Nextcloud vs ONLYOFFICE Docs

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
FeatureNextcloudONLYOFFICE Docs
CategoryFile Sync & StorageDocument Management
LicenseAGPL-3.0AGPL-3.0
LanguagePHPShell
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB4,096 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, snapdocker, bare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 36,362★ 6,794
First released20162016
ReplacesDropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft 365Google Docs, Microsoft 365

Why pick each one

Choose Nextcloud if…

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

Choose ONLYOFFICE Docs if…

  • Excellent format compatibility
  • Strong collaboration features
ONLYOFFICE Docs details

Frequently asked questions

Is Nextcloud or ONLYOFFICE Docs 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 Nextcloud and ONLYOFFICE Docs free and open-source?

Yes. Nextcloud is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and ONLYOFFICE Docs under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Nextcloud and ONLYOFFICE Docs with Docker?

Nextcloud: yes. ONLYOFFICE Docs: yes.

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