head to head · open source
syncthing vs PairDrop
syncthing has 89,310 GitHub stars, 5,518 forks, 388 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. PairDrop has 11,570 stars, 695 forks, 111 open issues and last shipped 6 months ago. syncthing leads on adoption by 672% (89,310 vs 11,570 stars). syncthing is written in Go under MPL-2.0; PairDrop is written in JavaScript under GPL-3.0. syncthing has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, PairDrop 6%. 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 | PairDrop | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 89K | ★ 12K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-10 | 2026-04-22 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.5K | ⑂ 695 |
| 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 PairDrop if
- You want the PairDrop feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and PairDrop 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 PairDrop
PairDrop is open source JavaScript web app for file sharing. It lives in browser PWA ecosystem, using WebRTC, WebSockets, IndexedDB, Node.js. It is fork of Snapdrop. It is inspired by Apple AirDrop. It is listed as Productivity & Utilities / File Management & Sync. License is GPL 3.0. GitHub metadata lists 11390 stars and 690 forks.
read the full PairDrop overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is syncthing or PairDrop more popular?
syncthing has 89,310 GitHub stars and PairDrop has 11,570. syncthing has the larger community by that measure.
Are syncthing and PairDrop free?
Both are open source. syncthing is licensed under MPL-2.0 and PairDrop under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between syncthing and PairDrop?
syncthing is written in Go and PairDrop in JavaScript. 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 PairDrop?
Choose syncthing if you want the larger community (89,310 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose PairDrop if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.