File Browser vs MinIO

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?
FeatureFile BrowserMinIO
CategoryFile Sync & StorageFile Sync & Storage
LicenseApache-2.0AGPL-3.0
LanguageGoGo
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM64 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, binarydocker, kubernetes, binary
GitHub stars★ 35,800★ 61,387
First released20172015
ReplacesDropboxAmazon S3

Why pick each one

Choose File Browser if…

  • Extremely lightweight
  • Trivial to deploy
  • Good for quick file access
File Browser details

Choose MinIO if…

  • Excellent performance
  • Drop-in S3 replacement
  • Scales horizontally
MinIO details

Frequently asked questions

Is File Browser or MinIO better?

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

Are File Browser and MinIO free and open-source?

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

Can I run File Browser and MinIO with Docker?

File Browser: yes. MinIO: yes.

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