Ceph 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?
Ceph
Distributed object, block, and file storage platform
VS
SFTPGo
Full-featured SFTP, FTP and WebDAV server
| Feature | Ceph | SFTPGo |
|---|---|---|
| Category | File Sync & Storage | File Sync & Storage |
| License | LGPL-2.1 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | C++ | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 16,905 | ★ 12,371 |
| First released | 2006 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Amazon S3, Google Drive | Dropbox |
Why pick each one
Choose Ceph if…
- Released under the LGPL-2.1 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 16.9k GitHub stars
Choose SFTPGo if…
- Multi-protocol in one binary
- Flexible storage backends
- Strong access controls
Frequently asked questions
Is Ceph or SFTPGo better?
Neither is universally better. Ceph has the larger community, while SFTPGo is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Ceph and SFTPGo free and open-source?
Yes. Ceph is licensed under LGPL-2.1 and SFTPGo under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ceph and SFTPGo with Docker?
Ceph: yes. SFTPGo: yes.