SFTPGo vs elFinder
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
elFinder
Web file manager with a desktop-style interface
| Feature | SFTPGo | elFinder |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 94 · Excellent | 87 · Excellent |
| Category | File Sync & Storage | File Sync & Storage |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | Go | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 12,570 | ★ 4,804 |
| First released | 2019 | 2010 |
| Replaces | Dropbox | Google Drive, Dropbox |
What are SFTPGo and elFinder?
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
elFinder
elFinder is an open-source web file manager with a user interface inspired by the macOS Finder. It supports multiple storage backends, drag and drop, and image editing.
- macOS Finder-style UI
- Multiple storage backends
- Built-in image editor
SFTPGo vs elFinder: key differences
SFTPGo is written in Go, while elFinder is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for SFTPGo versus BSD-3-Clause for elFinder. ElFinder 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 4,804. SFTPGo lists first-class Docker deployment; elFinder 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 elFinder if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- Active community (4.8k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is SFTPGo or elFinder 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 elFinder free and open-source?
Yes. SFTPGo is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and elFinder under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run SFTPGo and elFinder with Docker?
SFTPGo: yes. elFinder: check the project docs for container support.