Nextcloud
A self-hosted file sync and sharing platform with an app store for calendar, contacts, mail and chat.
- License
- GNU Affero General Public License v3.0Open source (OSI)
- GitHub stars
- 37k5.3k forks
- Latest release
- v35.0.1Sep 24, 2026
- Setup
- Needs a databaseSelf-hosted
What the free edition leaves out
The free edition is genuinely usable, but some team or enterprise features need a paid plan. “Not confirmed” means the official pages we read did not state it, so we do not guess.
| Feature | Free edition | Details | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| SSO / SAML | Free | The SSO and SAML app is public AGPL-3.0 in the App Store, but the pricing page lists SAML login among Enterprise features, so this is not fully certain. | Source ↗ |
| Role-based access control | Not confirmed | No page read mentions granular roles either way. | Source ↗ |
| Audit logs | Not confirmed | The pricing page lists audit-ready logging under paid Enterprise tiers; whether the free audit log app covers the same was not confirmed. | Source ↗ |
| Multi-user / teams | Free | Multi-user sharing and collaboration is core functionality, including LDAP user support. | Source ↗ |
| Backups and restore | Not confirmed | The admin docs describe a manual process (maintenance mode, copy folders, dump the database); no built-in tool on that page. | Source ↗ |
| API access | Free | OCS and WebDAV client APIs are documented with no edition restriction mentioned. | Source ↗ |
| Support SLA | Paid | Enterprise subscriptions add reaction-time commitments; they start at 100 users. | Source ↗ |
Best for
Teams and organizations that want to self-host file sync and sharing on their own infrastructure, with the option to buy vendor support.
Why choose it over Dropbox
Self-hosted under AGPL-3.0, so you control where the data lives, and the desktop and mobile apps are free. An app store extends it with calendar, contacts, mail and chat.
Where it falls short
You handle updates, PHP, database tuning and backups yourself; backup is a manual process. Guaranteed support response times need an Enterprise subscription starting at 100 users. Some Enterprise items such as audit-ready logging are described as paid.
Open-source alternative to
- Dropbox — Nextcloud offers file storage, sync and sharing like Dropbox, but you run it on your own server and the core is open source.
Facts checked on against the project’s official repository, documentation and pricing pages. GitHub numbers update automatically. How we verify.