Compare / Nextcloud vs Seafile
Nextcloud vs Seafile
Pick Nextcloud if you want files plus Talk/Office/apps (the published Drive stack). Pick Seafile if the job is sync and share, nothing else — that is already the Nextcloud stack FAQ.
Facts checked 18 Oct 2026. License, language, and GitHub activity come from the catalog or the project's own repo. "Not in the catalog row" means the public catalog dump does not store that number.
Nextcloud in the catalog Seafile in the catalogStart on Railway
How they compare
| Nextcloud | Seafile | |
|---|---|---|
| License | AGPL-3.0 (nextcloud/server) source | Server core AGPLv3; desktop client GPLv2; Seahub Apache-2.0 (manual.seafile.com) source |
| Language | PHP (catalog) | C (catalog) for the listed repo; server core is C |
| GitHub activity | 37,171 stars in the catalog source | 15,346 stars on haiwen/seafile in the catalog source |
| Self-host | Suite: files, Talk, Office apps. | Focused sync/share. Pro is proprietary. |
| Best for | A Drive-shaped suite. | Libraries you sync, without the extra apps. |
Self-hosting and resource needs
Nextcloud wants a database and a blob volume. Seafile's community server core is AGPLv3 (haiwen/seafile-server / Seafile admin manual); the desktop client daemon is GPLv2 (haiwen/seafile); Seahub is Apache-2.0. Seafile Professional is a separate proprietary product. Do not call Pro the OSS path.
FAQ
- Nextcloud or Seafile?
- Nextcloud if you want files plus Talk/Office. Seafile if the job is sync and share. That is the stack FAQ.
- Is Seafile Pro open source?
- No. The community server is AGPLv3. Professional is a separate proprietary product.
- Where is ownCloud?
- /compare/nextcloud-vs-owncloud.
- How do I deploy Nextcloud?
- Open /stacks/nextcloud-files. Persist blobs and the database.
Related pages
Stack of the Week
Get one stack a week that replaces a SaaS bill.