head to head · open source
syncthing vs Nextcloud
syncthing has 89,310 GitHub stars, 5,518 forks, 388 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Nextcloud has 37,069 stars, 5,267 forks, 3,657 open issues and last shipped yesterday. syncthing leads on adoption by 141% (89,310 vs 37,069 stars). syncthing is written in Go under MPL-2.0; Nextcloud is written in PHP under AGPL-3.0. syncthing has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Nextcloud 14%. Nextcloud 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 | Nextcloud | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 89K | ★ 37K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | PHP |
| Last push | 2026-10-10 | 2026-10-11 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.5K | ⑂ 5.3K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick syncthing if
- You weight community size — 89K 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 Nextcloud if
- You want the Nextcloud feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You evaluated both and Nextcloud fits your workflow better
About syncthing
Syncthing is an open source continuous file synchronization program written in Go that keeps files identical across two or more computers, aimed at individual users who want to sync their own data without a third party service.
read the full syncthing overview →
About Nextcloud
Nextcloud is a self hosted cloud collaboration platform built in PHP, licensed under AGPL 3.0. It enables organizations and individuals to store, synchronize, and share files, contacts, calendars, and other data on infrastructure they control, replacing reliance on third party cloud services. The project lives in the open source cloud software ecosystem and serves as a decentralized alternative to proprietary suites like Dropbox, Google Workspace, and Microsoft 365.
read the full Nextcloud overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is syncthing or Nextcloud more popular?
syncthing has 89,310 GitHub stars and Nextcloud has 37,069. syncthing has the larger community by that measure.
Are syncthing and Nextcloud free?
Both are open source. syncthing is licensed under MPL-2.0 and Nextcloud under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between syncthing and Nextcloud?
syncthing is written in Go and Nextcloud in PHP. 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 Nextcloud?
Choose syncthing if you want the larger community (89,310 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose Nextcloud if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.