head to head · open source
syncthing vs updog
syncthing has 90,252 GitHub stars, 5,584 forks, 388 open issues and last shipped yesterday. updog has 3,429 stars, 338 forks, 14 open issues and last shipped 12 months ago. syncthing leads on adoption by 2,532% (90,252 vs 3,429 stars). syncthing is written in Go under MPL-2.0; updog is written in Python under MIT. syncthing has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, updog 10%. 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 | updog | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 90K | ★ 3.4K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Go | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-09 | 2025-11-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.6K | ⑂ 338 |
| 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 updog if
- You want the updog feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and updog 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 updog
Updog is a replacement for Python's SimpleHTTPServer . It allows uploading and downloading via HTTP/S, can set ad hoc SSL certificates and use HTTP basic auth. Installation Install using pip: pip install updog Or using pipx (recommended for CLI tools): pipx install updog For development: Usage updog [ d DIRECTORY] [ b ADDRESS] [ p PORT] [ password PASSWORD] [ ssl ssl cert CERT ssl key KEY] [ cors] [ hide base path] Examples Serve from your current directory: updog Serve from another directory: updog d /another/directory Serve from port 1234: updog p 1234 Password protect the page: updog password…
read the full updog overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is syncthing or updog more popular?
syncthing has 90,252 GitHub stars and updog has 3,429. syncthing has the larger community by that measure.
Are syncthing and updog free?
Both are open source. syncthing is licensed under MPL-2.0 and updog under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between syncthing and updog?
syncthing is written in Go and updog in Python. 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 updog?
Choose syncthing if you want the larger community (90,252 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose updog if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.