SHSelfHostIndex

Syncthing Android Wrapper vs SFTPGo

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 SFTPGo Full-featured SFTP, FTP and WebDAV server
FeatureSyncthing Android WrapperSFTPGo
Deploy effortRead-the-docs projectUnder-an-hour setup
Health score15 · At risk94 · Excellent
StatusArchivedActively maintained
CategoryFile Sync & StorageFile Sync & Storage
LicenseMPL-2.0AGPL-3.0
LanguageJavaGo
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM128 MB128 MB
Deploymentbinarydocker, binary
GitHub stars★ 4,283★ 12,570
First released20152019
ReplacesDropbox, Google PhotosDropbox

What are Syncthing Android Wrapper and SFTPGo?

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

SFTPGo

SFTPGo is a configurable file transfer server supporting SFTP, FTP/S, WebDAV, and HTTP access with cloud storage backends. It suits administrators who need secure, multi-protocol file access. It is deployed via Docker or a single binary.

  • SFTP, FTP, WebDAV and HTTP support
  • Cloud storage backends
  • Per-user quotas and rules
  • Web admin and REST API

Read the full SFTPGo guide →

Syncthing Android Wrapper vs SFTPGo: key differences

The biggest difference is maintenance: Syncthing Android Wrapper's repository is archived and no longer developed, while SFTPGo is actively maintained. Syncthing Android Wrapper is written in Java, while SFTPGo is built with Go. Licensing differs — MPL-2.0 for Syncthing Android Wrapper versus AGPL-3.0 for SFTPGo. Syncthing Android Wrapper is the more established project (first released 2015), while SFTPGo arrived in 2019. SFTPGo has the considerably larger community, at 12,570 GitHub stars versus 4,283. SFTPGo lists first-class Docker deployment; Syncthing Android Wrapper does not.

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 SFTPGo if…

  • Multi-protocol in one binary
  • Flexible storage backends
  • Strong access controls

Watch out for

  • No sync client
  • Configuration can be complex
SFTPGo details

Frequently asked questions

Is Syncthing Android Wrapper or SFTPGo better?

Neither is universally better. SFTPGo 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 SFTPGo free and open-source?

Yes. Syncthing Android Wrapper is licensed under MPL-2.0 and SFTPGo under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Syncthing Android Wrapper and SFTPGo with Docker?

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

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