head to head · open source
Nextcloud vs vifm
Nextcloud has 37,011 GitHub stars, 5,259 forks, 3,657 open issues and last shipped yesterday. vifm has 3,277 stars, 147 forks, 146 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. Nextcloud leads on adoption by 1,029% (37,011 vs 3,277 stars). Nextcloud is written in PHP under AGPL-3.0; vifm is written in C under GPL-2.0. Nextcloud has attracted 14% as many forks as stars, vifm 4%. 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
| Nextcloud | vifm | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 37K | ★ 3.3K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | PHP | C |
| Last push | 2026-10-06 | 2026-10-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.3K | ⑂ 147 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Nextcloud if
- You weight community size — 37K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- 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 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 →
About vifm
Vifm is a curses based, Vim like file manager for the terminal that gives people who already use Vim complete keyboard control over their files without having to learn a new set of commands.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Nextcloud or vifm more popular?
Nextcloud has 37,011 GitHub stars and vifm has 3,277. Nextcloud has the larger community by that measure.
Are Nextcloud and vifm free?
Both are open source. Nextcloud is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and vifm under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Nextcloud and vifm?
Nextcloud is written in PHP 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, Nextcloud or vifm?
Choose Nextcloud if you want the larger community (37,011 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose vifm if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.