SHSelfHostIndex

OpenCloud vs SparkleShare

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?
OP OpenCloud Modern open-source file platform from ownCloud team VS SP SparkleShare Git-backed file synchronization with version history
FeatureOpenCloudSparkleShare
CategoryFile Sync & StorageFile Sync & Storage
LicenseApache-2.0GPL-3.0
LanguageGoC#
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB128 MB
Deploymentdockerbare-metal, binary
GitHub stars★ 5,792★ 4,971
First released20252010
ReplacesDropbox, Google DriveDropbox

Why pick each one

Choose OpenCloud if…

  • Modern, fast codebase
  • Lightweight footprint
  • Permissively licensed
OpenCloud details

Choose SparkleShare if…

  • Full history of every change
  • Works over plain SSH
SparkleShare details

Frequently asked questions

Is OpenCloud or SparkleShare better?

Neither is universally better. OpenCloud has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are OpenCloud and SparkleShare free and open-source?

Yes. OpenCloud is licensed under Apache-2.0 and SparkleShare under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run OpenCloud and SparkleShare with Docker?

OpenCloud: yes. SparkleShare: check the project docs for container support.

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