head to head · open source
syncthing vs Cozy
syncthing has 90,019 GitHub stars, 5,584 forks, 388 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Cozy has 1,268 stars, 147 forks, 56 open issues and last shipped yesterday. syncthing leads on adoption by 6,999% (90,019 vs 1,268 stars). syncthing is written in Go under MPL-2.0; Cozy is written in Go under AGPL-3.0. syncthing has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Cozy 12%. 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 | Cozy | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 90K | ★ 1.3K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.6K | ⑂ 147 |
| 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 Cozy if
- You want the Cozy feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and Cozy 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 Cozy
Twake Workplace ========== What is Cozy? Cozy is a platform that brings all your web services in the same private space. With it, your web apps and your devices can share data easily, providing you with a new experience. You can install Cozy on your own hardware where no one profiles you. What is the Cozy Stack It is the core server of the Cozy platform. It consists of a single process, the Cozy stack . Full Cozy Stack documentation here. The Cozy Stack is in charge of serving the Web applications users have installed from the application store. It provides its services through a REST API that allows to: create…
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Frequently asked questions
Is syncthing or Cozy more popular?
syncthing has 90,019 GitHub stars and Cozy has 1,268. syncthing has the larger community by that measure.
Are syncthing and Cozy free?
Both are open source. syncthing is licensed under MPL-2.0 and Cozy under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between syncthing and Cozy?
syncthing is written in Go and Cozy 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, syncthing or Cozy?
Choose syncthing if you want the larger community (90,019 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose Cozy if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.