Garage vs MinIO

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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FeatureGarageMinIO
CategoryFile Sync & StorageFile Sync & Storage
LicenseAGPL-3.0AGPL-3.0
LanguageRustGo
Setup difficultyHardMedium
Min. RAM512 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, binarydocker, kubernetes, binary
GitHub stars★ 1,600★ 61,387
First released20212015
ReplacesAmazon S3, DropboxAmazon S3

Why pick each one

Choose Garage if…

  • Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Active community (1.6k GitHub stars)
  • Written in Rust
Garage details

Choose MinIO if…

  • Excellent performance
  • Drop-in S3 replacement
  • Scales horizontally
MinIO details

Frequently asked questions

Is Garage or MinIO better?

MinIO is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Garage if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Garage and MinIO free and open-source?

Yes. Garage is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and MinIO under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Garage and MinIO with Docker?

Garage: yes. MinIO: yes.

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