copyparty vs elFinder

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?
FeaturecopypartyelFinder
CategoryFile Sync & StorageFile Sync & Storage
LicenseMITBSD-3-Clause
LanguagePythonJavaScript
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM64 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, binarybare-metal
GitHub stars★ 46,121★ 4,800
First released20192010
ReplacesDropbox, Google DriveGoogle Drive, Dropbox

Why pick each one

Choose copyparty if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Mature project with 46.1k GitHub stars
copyparty details

Choose elFinder if…

  • Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
  • Active community (4.8k GitHub stars)
  • Written in JavaScript
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
elFinder details

Frequently asked questions

Is copyparty or elFinder better?

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

Are copyparty and elFinder free and open-source?

Yes. copyparty is licensed under MIT and elFinder under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run copyparty and elFinder with Docker?

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

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