Filestash vs Owlfiles
Filestash
filestash.appOwlfiles
skyjos.comSide by side
| Figure | Filestash | Owlfiles |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $50/mo | $1.08/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 4 | 9 |
| Spec score · File Manager Software | 9.4 (#1) | 9.3 (#2) |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Licence | The public repository is licensed under GNU AGPL version 3.0. | AlternativeTo classifies Owlfiles as proprietary and freemium rather than open source. |
| Support | Commercial support includes developer technical support, white-labeling, custom deployment packages, security-patch access, consulting and a customer portal for tickets and subscriptions. | The maker provides step-by-step user guides for server and NAS setup, file transfer, folder sync, and photo backup. |
| What it does | Filestash is a browser file manager that provides a Dropbox-like interface over FTP, SFTP, S3, SMB, WebDAV, IPFS, NFS and many other storage systems. | Owlfiles is a file manager for local devices, computers, NAS devices, servers, and cloud storage, with file viewing, management, transfer, streaming, backup, and synchronization. |
Plans
Filestash
- Self Served$50 a month
- Enterprise Solutions$290 a month
- ProPrice not published
- HobbyFree
Owlfiles
- BasicFree
- Pro$1.99 a month
- Pro$12.99 a year
- Pro$29.99, paid once
- BasicFree
- Pro monthly$1.99 a month
- Pro yearly$12.99 a year
- Pro lifetime$29.99, paid once
- Pro Lifetime$29.99, paid once
In their own words
Filestash
Filestash is an open source platform for file sharing, document management, managed file transfer, and archiving. Its browser interface connects to storage and services such as FTP, WebDAV, SFTP, S3, SMB, Git, SharePoint, Google Drive, Dropbox, and Storj, so users can browse, organize, and share files across those systems. It can expose storage through SFTP, MCP, FTP, WebDAV, S3, or AS2 gateways. An event-driven workflow engine chains actions and can be extended with plugins. Authentication options include corporate SSO through LDAP, SAML, and OIDC, alongside role-based access controls. Filestash describes its audit logs as immutable and traceable; its plugin catalog lists options including FIPS-compliant ciphers, IP blocking, and ClamAV scanning. Listed AI features include semantic search, smart folders, and OCR, including local models via Ollama. It supports web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android. The installation guide calls for a Linux server with Docker, Docker Compose, and curl. Hobby supports up to three users. Self Served costs $50 a month with three seats; Enterprise Solutions costs $290 a month with unlimited users.
Owlfiles
Owlfiles is a file manager for browsing, managing, and transferring files among devices, computers, NAS, servers, and cloud storage. It supports common file operations such as renaming, sorting, deleting, copying, moving, and organizing files into folders. Connections include WebDAV, NFS, FTP, SFTP, OneDrive, Dropbox, Box, and S3, and files can be copied directly between supported locations. Documents can be opened or edited with Acrobat, Office, or iWork, with changes saved to their original location. The app streams popular video and music formats without downloading them first and supports CUE and M3U playlists. It can back up photos from iOS and Android devices and schedule folder synchronization in either or both directions. Basic costs nothing and allows up to three connections. Pro costs $1.99 a month, billed monthly, or $29.99, paid once for the lifetime plan; both paid options include unlimited connections, photo backup, and file sync. Supported platforms include iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, tvOS, and Android TV.