FileGator vs SeaweedFS

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted file sync & storage options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

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FeatureFileGatorSeaweedFS
CategoryFile Sync & StorageFile Sync & Storage
LicenseMITApache-2.0
LanguagePHPGo
Setup difficultyEasyHard
Min. RAM128 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker, kubernetes, binary
GitHub stars★ 3,048★ 33,952
First released20192015
ReplacesGoogle Drive, DropboxAmazon S3

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 SeaweedFS if…

  • Released under the Apache-2.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
  • Mature project with 34k GitHub stars
SeaweedFS details

Frequently asked questions

Is FileGator or SeaweedFS better?

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

Are FileGator and SeaweedFS free and open-source?

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

Can I run FileGator and SeaweedFS with Docker?

FileGator: yes. SeaweedFS: yes.

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