SHSelfHostIndex

Syncthing Android Wrapper vs Upspin

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted file sync & storage options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
SY Syncthing Android Wrapper Archived Official Android client for Syncthing sync VS UP Upspin Global name system for secure file sharing
FeatureSyncthing Android WrapperUpspin
Deploy effortRead-the-docs projectRead-the-docs project
Health score15 · At risk37 · At risk
StatusArchivedActively maintained
CategoryFile Sync & StorageFile Sync & Storage
LicenseMPL-2.0BSD-3-Clause
LanguageJavaGo
Setup difficultyEasyHard
Min. RAM128 MB128 MB
Deploymentbinarybinary, source
GitHub stars★ 4,287★ 6,404
First released20152016
ReplacesDropbox, Google PhotosDropbox

What are Syncthing Android Wrapper and Upspin?

Syncthing Android Wrapper

The official Syncthing Android app embeds the Syncthing core to provide continuous peer-to-peer file synchronization on mobile devices. It syncs photos and documents without any central server.

  • Mobile peer-to-peer sync
  • Photo backup folders
  • No central server
  • Encrypted transfers

Upspin

Upspin is an experimental framework from Google for naming and sharing files securely across the internet. It gives every file a globally unique name and end-to-end encrypted access control.

  • Global file naming system
  • End-to-end encrypted sharing
  • Fine-grained access groups

Syncthing Android Wrapper vs Upspin: key differences

The biggest difference is maintenance: Syncthing Android Wrapper's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Upspin is actively maintained. Syncthing Android Wrapper is written in Java, while Upspin is built with Go. Licensing differs — MPL-2.0 for Syncthing Android Wrapper versus BSD-3-Clause for Upspin.

Why pick each one

Choose Syncthing Android Wrapper if…

  • Released under the MPL-2.0 license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Active community (4.3k GitHub stars)
  • Written in Java
Syncthing Android Wrapper details

Choose Upspin if…

  • Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
  • Mature project with 6.4k GitHub stars
  • Written in Go
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Upspin details

Frequently asked questions

Is Syncthing Android Wrapper or Upspin better?

Neither is universally better. Upspin has the larger community, while Syncthing Android Wrapper is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Syncthing Android Wrapper and Upspin free and open-source?

Yes. Syncthing Android Wrapper is licensed under MPL-2.0 and Upspin under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Syncthing Android Wrapper and Upspin with Docker?

Syncthing Android Wrapper: check the project docs for container support. Upspin: check the project docs for container support.

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