Pingvin Share vs transfer.sh
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
transfer.sh
Easy file sharing from the command line
| Feature | Pingvin Share | transfer.sh |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 15 · At risk | 76 · Good |
| Status | Archived | Actively maintained |
| Category | File Sync & Storage | File Sync & Storage |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,668 | ★ 15,897 |
| First released | 2022 | 2014 |
| Replaces | WeTransfer, Firefox Send | WeTransfer |
What are Pingvin Share and transfer.sh?
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
transfer.sh
transfer.sh is a service that lets you upload and share files directly from the command line using curl. It supports encryption, S3 and Google Cloud Storage backends, and maximum download counts.
- Command-line uploads with curl
- Multiple storage backends
- Optional encryption
Pingvin Share vs transfer.sh: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Pingvin Share's repository is archived and no longer developed, while transfer.sh is actively maintained. Pingvin Share is written in TypeScript, while transfer.sh is built with Go. Licensing differs — BSD-2-Clause for Pingvin Share versus MIT for transfer.sh. Transfer.sh is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Pingvin Share. Transfer.sh is the more established project (first released 2014), while Pingvin Share arrived in 2022. Transfer.sh has the considerably larger community, at 15,897 GitHub stars versus 4,668.
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 transfer.sh if…
- Curl-friendly uploads
- S3 backend support
- Download limits and encryption
Watch out for
- Sparse recent development
- Minimal web interface
Frequently asked questions
Is Pingvin Share or transfer.sh better?
Neither is universally better. transfer.sh has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Pingvin Share and transfer.sh free and open-source?
Yes. Pingvin Share is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and transfer.sh under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Pingvin Share and transfer.sh with Docker?
Pingvin Share: yes. transfer.sh: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Pingvin Share or transfer.sh?
transfer.sh has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Pingvin Share. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.