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FileBrowser Quantum vs SFTPGo

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 SFTPGo Full-featured SFTP, FTP and WebDAV server
FeatureFileBrowser QuantumSFTPGo
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupUnder-an-hour setup
Health score92 · Excellent94 · Excellent
CategoryFile Sync & StorageFile Sync & Storage
LicenseApache-2.0AGPL-3.0
LanguageGoGo
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM128 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, binarydocker, binary
GitHub stars★ 8,406★ 12,570
First released20242019
ReplacesGoogle Drive, DropboxDropbox

What are FileBrowser Quantum and SFTPGo?

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

SFTPGo

SFTPGo is a configurable file transfer server supporting SFTP, FTP/S, WebDAV, and HTTP access with cloud storage backends. It suits administrators who need secure, multi-protocol file access. It is deployed via Docker or a single binary.

  • SFTP, FTP, WebDAV and HTTP support
  • Cloud storage backends
  • Per-user quotas and rules
  • Web admin and REST API

Read the full SFTPGo guide →

FileBrowser Quantum vs SFTPGo: key differences

Both projects are written in Go. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for FileBrowser Quantum versus AGPL-3.0 for SFTPGo. SFTPGo is the more established project (first released 2019), while FileBrowser Quantum arrived in 2024.

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 SFTPGo if…

  • Multi-protocol in one binary
  • Flexible storage backends
  • Strong access controls

Watch out for

  • No sync client
  • Configuration can be complex
SFTPGo details

Frequently asked questions

Is FileBrowser Quantum or SFTPGo better?

Neither is universally better. SFTPGo has the larger community, while FileBrowser Quantum is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are FileBrowser Quantum and SFTPGo free and open-source?

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

Can I run FileBrowser Quantum and SFTPGo with Docker?

FileBrowser Quantum: yes. SFTPGo: yes.

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