head to head · open source
syncthing vs projectsend
syncthing has 90,422 GitHub stars, 5,595 forks, 388 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. projectsend has 2,056 stars, 363 forks, 9 open issues and last shipped yesterday. syncthing leads on adoption by 4,298% (90,422 vs 2,056 stars). syncthing is written in Go under MPL-2.0; projectsend is written in PHP under GPL-2.0. syncthing has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, projectsend 18%. projectsend 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 | projectsend | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 90K | ★ 2.1K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | PHP |
| Last push | 2026-11-10 | 2026-11-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.6K | ⑂ 363 |
| 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 projectsend if
- You want the projectsend feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You evaluated both and projectsend 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 projectsend
ProjectSend Share files with your clients, from your own server. ProjectSend is a self hosted application for getting files to the people you work with. You upload what you want to send, choose exactly who can see it, and each client signs in to their own private page to download it. No public link passed around by email, no third party service holding your clients' documents, no per seat pricing. It runs on your server, and the files stay there. Prefer not to run the server yourself? ProjectSend Cloud is the official hosted version of ProjectSend, run by the same team — every subscription funds this free…
read the full projectsend overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is syncthing or projectsend more popular?
syncthing has 90,422 GitHub stars and projectsend has 2,056. syncthing has the larger community by that measure.
Are syncthing and projectsend free?
Both are open source. syncthing is licensed under MPL-2.0 and projectsend under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between syncthing and projectsend?
syncthing is written in Go and projectsend 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 projectsend?
Choose syncthing if you want the larger community (90,422 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose projectsend if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.