croc vs CryptPad

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?
FeaturecrocCryptPad
CategoryFile Sync & StorageFile Sync & Storage
LicenseMITAGPL-3.0
LanguageGoJavaScript
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM32 MB512 MB
Deploymentbinarydocker, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 39,485★ 7,832
First released20182015
ReplacesWeTransfer, AirDropGoogle Drive, Microsoft 365

Why pick each one

Choose croc if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Mature project with 39.5k GitHub stars
  • Written in Go
croc details

Choose CryptPad if…

  • Strong privacy guarantees
  • Real-time collaboration
  • No account needed to start
CryptPad details

Frequently asked questions

Is croc or CryptPad better?

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

Are croc and CryptPad free and open-source?

Yes. croc is licensed under MIT and CryptPad under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run croc and CryptPad with Docker?

croc: check the project docs for container support. CryptPad: yes.

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