Dropbox vs Syncthing
Dropbox and Syncthing are both file sync and storage software. Dropbox is a commercial product from Dropbox, Inc. Syncthing is open source under MPL-2.0, with 90k GitHub stars.
Which to pick
- Pick Dropbox when
- A team works with large files across mixed platforms and wants dependable sync independent of Microsoft or Google.
- Pick Syncthing when
- You want folders kept in sync across your computers and servers without a cloud provider.
Side by side
Cloud file storage and sync across devices, with file sharing, version history, transfer of large files and Dash for search across company apps.
Continuous peer-to-peer file synchronisation between your own devices, encrypted, with no central server.
Paying separately is hard to justify if you already get storage with Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace.
It is sync, not backup, so deletions and corruption propagate, and the official Android app has been discontinued in favour of community forks.
Production-ready (both)
Cloud service, desktop app and mobile app
Desktop app and self-hosted server
Not published
Go
Closed source, sold by Dropbox, Inc.
Open source, MPL-2.0 (weak copyleft)
Closed source: you use it under the maker's terms and cannot change or resell the code.
You can use it inside a product you sell; changes you make to its own files must be shared.
4.5k Wikipedia readers a month on phones
90k GitHub stars
Not known
Established: started 13 years ago, latest release v2.1.7.
Other comparisons
More file sync and cloud storage software
Both sides were judged on 2026-11-03 from makers' descriptions, Wikipedia, READMEs and GitHub data. License, age and popularity lines are worked out directly.