Spacedrive vs Tiny File Manager

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted file sync & storage options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

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FeatureSpacedriveTiny File Manager
CategoryFile Sync & StorageFile Sync & Storage
LicenseAGPL-3.0GPL-3.0
LanguageRustPHP
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM512 MB64 MB
Deploymentbinarybare-metal, docker
GitHub stars★ 38,732★ 5,959
First released20222016
ReplacesGoogle Drive, DropboxGoogle Drive

Why pick each one

Choose Spacedrive if…

  • Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
  • Mature project with 38.7k GitHub stars
  • Written in Rust
  • Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Spacedrive details

Choose Tiny File Manager if…

  • Released under the GPL-3.0 license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Mature project with 6k GitHub stars
Tiny File Manager details

Frequently asked questions

Is Spacedrive or Tiny File Manager better?

Neither is universally better. Spacedrive has the larger community, while Tiny File Manager is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Spacedrive and Tiny File Manager free and open-source?

Yes. Spacedrive is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Tiny File Manager under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Spacedrive and Tiny File Manager with Docker?

Spacedrive: check the project docs for container support. Tiny File Manager: yes.

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