Dropbox made file sync boring in the best sense: a folder that is the same everywhere, with conflict handling that mostly does the right thing. Two decades on, the sync engine is still the part competitors struggle to match.
Self-hosted photo and video backup for your own server
Stars113.1K
Commit8h ago
LicenseAGPL-3.0
Immich replaces a cloud photo service with software that runs on hardware you own. Mobile apps for iOS and Android back up new photos and videos in the background, so the library on your server stays current without you thinking about it.
Storage and document collaboration inside Workspace
CompanyGoogle
Since2012
PricingPaid
Google Drive is storage with an office suite attached, and the suite is the reason most organisations are on it. Docs, Sheets, and Slides collaborate in real time well enough that the underlying file storage barely gets thought about.
Cloud photo library with automatic backup and search
CompanyGoogle
Since2015
PricingPaid
Google Photos backs up everything a phone takes and then makes it findable. Search understands objects, places, and people without any tagging, and the timeline handles libraries in the hundreds of thousands without stalling.
LocalSend is a free, open-source app that sends files and text directly between nearby devices over the local network, with no account, cloud, or internet needed.
Continuous file sync between your own devices only
Stars72.1K
Commit3d ago
LicenseMPL-2.0
Syncthing synchronises folders directly between devices with no server in the middle. There is no account, no storage quota, and no third party holding the data, because the data never leaves the set of machines you nominate.
Photo library synced through iCloud across Apple devices
CompanyApple
Since2015
PricingPaid
Apple Photos does most of its analysis on the device rather than in the cloud, so face grouping and object search work without the library being readable by the vendor. Sync happens through iCloud, and the library is a first party part of the operating system rather than an app you install.
Local-first file explorer unifying devices, drives, and clouds
Stars39.2K
Commitjust now
LicenseApache-2.0
Spacedrive is a local-first, open source file explorer that unifies files across devices, drives, servers, and optional clouds in one searchable interface.
File sync, sharing, and a suite of apps on your own server
Stars30.1K
Commit8h ago
LicenseAGPL-3.0
Nextcloud started as file sync and grew into a full collaboration suite: documents, calendar, contacts, chat, and an application ecosystem on top of the same account system.
Self-hosted file sharing and collaboration on a Go microservice backend
Stars6,141
Commitjust now
LicenseApache-2.0
OpenCloud is a self-hosted file-sharing and collaboration platform with a Go microservice backend, desktop and mobile apps, and EU-based hosting options.
Open-source document archiving with search, tags, and email ingestion
Stars5,558
Commitjust now
LicenseAGPL-3.0
Papra is an open-source document archiving platform that organizes files with tags, full-text search, and email ingestion, self-hosted or in the cloud.
Self-hosted file sync and sharing with enterprise compliance controls
Stars2,152
Commitjust now
LicenseApache-2.0
ownCloud Infinite Scale is self-hosted file sync and sharing with Spaces, guest accounts, and office integrations for teams that control their own data.