SHSelfHostIndex

copyparty vs SparkleShare

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?
copyparty Portable file server with accelerated resumable uploads VS SP SparkleShare Git-backed file synchronization with version history
FeaturecopypartySparkleShare
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupRead-the-docs project
Health score100 · Excellent71 · Good
CategoryFile Sync & StorageFile Sync & Storage
LicenseMITGPL-3.0
LanguagePythonC#
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM64 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, binarybare-metal, binary
GitHub stars★ 46,774★ 4,981
First released20192010
ReplacesDropbox, Google DriveDropbox

What are copyparty and SparkleShare?

copyparty

copyparty is a portable file server with features including resumable uploads, deduplication, WebDAV, FTP, and media indexing. It runs from a single Python file with no dependencies.

  • Accelerated resumable uploads
  • WebDAV, FTP, and TFTP support
  • Single-file Python deployment

Read the full copyparty guide →

SparkleShare

SparkleShare is a file synchronization tool that uses Git repositories as the storage backend, giving every change a full version history. It is well suited to syncing collaborative projects and small text-heavy files across machines.

  • Git-backed versioning
  • Automatic conflict handling
  • End-to-end encryption option
  • Self-hosted on any SSH host

Read the full SparkleShare guide →

copyparty vs SparkleShare: key differences

Copyparty is written in Python, while SparkleShare is built with C#. Licensing differs — MIT for copyparty versus GPL-3.0 for SparkleShare. Copyparty is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for SparkleShare. SparkleShare is the more established project (first released 2010), while copyparty arrived in 2019. Copyparty has the considerably larger community, at 46,774 GitHub stars versus 4,981. Copyparty lists first-class Docker deployment; SparkleShare does not.

Why pick each one

Choose copyparty if…

  • Single-file deployment
  • Fast resumable uploads
  • WebDAV and FTP built in

Watch out for

  • Unconventional interface
  • Many flags to learn
copyparty details

Choose SparkleShare if…

  • Full history of every change
  • Works over plain SSH

Watch out for

  • Poor with large binary files
  • Slower development pace
SparkleShare details

Frequently asked questions

Is copyparty or SparkleShare better?

copyparty is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider SparkleShare if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are copyparty and SparkleShare free and open-source?

Yes. copyparty is licensed under MIT and SparkleShare under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run copyparty and SparkleShare with Docker?

copyparty: yes. SparkleShare: check the project docs for container support.

Which is lighter on resources, copyparty or SparkleShare?

copyparty has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for SparkleShare. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.

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