Filestash vs Plone
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted document management options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Filestash
Web-based file manager and document gateway
VS
Plone
Enterprise CMS and document repository with strong security
| Feature | Filestash | Plone |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 93 · Excellent | 72 · Good |
| Category | Document Management | Document Management |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 14,711 | ★ 310 |
| First released | 2017 | 2001 |
| Replaces | Dropbox, SharePoint | SharePoint |
What are Filestash and Plone?
Filestash
Filestash is an open-source web file manager that connects to many storage backends such as S3, SFTP, FTP, and WebDAV. It provides document viewing, organization, and editing through a single interface.
- Connects to many storage backends
- Document and media viewers
- Office document editing
- Lightweight single binary
Plone
Plone is a mature open-source content management system widely used as a secure document repository and intranet. It offers fine-grained workflow, versioning, and permissions on every content item.
- Granular workflows
- Content versioning
- Strong security model
- Extensible add-ons
Filestash vs Plone: key differences
Filestash is written in Go, while Plone is built with Python. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Filestash versus GPL-2.0 for Plone. Filestash is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Plone. Plone is the more established project (first released 2001), while Filestash arrived in 2017. Filestash has the considerably larger community, at 14,711 GitHub stars versus 310.
Why pick each one
Choose Filestash if…
- Unifies access to many backends
- Easy deployment
Watch out for
- Not a full archival DMS
- Some features require a license key
Choose Plone if…
- Battle-tested security
- Highly customizable
Watch out for
- Steep learning curve
- Heavy stack
Frequently asked questions
Is Filestash or Plone better?
Filestash is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Plone if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Filestash and Plone free and open-source?
Yes. Filestash is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Plone under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Filestash and Plone with Docker?
Filestash: yes. Plone: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Filestash or Plone?
Filestash has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Plone. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.