filex vs Owlfiles

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.

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.