bup vs LocalSend

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
FeaturebupLocalSend
CategoryBackup & RecoveryFile Sync & Storage
LicenseLGPL-2.1MIT
LanguagePythonDart
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM128 MB128 MB
Deploymentbinarybinary
GitHub stars★ 7,337★ 87,025
First released20102022
ReplacesTime MachineAirDrop

Why pick each one

Choose bup if…

  • Released under the LGPL-2.1 license
  • Mature project with 7.3k GitHub stars
  • Written in Python
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
bup details

Choose LocalSend if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Mature project with 87k GitHub stars
  • Written in Dart
LocalSend details

Frequently asked questions

Is bup or LocalSend better?

LocalSend is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider bup if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are bup and LocalSend free and open-source?

Yes. bup is licensed under LGPL-2.1 and LocalSend under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run bup and LocalSend with Docker?

bup: check the project docs for container support. LocalSend: check the project docs for container support.

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