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.

Not the right match-up?
FeatureSFTPGoSparkleShare
CategoryFile Sync & StorageFile Sync & Storage
LicenseAGPL-3.0GPL-3.0
LanguageGoC#
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM128 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, binarybare-metal, binary
GitHub stars★ 12,371★ 4,971
First released20192010
ReplacesDropboxDropbox

Why pick each one

Choose SFTPGo if…

  • Multi-protocol in one binary
  • Flexible storage backends
  • Strong access controls
SFTPGo details

Choose SparkleShare if…

  • Full history of every change
  • Works over plain SSH
SparkleShare details

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.

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