Spacedrive 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.
| Feature | Spacedrive | elFinder |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 83 · Excellent | 87 · Excellent |
| Category | File Sync & Storage | File Sync & Storage |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | Rust | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 39,022 | ★ 4,804 |
| First released | 2022 | 2010 |
| Replaces | Google Drive, Dropbox | Google Drive, Dropbox |
What are Spacedrive and elFinder?
Spacedrive
Spacedrive is an open-source, cross-platform file manager written in Rust, built around a virtual distributed filesystem (VDFS). It indexes and organizes files across multiple devices and storage locations from a single native app.
- Virtual distributed filesystem
- Indexes files across devices
- Cross-platform native app
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
Spacedrive vs elFinder: key differences
Spacedrive is written in Rust, while elFinder is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Spacedrive versus BSD-3-Clause for elFinder. ElFinder is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Spacedrive. ElFinder is the more established project (first released 2010), while Spacedrive arrived in 2022. Spacedrive has the considerably larger community, at 39,022 GitHub stars versus 4,804.
Why pick each one
Choose Spacedrive if…
- Unified multi-device view
- Modern Rust core
- Cross-platform clients
Watch out for
- Still beta quality
- Sync features incomplete
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 Spacedrive or elFinder better?
Neither is universally better. Spacedrive has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Spacedrive and elFinder free and open-source?
Yes. Spacedrive is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and elFinder under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Spacedrive and elFinder with Docker?
Spacedrive: check the project docs for container support. elFinder: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Spacedrive or elFinder?
elFinder has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Spacedrive. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.