head to head · open source
syncthing vs vifm
syncthing has 90,446 GitHub stars, 5,598 forks, 388 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. vifm has 3,288 stars, 150 forks, 146 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. syncthing leads on adoption by 2,651% (90,446 vs 3,288 stars). syncthing is written in Go under MPL-2.0; vifm is written in C under GPL-2.0. syncthing has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, vifm 5%. vifm 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 | vifm | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 90K | ★ 3.3K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | C |
| Last push | 2026-11-10 | 2026-11-10 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.6K | ⑂ 150 |
| 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 vifm if
- You want the vifm feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and vifm 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 vifm
Vifm – Vim like file manager [![][AA]][A] [![][FF]][F] [![][UU]][U] [![][SS]][S] Vifm is a curses based Vim like file manager extended with some useful ideas from mutt. If you use Vim, Vifm gives you complete keyboard control over your files without having to learn a new set of commands. It goes not just about Vim like keybindings, but also about modes, options, registers, commands and other things you might already like in Vim. Just like Vim, Vifm tries to adhere to the Unix philosophy. So instead of working solutions which are set in stone user is provided with a set of means for customization of Vifm to one's…
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Frequently asked questions
Is syncthing or vifm more popular?
syncthing has 90,446 GitHub stars and vifm has 3,288. syncthing has the larger community by that measure.
Are syncthing and vifm free?
Both are open source. syncthing is licensed under MPL-2.0 and vifm under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between syncthing and vifm?
syncthing is written in Go and vifm in C. 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 vifm?
Choose syncthing if you want the larger community (90,446 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose vifm if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.