SFTPGo vs SparkleShare
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted file sync & storage options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
SFTPGo
Full-featured SFTP, FTP and WebDAV server
VS
SparkleShare
Git-backed file synchronization with version history
| Feature | SFTPGo | SparkleShare |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 94 · Excellent | 71 · Good |
| Category | File Sync & Storage | File Sync & Storage |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | C# |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 12,570 | ★ 4,981 |
| First released | 2019 | 2010 |
| Replaces | Dropbox | Dropbox |
What are SFTPGo and SparkleShare?
SFTPGo
SFTPGo is a configurable file transfer server supporting SFTP, FTP/S, WebDAV, and HTTP access with cloud storage backends. It suits administrators who need secure, multi-protocol file access. It is deployed via Docker or a single binary.
- SFTP, FTP, WebDAV and HTTP support
- Cloud storage backends
- Per-user quotas and rules
- Web admin and REST API
SparkleShare
SparkleShare is a file synchronization tool that uses Git repositories as the storage backend, giving every change a full version history. It is well suited to syncing collaborative projects and small text-heavy files across machines.
- Git-backed versioning
- Automatic conflict handling
- End-to-end encryption option
- Self-hosted on any SSH host
SFTPGo vs SparkleShare: key differences
SFTPGo is written in Go, while SparkleShare is built with C#. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for SFTPGo versus GPL-3.0 for SparkleShare. SparkleShare is the more established project (first released 2010), while SFTPGo arrived in 2019. SFTPGo has the considerably larger community, at 12,570 GitHub stars versus 4,981. SFTPGo lists first-class Docker deployment; SparkleShare does not.
Why pick each one
Choose SFTPGo if…
- Multi-protocol in one binary
- Flexible storage backends
- Strong access controls
Watch out for
- No sync client
- Configuration can be complex
Choose SparkleShare if…
- Full history of every change
- Works over plain SSH
Watch out for
- Poor with large binary files
- Slower development pace
Frequently asked questions
Is SFTPGo or SparkleShare better?
Neither is universally better. SFTPGo has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are SFTPGo and SparkleShare free and open-source?
Yes. SFTPGo is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and SparkleShare under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run SFTPGo and SparkleShare with Docker?
SFTPGo: yes. SparkleShare: check the project docs for container support.