manager for all your devices and clouds. Powered by a Virtual Distributed File System, complete with apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android v2.spacedrive.com • Discord • Getting Started What is Spacedrive? Spacedrive is a cross device data platform. Index files, emails, notes, and external sources. Search everything. Sync via P2P. Keep AI agents safe with built in screening. Content identity — every file gets a BLAKE3 content hash. Same file on two devices produces the same hash. Spacedrive tracks redundancy and deduplication across all your machines. Cross device — see all…
read the full Spacedrive overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is syncthing or Spacedrive more popular?
syncthing has 89,712 GitHub stars and Spacedrive has 39,296. syncthing has the larger community by that measure.
Are syncthing and Spacedrive free?
Both are open source. syncthing is licensed under MPL-2.0 and Spacedrive under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between syncthing and Spacedrive?
syncthing is written in Go and Spacedrive in Rust. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, syncthing or Spacedrive?
Choose syncthing if you want the larger community (89,712 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose Spacedrive if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.