Nextcloud vs Seafile
Last verified · repository stats fetched 19 Oct 2026
Both replace Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive on your own server, with desktop and mobile sync clients. Nextcloud is a wider collaboration suite: files plus calendars, contacts, mail and a Talk app for chat and calls. Seafile concentrates on syncing and sharing files, organised into libraries, and comes as a free Community Edition and a paid Professional Edition.
| Nextcloud | Seafile | |
|---|---|---|
| Licence | AGPL-3.0 Open source (copyleft) | GPL-2.0, GPL-3.0, AGPL-3.0, Apache-2.0 Open source (copyleft) |
| Source code | GitHub | GitHub |
| ★ Stars | 37.2k 37,178 | 15.3k 15,332 |
| Last commit | 19 Oct 2026 | 10 Oct 2026 |
| Runs with | PHP, Debian package | C |
| Memory (RAM) | 512 MB per process recommended (128 MB minimum) Needs vary with users, apps, files and activity. | 4 GB recommended (Professional Edition, with a 4-core CPU) Seafile's admin manual gives this for the Professional Edition; it doesn't give a separate figure for Community Edition. |
| Beyond files | Calendars, contacts, mail, Talk (chat and calls) | File sync and sharing; Office editing via OnlyOffice or Collabora integration |
| Paid edition | Not available | Pro: free up to 3 users, then $100/year for 9, $48/user/year from 10 |
| Self-hosted alternative to | Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive | Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive |
Key differences
- Nextcloud describes itself as a home for your files, calendars, contacts, mail and more, and its docs cover a separate Talk app for chat and calls. (github.com/nextcloud/server · docs.nextcloud.com/server/latest/admin_manual/installation/system_requirements.html)
- Seafile organises files into libraries. Each has an owner who can share it read-only or read-write with users or groups; per-sub-folder permissions are a Professional Edition feature. (manual.seafile.com/latest/introduction/file_permission_management)
- Seafile Professional Edition is free for up to 3 users. Its pricing page then lists $100 a year in total for 9 users, and $48 per user per year from 10 users. (seafile.com/en/pricing · manual.seafile.com/latest/setup_binary/installation)
- Seafile's parts use different licences: the server core is AGPLv3, the Seahub web interface Apache 2.0 and the desktop sync client GPLv2. (manual.seafile.com/latest)
- Nextcloud runs on a PHP web stack with a database (MariaDB, MySQL or PostgreSQL recommended) and recommends 512 MB of RAM per PHP process. (docs.nextcloud.com/server/latest/admin_manual/installation/system_requirements.html)
- For the Professional Edition, Seafile's manual recommends at least 4 GB of RAM and a 4-core CPU. (manual.seafile.com/latest/setup_binary/installation)
Which should you pick?
- Nextcloud: Pick Nextcloud if you want one self-hosted place for files, calendars, contacts and chat, and you're happy to run and update a PHP web stack with a database.
- Seafile: Pick Seafile if file sync and sharing is the main job, the library model suits how you work, and either the free Community Edition or the free 3-user Professional tier covers your team.
This verdict is based on the documented facts above, not on hands-on testing.
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Sources: github.com/nextcloud/server · docs.nextcloud.com/server/latest/admin_manual/installation/system_requirements.html · manual.seafile.com/latest/introduction/file_permission_management · seafile.com/en/pricing · manual.seafile.com/latest/setup_binary/installation · manual.seafile.com/latest. Stars and last-commit dates come from each project's public repository. “Not available” or “Not documented” means we found no official source for it, not that the feature is missing.