Nephele vs Nextcloud

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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FeatureNepheleNextcloud
CategoryFile Sync & StorageFile Sync & Storage
LicenseApache-2.0AGPL-3.0
LanguageTypeScriptPHP
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM128 MB512 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, binary, sourcedocker, bare-metal, snap
GitHub stars★ 108★ 36,362
First released20222016
ReplacesownCloud, BoxDropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft 365

Why pick each one

Choose Nephele if…

  • Flexible adapter system
  • Lightweight Node.js stack
Nephele details

Choose Nextcloud if…

  • Feature-rich and extensible
  • Active development and large community
  • Integrates calendar, contacts and office
Nextcloud details

Frequently asked questions

Is Nephele or Nextcloud better?

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

Are Nephele and Nextcloud free and open-source?

Yes. Nephele is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Nextcloud under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Nephele and Nextcloud with Docker?

Nephele: check the project docs for container support. Nextcloud: yes.

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