Best Free & Open Source Alternatives to pCloud

FileBrowser Quantum is a self-hosted, web-based file manager that gives you a clean interface over your own filesystem. It is an actively maintained fork of the original Filebrowser project that adds multiple storage sources, OIDC/LDAP authentication, real-time search, and a more customizable UI while remaining a single lightweight binary.

You point it at one or more directories on your server (or Docker volume) and get browsing, upload, download, editing, and preview for office documents, video, album artwork, and 3D models, complete with folder sizes, thumbnails, and WebDAV access. Access is controlled per user or group with granular, path-scoped permissions, and configurable share links support expiration and anonymous access.

Compared to Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive, FileBrowser Quantum does not offer cloud sync or off-site copies — instead, your files never leave hardware you control, there are no storage quotas or subscription fees, and you can manage who sees what with fine-grained rules. Pair it with Syncthing or a backup tool if you need sync and redundancy; use Quantum for direct, permission-controlled web access to the files themselves.

It ships a REST API with long-lived API tokens and a Swagger page at /swagger, runs as a single binary configured via config.yaml, and publishes official Docker images for easy self-hosting.

Cloudreve is a self-hosted file management and sharing system written in Go. It gives you a polished web interface for uploading, organizing, previewing, and sharing files, while letting you store data across multiple backends: local disk, remote nodes, S3-compatible APIs, OneDrive, and a range of Chinese cloud providers (Qiniu Kodo, Aliyun OSS, Tencent COS, Huawei OBS, and more). Clients upload and download directly to the storage provider, so your server bandwidth is not a bottleneck.

It covers much of what you get from Dropbox or Google Drive: drag-and-drop uploads with parallel resumable transfers, share links with expiration dates, multi-user support with groups, and online preview for images, video, audio, and ePub. You can also edit text, Markdown, and Office documents in the browser. WebDAV support works across all configured storage providers, and an integrated Aria2/qBittorrent connection lets the server download files in the background on your behalf.

Compared to the hosted services it replaces, Cloudreve keeps everything on hardware you control and avoids per-user subscription fees. The whole system ships as a single binary or Docker container with an embedded database option, so a personal instance can run on a small VPS or even a Raspberry Pi. If you already pay for object storage like S3 or OSS, Cloudreve can serve as the friendly front end to it instead of paying for another bundled cloud subscription.

OpenCloud is an open source file management and collaboration platform designed as a sovereign alternative to proprietary cloud storage services. It enables teams to store, sync, and share files securely while keeping full control over their data.

Built for simplicity and modern infrastructure, OpenCloud supports self-hosting and provides a clean, intuitive interface for managing documents and collaborating with others. It is designed to be lightweight and easy to deploy compared to heavier alternatives.

With an Apache-2.0 license and active development, OpenCloud is a strong choice for organizations that want the convenience of cloud collaboration without the vendor lock-in of services like Google Drive, Dropbox, or Microsoft SharePoint.

Nextcloud is the world's most popular open-source, self-hosted cloud platform. It started as a file sync and share solution (like Dropbox or Google Drive) and has evolved into a comprehensive productivity suite with files, calendar, contacts, email, talk (video/chat), and hundreds of apps available through the Nextcloud App Store.

Nextcloud Files provides desktop sync clients for Windows, macOS, and Linux, as well as mobile apps for iOS and Android. Files can be shared with granular permissions, encrypted, and version-controlled. The platform integrates with ONLYOFFICE and Collabora Online for in-browser document editing, effectively replicating the full Google Workspace experience on your own infrastructure.

With over 34,000 GitHub stars and licensed under AGPL-3.0, Nextcloud is the gold standard for self-hosted cloud storage. It is deployable on any Linux server, available as a one-click install via Docker, and maintained by Nextcloud GmbH with an active enterprise support offering. For organizations wanting to replace Google Drive and the broader Google Workspace, Nextcloud is the most complete solution.

ownCloud is the original open-source file sync and sharing platform that pioneered the concept of self-hosted cloud storage and directly inspired the creation of Nextcloud. It provides a complete solution for storing, syncing, and sharing files across devices with a user experience similar to Google Drive, but on infrastructure you control.

ownCloud offers desktop sync clients for all major operating systems and mobile apps for iOS and Android. Files can be shared with internal and external users with fine-grained permissions. Enterprise features include SSO integration, antivirus scanning, encryption at rest, and audit logging. The ownCloud Infinite Scale (oCIS) project is a modern, cloud-native rewrite of the platform built for scalability.

With over 8,700 GitHub stars and licensed under AGPL-3.0, ownCloud is widely deployed across enterprises and public sector organizations. It is a battle-tested, enterprise-grade alternative to Google Drive for organizations that require compliance, data sovereignty, and professional support.

Seafile is a high-performance, open-source file synchronization and sharing platform designed for reliability and speed. It uses a unique library-based storage model with client-side encryption, making it one of the most secure self-hosted Google Drive alternatives available. Files are organized into libraries that can be synced independently and selectively.

Seafile excels in performance and scalability, making it well-suited for organizations with large numbers of users and files. It provides desktop sync clients for Windows, macOS, and Linux, along with mobile apps. The platform includes file versioning, trash recovery, shared links with passwords and expiry dates, and fine-grained permission management. It also integrates with ONLYOFFICE for online document editing.

With over 14,000 GitHub stars, Seafile is widely deployed by universities, enterprises, and government organizations. It offers a Community Edition (open-source, AGP-3.0) and a Pro Edition with additional features. It can be deployed on Linux servers or via Docker, and is a strong choice for teams that prioritize performance, reliability, and data sovereignty over Google Drive.