Send vs Syncthing

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?
FeatureSendSyncthing
CategoryFile Sync & StorageFile Sync & Storage
LicenseMPL-2.0MPL-2.0
LanguageJavaScriptGo
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM256 MB128 MB
Deploymentdockerdocker, binary, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 5,847★ 87,439
First released20202014
ReplacesWeTransfer, Firefox SendDropbox, Resilio Sync

Why pick each one

Choose Send if…

  • Released under the MPL-2.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Mature project with 5.8k GitHub stars
  • Written in JavaScript
Send details

Choose Syncthing if…

  • No central server needed
  • Very private by design
  • Lightweight and reliable
Syncthing details

Frequently asked questions

Is Send or Syncthing better?

Syncthing is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Send if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Send and Syncthing free and open-source?

Yes. Send is licensed under MPL-2.0 and Syncthing under MPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Send and Syncthing with Docker?

Send: yes. Syncthing: yes.

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