Upspin vs Spacedrive
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted file sync & storage options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Upspin | Spacedrive |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 37 · At risk | 85 · Excellent |
| Category | File Sync & Storage | File Sync & Storage |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,404 | ★ 39,161 |
| First released | 2016 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Dropbox | Google Drive, Dropbox |
What are Upspin and Spacedrive?
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
Spacedrive
Spacedrive is an open-source, cross-platform file manager written in Rust, built around a virtual distributed filesystem (VDFS). It indexes and organizes files across multiple devices and storage locations from a single native app.
- Virtual distributed filesystem
- Indexes files across devices
- Cross-platform native app
Upspin vs Spacedrive: key differences
Upspin is written in Go, while Spacedrive is built with Rust. Licensing differs — BSD-3-Clause for Upspin versus AGPL-3.0 for Spacedrive. Upspin is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Spacedrive. Upspin is the more established project (first released 2016), while Spacedrive arrived in 2022. Spacedrive has the considerably larger community, at 39,161 GitHub stars versus 6,404.
Why pick each one
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
Choose Spacedrive if…
- Unified multi-device view
- Modern Rust core
- Cross-platform clients
Watch out for
- Still beta quality
- Sync features incomplete
Frequently asked questions
Is Upspin or Spacedrive better?
Spacedrive is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Upspin if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Upspin and Spacedrive free and open-source?
Yes. Upspin is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Spacedrive under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Upspin and Spacedrive with Docker?
Upspin: check the project docs for container support. Spacedrive: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Upspin or Spacedrive?
Upspin has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Spacedrive. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.