Paperless-ngx vs Syncthing

Comparing two open source alternatives to Google Drive and Dropbox. Use the comparison below to decide which one fits your needs.

Paperless-ngx

GPL-3.0

Self-hosted document management system with OCR, full-text search, and automatic tagging for your paper documents.

Visit Full details

Syncthing

MPL-2.0

Continuous file synchronization program that syncs files directly between your devices — no cloud required.

Visit Full details

Side-by-side comparison

	Paperless-ngx	Syncthing
License	GPL-3.0	MPL-2.0
Self-hostable	Yes	Yes
GitHub Stars	46,481	89,287
Forks	3,218	5,515
Open Issues	6	388
Last Commit	Oct 10, 2026	Oct 10, 2026
First Released	Feb 12, 2022	Nov 26, 2013
Categories	Productivity & Utilities	Cloud Storage
Tags	#pdf #file storage #archive	#cloud storage #file storage #privacy

GitHub stars over time

Paperless-ngx

Syncthing89,287

Similar open source alternatives

Cloudreve

Self-hosted file management and sharing platform that unifies local disk and multiple cloud storage providers behind one web interface.

Alternative to:

Dropbox

SafeBucket

Self-hosted file sharing platform with direct S3 uploads, SSO, and role-based access control.

Alternative to:

Dropbox

Twake Drive

The open-source alternative to Google Drive.

Alternative to:

Google Drive

OpenCloud

OpenCloud is an open-source platform for file management, sharing, and team collaboration. It's easy to deploy, fully self-hostable, and built for modern, privacy-first workflows.

Alternative to:

Google Drive

ownCloud

ownCloud is the pioneering open-source file sync and sharing platform. Self-host your cloud for files, calendars, contacts, and collaboration — your data.

Alternative to:

Google Drive

Pingvin Share X

Secure and easy self-hosted file sharing platform.

Alternative to:

WeTransfer