Nextcloud vs SFTPGo

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?
FeatureNextcloudSFTPGo
CategoryFile Sync & StorageFile Sync & Storage
LicenseAGPL-3.0AGPL-3.0
LanguagePHPGo
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, snapdocker, binary
GitHub stars★ 36,362★ 12,371
First released20162019
ReplacesDropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft 365Dropbox

Why pick each one

Choose Nextcloud if…

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

Choose SFTPGo if…

  • Multi-protocol in one binary
  • Flexible storage backends
  • Strong access controls
SFTPGo details

Frequently asked questions

Is Nextcloud or SFTPGo 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 SFTPGo free and open-source?

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

Can I run Nextcloud and SFTPGo with Docker?

Nextcloud: yes. SFTPGo: yes.

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