Enclosed vs Nextcloud

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?
FeatureEnclosedNextcloud
CategoryFile Sync & StorageFile Sync & Storage
LicenseApache-2.0AGPL-3.0
LanguageTypeScriptPHP
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB512 MB
Deploymentdockerdocker, bare-metal, snap
GitHub stars★ 2,046★ 36,362
First released20252016
ReplacesDropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft 365

Why pick each one

Choose Enclosed if…

  • Released under the Apache-2.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Active community (2k GitHub stars)
  • Written in TypeScript
Enclosed details

Choose Nextcloud if…

  • Feature-rich and extensible
  • Active development and large community
  • Integrates calendar, contacts and office
Nextcloud details

Frequently asked questions

Is Enclosed or Nextcloud better?

Neither is universally better. Nextcloud has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are Enclosed and Nextcloud free and open-source?

Yes. Enclosed is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Nextcloud under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Enclosed and Nextcloud with Docker?

Enclosed: yes. Nextcloud: yes.

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