FileGator vs LocalSend

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?
FeatureFileGatorLocalSend
CategoryFile Sync & StorageFile Sync & Storage
LicenseMITMIT
LanguagePHPDart
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM128 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metalbinary
GitHub stars★ 3,048★ 87,025
First released20192022
ReplacesGoogle Drive, DropboxAirDrop

Why pick each one

Choose FileGator if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Active community (3k GitHub stars)
FileGator details

Choose LocalSend if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Mature project with 87k GitHub stars
  • Written in Dart
LocalSend details

Frequently asked questions

Is FileGator or LocalSend better?

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

Are FileGator and LocalSend free and open-source?

Yes. FileGator is licensed under MIT and LocalSend under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run FileGator and LocalSend with Docker?

FileGator: yes. LocalSend: check the project docs for container support.

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