Pingvin Share vs rustypaste
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted file sync & storage options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Pingvin Share
Archived
Self-hosted file sharing alternative to WeTransfer
VS
rustypaste
Minimal file upload and pastebin service
| Feature | Pingvin Share | rustypaste |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 15 · At risk | 83 · Excellent |
| Status | Archived | Actively maintained |
| Category | File Sync & Storage | File Sync & Storage |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 32 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,668 | ★ 1,207 |
| First released | 2022 | 2021 |
| Replaces | WeTransfer, Firefox Send | WeTransfer, Imgur |
What are Pingvin Share and rustypaste?
Pingvin Share
Pingvin Share is a self-hosted file sharing platform with a clean interface, designed as an alternative to WeTransfer and Firefox Send. It supports expiring shares and password protection.
- Expiring share links
- OAuth and LDAP login
- Password-protected shares
rustypaste
rustypaste is a minimal self-hosted file upload and pastebin service written in Rust. It supports expiring uploads, one-shot files, and command-line usage with curl.
- One-shot expiring uploads
- Curl-friendly API
- Minimal resource usage
Pingvin Share vs rustypaste: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Pingvin Share's repository is archived and no longer developed, while rustypaste is actively maintained. Pingvin Share is written in TypeScript, while rustypaste is built with Rust. Licensing differs — BSD-2-Clause for Pingvin Share versus MIT for rustypaste. Rustypaste is the lighter option, starting around 32 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Pingvin Share. Pingvin Share has the considerably larger community, at 4,668 GitHub stars versus 1,207.
Why pick each one
Choose Pingvin Share if…
- Released under the BSD-2-Clause license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (4.7k GitHub stars)
Choose rustypaste if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.2k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is Pingvin Share or rustypaste better?
Neither is universally better. Pingvin Share has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Pingvin Share and rustypaste free and open-source?
Yes. Pingvin Share is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and rustypaste under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Pingvin Share and rustypaste with Docker?
Pingvin Share: yes. rustypaste: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Pingvin Share or rustypaste?
rustypaste has the smaller minimum footprint at 32 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Pingvin Share. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.