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FileBrowser Quantum vs FileGator

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?
FileBrowser Quantum Enhanced web file manager fork with extra features VS FileGator Multi-user file manager with role-based access
FeatureFileBrowser QuantumFileGator
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupUnder-an-hour setup
Health score92 · Excellent87 · Excellent
CategoryFile Sync & StorageFile Sync & Storage
LicenseApache-2.0MIT
LanguageGoPHP
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM128 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, binarydocker, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 8,406★ 3,078
First released20242019
ReplacesGoogle Drive, DropboxGoogle Drive, Dropbox

What are FileBrowser Quantum and FileGator?

FileBrowser Quantum

FileBrowser Quantum is a community fork of File Browser that adds advanced search, multiple sources, and improved performance. It provides a web interface for managing files on a server.

  • Advanced indexed search
  • Multiple file sources
  • Improved performance over original

FileGator

FileGator is a self-hosted multi-user file manager supporting various storage adapters such as local disk, FTP, and Amazon S3. It offers role-based permissions and a modern interface.

  • Multiple storage adapters
  • Role-based permissions
  • Zip and unzip support

FileBrowser Quantum vs FileGator: key differences

FileBrowser Quantum is written in Go, while FileGator is built with PHP. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for FileBrowser Quantum versus MIT for FileGator. FileGator is the more established project (first released 2019), while FileBrowser Quantum arrived in 2024. FileBrowser Quantum has the considerably larger community, at 8,406 GitHub stars versus 3,078.

Why pick each one

Choose FileBrowser Quantum if…

  • Released under the Apache-2.0 license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Mature project with 8.4k GitHub stars
FileBrowser Quantum details

Choose FileGator if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Active community (3.1k GitHub stars)
FileGator details

Frequently asked questions

Is FileBrowser Quantum or FileGator better?

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

Are FileBrowser Quantum and FileGator free and open-source?

Yes. FileBrowser Quantum is licensed under Apache-2.0 and FileGator under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run FileBrowser Quantum and FileGator with Docker?

FileBrowser Quantum: yes. FileGator: yes.

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