FilePizza vs transfer.sh
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
transfer.sh
Easy file sharing from the command line
| Feature | FilePizza | transfer.sh |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 91 · Excellent | 76 · Good |
| Category | File Sync & Storage | File Sync & Storage |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 50 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 10,189 | ★ 15,897 |
| First released | 2023 | 2014 |
| Replaces | WeTransfer | WeTransfer |
What are FilePizza and transfer.sh?
FilePizza
Peer-to-peer file transfers in your browser.
transfer.sh
transfer.sh is a service that lets you upload and share files directly from the command line using curl. It supports encryption, S3 and Google Cloud Storage backends, and maximum download counts.
- Command-line uploads with curl
- Multiple storage backends
- Optional encryption
FilePizza vs transfer.sh: key differences
FilePizza is written in TypeScript, while transfer.sh is built with Go. Licensing differs — BSD-3-Clause for FilePizza versus MIT for transfer.sh. FilePizza is the lighter option, starting around 50 MB of RAM against 64 MB for transfer.sh. Transfer.sh is the more established project (first released 2014), while FilePizza arrived in 2023. Transfer.sh 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 transfer.sh if…
- Curl-friendly uploads
- S3 backend support
- Download limits and encryption
Watch out for
- Sparse recent development
- Minimal web interface
Frequently asked questions
Is FilePizza or transfer.sh better?
transfer.sh is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider FilePizza if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are FilePizza and transfer.sh free and open-source?
Yes. FilePizza is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and transfer.sh under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run FilePizza and transfer.sh with Docker?
FilePizza: check the project docs for container support. transfer.sh: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, FilePizza or transfer.sh?
FilePizza has the smaller minimum footprint at 50 MB of RAM, compared to about 64 MB for transfer.sh. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.