ByteStash vs Drift
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted pastebins & snippets options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
ByteStash
Pastebin and file storage service with a simple web interface
VS
Drift
Self-hostable Gist alternative with a clean editor
| Feature | ByteStash | Drift |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Pastebins & Snippets | Pastebins & Snippets |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,514 | ★ 1,363 |
| First released | 2026 | 2022 |
| Replaces | — | GitHub Gist |
Why pick each one
Choose ByteStash if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.5k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Choose Drift if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.4k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is ByteStash or Drift better?
Neither is universally better. ByteStash has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are ByteStash and Drift free and open-source?
Yes. ByteStash is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Drift under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run ByteStash and Drift with Docker?
ByteStash: yes. Drift: yes.