head to head · open source
syncthing vs cryfs
syncthing has 90,053 GitHub stars, 5,576 forks, 388 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. cryfs has 2,330 stars, 174 forks, 154 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. syncthing leads on adoption by 3,765% (90,053 vs 2,330 stars). syncthing is written in Go under MPL-2.0; cryfs is written in Rust under LGPL-3.0. syncthing has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, cryfs 7%. 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 | cryfs | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 90K | ★ 2.3K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | LGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2026-10-31 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.6K | ⑂ 174 |
| 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 cryfs if
- You want the cryfs feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the LGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and cryfs 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 cryfs
CryFS 2.0 (Alpha) ⚠️ ALPHA VERSION WARNING ⚠️ CryFS 2.0 alpha is experimental software. You WILL lose your data. Do not use it for anything important. For stable CryFS, please use CryFS 1.0. You can find installation instructions for the stable version here. CryFS 2.0 is in an alpha stage that has not undergone extensive testing. Use it only for testing purposes and please report any issues in the GitHub issue tracker. What is CryFS? CryFS encrypts your files so you can safely store them in cloud storage services like Dropbox, iCloud, or OneDrive. Unlike other encryption tools that encrypt files individually…
read the full cryfs overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is syncthing or cryfs more popular?
syncthing has 90,053 GitHub stars and cryfs has 2,330. syncthing has the larger community by that measure.
Are syncthing and cryfs free?
Both are open source. syncthing is licensed under MPL-2.0 and cryfs under LGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between syncthing and cryfs?
syncthing is written in Go and cryfs 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 cryfs?
Choose syncthing if you want the larger community (90,053 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose cryfs if its feature set, stack or LGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.