Kubo (IPFS) 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.

Not the right match-up?
FeatureKubo (IPFS)MinIO
CategoryFile Sync & StorageFile Sync & Storage
LicenseMITAGPL-3.0
LanguageGoGo
Setup difficultyHardMedium
Min. RAM512 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, binary, snapdocker, kubernetes, binary
GitHub stars★ 17,093★ 61,387
First released20152015
ReplacesDropboxAmazon S3

Why pick each one

Choose Kubo (IPFS) if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Mature project with 17.1k GitHub stars
  • Written in Go
Kubo (IPFS) details

Choose MinIO if…

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

Frequently asked questions

Is Kubo (IPFS) or MinIO better?

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

Are Kubo (IPFS) and MinIO free and open-source?

Yes. Kubo (IPFS) is licensed under MIT and MinIO under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Kubo (IPFS) and MinIO with Docker?

Kubo (IPFS): yes. MinIO: yes.

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