filex vs FolderSync
filex
filex.sh
FolderSync
foldersync.ioSide by side
| Figure | filex | FolderSync |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 0 | 3 |
| Spec score · WebDAV Client Software | 7.6 (#17) | 8.9 (#3) |
| Desktop platforms | The desktop app is available for Windows, Linux and macOS; the site lists Windows, Linux and macOS packages and command-line installation options. | The desktop version supports 64-bit Windows 10 or newer, macOS 10.15 or newer, and 64-bit x86 Linux with glibc 2.17 or newer. |
| Encryption | End-to-end encrypted folders store ciphertext on the server without sending it the encryption key. | Optional client-side encryption uses ChaCha20-Poly1305 with 256-bit keys and Argon2id derivation, encrypting names and contents before upload. |
| Integrations | The site documents self-hosted ONLYOFFICE for editing Office documents and Tesseract for including scanned pages in search. | Supported services include Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Box, Nextcloud, and many others; supported protocols include FTP, SFTP, SMB, S3-compatible storage, and WebDAV. |
| Maker | The site credits BRF Tech as the maker and says FileX is built and run in production there. | Tacit Dynamics Aps lists its address as Trindsøvej 6, 1, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark. |
Plans
In their own words
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.
FolderSync
FolderSync moves files between folders on a device and cloud services or file servers, and it can also sync folders stored on the same device. One-way sync mirrors a source to a destination; two-way sync is also supported. It can transfer files between two remote locations through an Android device or desktop computer, which temporarily holds the files. Connections include Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Box and Nextcloud, along with FTP, SFTP, SMB, S3-compatible storage and WebDAV. Its V2 engine adds encryption, pre-sync change analysis, parallel transfers and Cron-based scheduling. FolderSync also supports Tasker integration and configurable events such as schedules and syncs. Encryption protects file names and contents before upload, but works only with one-way sync; a lost encryption password cannot be recovered. FolderSync says account, folder-pair and sync-log data stays on the device, while files go directly to the configured service or server. A free plan is available. Android requires version 8.0 or newer; desktop support covers Windows 10 or newer, macOS 10.15 or newer, and qualifying 64-bit x86 Linux systems.