SHSelfHostIndex

PairDrop vs ShareDrop

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?
PairDrop Local and internet file sharing inspired by Snapdrop VS SH ShareDrop Peer-to-peer file transfer in the browser
FeaturePairDropShareDrop
Deploy effort≈5-minute setupUnder-an-hour setup
Health score67 · Good30 · At risk
CategoryFile Sync & StorageFile Sync & Storage
LicenseGPL-3.0MIT
LanguageJavaScriptJavaScript
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM64 MB64 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 11,459★ 10,753
First released20222014
ReplacesAirDrop, WeTransferAirDrop, WeTransfer

What are PairDrop and ShareDrop?

PairDrop

PairDrop is an enhanced fork of Snapdrop that adds device pairing across networks and the internet. It enables easy, encrypted peer-to-peer file transfer between paired devices.

  • Cross-network device pairing
  • Paste and share text
  • WebRTC encrypted transfer

ShareDrop

ShareDrop is a browser-based peer-to-peer file sharing app using WebRTC. It lets devices on the same network exchange files directly without uploading to a server.

  • WebRTC peer-to-peer transfer
  • No server-side storage
  • Works across local networks

PairDrop vs ShareDrop: key differences

Both projects are written in JavaScript. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for PairDrop versus MIT for ShareDrop. ShareDrop is the more established project (first released 2014), while PairDrop arrived in 2022.

Why pick each one

Choose PairDrop if…

  • Released under the GPL-3.0 license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Mature project with 11.5k GitHub stars
PairDrop details

Choose ShareDrop if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Mature project with 10.8k GitHub stars
ShareDrop details

Frequently asked questions

Is PairDrop or ShareDrop better?

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

Are PairDrop and ShareDrop free and open-source?

Yes. PairDrop is licensed under GPL-3.0 and ShareDrop under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run PairDrop and ShareDrop with Docker?

PairDrop: yes. ShareDrop: yes.

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