ExpanDrive vs filex
ExpanDrive
expandrive.com
filex
filex.shSide by side
| Figure | ExpanDrive | filex |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $29/mo | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 3 | 0 |
| Spec score · WebDAV Client Software | 8.2 (#11) | 7.6 (#17) |
| Desktop platforms | The download page provides versions for macOS 11 Big Sur and later, Windows 10, 11, and Windows Server 2016+, and 64-bit desktop Linux on x86-64. | The desktop app is available for Windows, Linux and macOS; the site lists Windows, Linux and macOS packages and command-line installation options. |
| Encryption | The security page says connections use TLS and ExpanDrive does not terminate or proxy traffic through its infrastructure. | End-to-end encrypted folders store ciphertext on the server without sending it the encryption key. |
| Integrations | The integrations page lists Amazon S3, Backblaze B2, Box, Dropbox, FTP, Google Cloud Storage, Google Drive, IDrive e2, Nextcloud, OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, SFTP, SharePoint, Wasabi, and WebDAV. | The site documents self-hosted ONLYOFFICE for editing Office documents and Tesseract for including scanned pages in search. |
| Product | ExpanDrive mounts cloud storage and protocol endpoints as native drives on a desktop, accessible from Finder, Explorer, and other applications. | Filex is an open-source, MIT-licensed self-hosted file manager delivered as a single Go binary. |
Plans
In their own words
ExpanDrive
ExpanDrive mounts cloud storage and protocol endpoints as desktop drives, letting you access files through Finder, Explorer, and other applications. Files stream on demand rather than syncing folders, with local caching and an option to pin files for offline access. Listed connections include Amazon S3, Backblaze B2, Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, SharePoint, Nextcloud, FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, and others. It runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux. Server Edition can operate as a headless service on Windows Server and Linux, expose mounted storage as a Windows SMB share, and includes a command line for managing mounts and connections. ExpanDrive says connections use TLS and credentials are kept in the local operating system credential store. Plain FTP sends credentials and file contents in the clear; FTPS or SFTP is recommended for sensitive connections. The Free plan is free, billed forever. Business is $29 a month, billed monthly; Enterprise pricing is custom.
filex
Filex is an open-source, MIT-licensed self-hosted file manager distributed as a single Go binary or container. It can mount local disks and storage such as S3, SFTP, FTP, WebDAV, and SMB/CIFS, with plugins for other backends. The same files can be served through S3, SFTP, FTPS, NFSv3, WebDAV, and HTTPS. Search covers filenames and file contents; trash retention and version history are also included. Access controls include roles, inherited item-level grants, and public links with optional PINs, expiration, and download caps. Sign-in options include local passwords, OIDC, LDAP or Active Directory, and proxy headers. Filex has web access and desktop apps for Windows, Linux, and macOS; desktop and CLI clients support two-way folder sync. Office files have a read-only browser preview unless an optional self-hosted OnlyOffice Document Server is used for editing and co-authoring. SQLite is the default database, with PostgreSQL supported for team deployments. Filex is free and open source.