FilePizza vs PicoShare
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted file sync & storage options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
FilePizza
Peer-to-peer file transfers in your browser
VS
PicoShare
Minimalist file sharing for permanent direct links
| Feature | FilePizza | PicoShare |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 91 · Excellent | 86 · Excellent |
| Category | File Sync & Storage | File Sync & Storage |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 50 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 10,189 | ★ 3,039 |
| First released | 2023 | 2021 |
| Replaces | WeTransfer | Dropbox, WeTransfer |
What are FilePizza and PicoShare?
FilePizza
Peer-to-peer file transfers in your browser.
PicoShare
PicoShare is a minimal file-sharing app that makes it easy to share files with simple, permanent URLs. It is designed to be a single-binary deployment with no external dependencies.
- Permanent shareable links
- SQLite-backed storage
- Single-binary deployment
FilePizza vs PicoShare: key differences
FilePizza is written in TypeScript, while PicoShare is built with Go. Licensing differs — BSD-3-Clause for FilePizza versus AGPL-3.0 for PicoShare. FilePizza is the lighter option, starting around 50 MB of RAM against 64 MB for PicoShare. PicoShare is the more established project (first released 2021), while FilePizza arrived in 2023. FilePizza has the considerably larger community, at 10,189 GitHub stars versus 3,039. PicoShare lists first-class Docker deployment; FilePizza does not.
Why pick each one
Choose FilePizza if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- Mature project with 10.2k GitHub stars
- Written in TypeScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM
Choose PicoShare if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (3k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is FilePizza or PicoShare better?
Neither is universally better. FilePizza has the larger community, while PicoShare is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are FilePizza and PicoShare free and open-source?
Yes. FilePizza is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and PicoShare under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run FilePizza and PicoShare with Docker?
FilePizza: check the project docs for container support. PicoShare: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, FilePizza or PicoShare?
FilePizza has the smaller minimum footprint at 50 MB of RAM, compared to about 64 MB for PicoShare. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.