ownCloud Infinite Scale vs Spacedrive
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted file sync & storage options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | ownCloud Infinite Scale | Spacedrive |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 86 · Excellent | 83 · Excellent |
| Category | File Sync & Storage | File Sync & Storage |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,127 | ★ 39,022 |
| First released | 2020 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Dropbox, Google Drive | Google Drive, Dropbox |
What are ownCloud Infinite Scale and Spacedrive?
ownCloud Infinite Scale
ownCloud Infinite Scale (oCIS) is the Go-based successor to the PHP ownCloud server. It provides file sync and share with a microservices architecture, Spaces for team collaboration, and OpenID Connect authentication.
- Built in Go for performance
- Spaces-based collaboration
- OpenID Connect support
Spacedrive
Spacedrive is an open-source, cross-platform file manager written in Rust, built around a virtual distributed filesystem (VDFS). It indexes and organizes files across multiple devices and storage locations from a single native app.
- Virtual distributed filesystem
- Indexes files across devices
- Cross-platform native app
ownCloud Infinite Scale vs Spacedrive: key differences
OwnCloud Infinite Scale is written in Go, while Spacedrive is built with Rust. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for ownCloud Infinite Scale versus AGPL-3.0 for Spacedrive. OwnCloud Infinite Scale is the more established project (first released 2020), while Spacedrive arrived in 2022. Spacedrive has the considerably larger community, at 39,022 GitHub stars versus 2,127. OwnCloud Infinite Scale lists first-class Docker deployment; Spacedrive does not.
Why pick each one
Choose ownCloud Infinite Scale if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.1k GitHub stars)
- Written in Go
Choose Spacedrive if…
- Unified multi-device view
- Modern Rust core
- Cross-platform clients
Watch out for
- Still beta quality
- Sync features incomplete
Frequently asked questions
Is ownCloud Infinite Scale or Spacedrive better?
Neither is universally better. Spacedrive has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are ownCloud Infinite Scale and Spacedrive free and open-source?
Yes. ownCloud Infinite Scale is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Spacedrive under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run ownCloud Infinite Scale and Spacedrive with Docker?
ownCloud Infinite Scale: yes. Spacedrive: check the project docs for container support.