Pydio Cells vs Seafile
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted file sync & storage options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Seafile
High-performance file sync and share with block storage
| Feature | Pydio Cells | Seafile |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 86 · Excellent | 76 · Good |
| Category | File Sync & Storage | File Sync & Storage |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,252 | ★ 15,273 |
| First released | 2018 | 2012 |
| Replaces | Dropbox, Box, Google Drive | Dropbox, Google Drive |
What are Pydio Cells and Seafile?
Pydio Cells
Pydio Cells is a content collaboration platform for organizations, offering file sharing, workspaces, and access controls. It is designed for teams and enterprises needing governed document collaboration. It is deployed via Docker or native binaries.
- Workspace-based collaboration
- Granular access control
- Built-in search and metadata
- Mobile and desktop clients
Seafile
Seafile is a file sync and share platform built around a reliable, high-performance file storage engine. It is well suited for users and organizations that prioritize fast, reliable sync of large libraries. It is typically deployed via Docker Compose or on bare metal.
- Fast block-level sync engine
- Client-side encrypted libraries
- Reliable handling of large file sets
- Desktop, mobile and web clients
Pydio Cells vs Seafile: key differences
Pydio Cells is written in Go, while Seafile is built with C. Seafile is the more established project (first released 2012), while Pydio Cells arrived in 2018. Seafile has the considerably larger community, at 15,273 GitHub stars versus 2,252.
Why pick each one
Choose Pydio Cells if…
- Strong enterprise features
- Modern Go codebase
- Good access governance
Watch out for
- Heavier than simple tools
- Smaller community
Choose Seafile if…
- Excellent sync performance
- Stable and battle-tested
- Good for large libraries
Watch out for
- Fewer collaboration features than Nextcloud
- Setup more involved than simple tools
Frequently asked questions
Is Pydio Cells or Seafile better?
Neither is universally better. Seafile has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Pydio Cells and Seafile free and open-source?
Yes. Pydio Cells is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Seafile under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Pydio Cells and Seafile with Docker?
Pydio Cells: yes. Seafile: yes.