h5ai vs Pydio Cells
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?
h5ai
Modern HTTP web server index for browsing files
VS
Pydio Cells
Document sharing and collaboration for organizations
| Feature | h5ai | Pydio Cells |
|---|---|---|
| Category | File Sync & Storage | File Sync & Storage |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,052 | ★ 2,241 |
| First released | 2012 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Google Drive | Dropbox, Box, Google Drive |
Why pick each one
Choose h5ai if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Mature project with 6.1k GitHub stars
- Written in JavaScript
Choose Pydio Cells if…
- Strong enterprise features
- Modern Go codebase
- Good access governance
Frequently asked questions
Is h5ai or Pydio Cells better?
h5ai is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Pydio Cells if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are h5ai and Pydio Cells free and open-source?
Yes. h5ai is licensed under MIT and Pydio Cells under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run h5ai and Pydio Cells with Docker?
h5ai: check the project docs for container support. Pydio Cells: yes.