Garage vs Puter

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

Not the right match-up?
FeatureGaragePuter
CategoryFile Sync & StorageFile Sync & Storage
LicenseAGPL-3.0AGPL-3.0
LanguageRustTypeScript
Setup difficultyHardMedium
Min. RAM512 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, binarydocker
GitHub stars★ 1,600★ 43,003
First released20212026
ReplacesAmazon S3, Dropbox

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 Puter if…

  • Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Mature project with 43k GitHub stars
  • Written in TypeScript
Puter details

Frequently asked questions

Is Garage or Puter better?

Puter 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 Puter free and open-source?

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

Can I run Garage and Puter with Docker?

Garage: yes. Puter: yes.

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