head to head · open source
syncthing vs MaterialFiles
syncthing has 90,142 GitHub stars, 5,580 forks, 388 open issues and last shipped yesterday. MaterialFiles has 9,404 stars, 786 forks, 611 open issues and last shipped 22 days ago. syncthing leads on adoption by 859% (90,142 vs 9,404 stars). syncthing is written in Go under MPL-2.0; MaterialFiles is written in Kotlin under GPL-3.0. syncthing has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, MaterialFiles 8%. 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 | MaterialFiles | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 90K | ★ 9.4K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | Kotlin |
| Last push | 2026-11-05 | 2026-10-15 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.6K | ⑂ 786 |
| 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 MaterialFiles if
- You want the MaterialFiles feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Kotlin
- You evaluated both and MaterialFiles 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 MaterialFiles
Material Files 本文中文版 An open source Material Design file manager, for Android 5.0+. Help translation on Transifex (Search Android & GNOME translations, Microsoft language resources, MIME type translations) Preview Features Open source: Lightweight, clean and secure. Material Design: Follows Material Design guidelines, with attention into details. Breadcrumbs: Navigate in the filesystem with ease. Root support: View and manage files with root access. Archive support: View, extract and create common compressed files. NAS support: View and manage files on FTP, SFTP, SMB and WebDAV servers. Themes: Customizable UI…
read the full MaterialFiles overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is syncthing or MaterialFiles more popular?
syncthing has 90,142 GitHub stars and MaterialFiles has 9,404. syncthing has the larger community by that measure.
Are syncthing and MaterialFiles free?
Both are open source. syncthing is licensed under MPL-2.0 and MaterialFiles under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between syncthing and MaterialFiles?
syncthing is written in Go and MaterialFiles in Kotlin. 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 MaterialFiles?
Choose syncthing if you want the larger community (90,142 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose MaterialFiles if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.