# Best open source file sharing apps > The best open source file sharing app is qBittorrent, with 40,592 GitHub stars and the GPL-2.0 license; Transmission and slskd are strong alternatives. This page also breaks the picks down by team size and use: qBittorrent leads for freelancers. The overall ranking weighs GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 35 apps in the file sharing category of the appsgit catalog. ## Key facts | Fact | Value | |---|---| | Question | What is the best open source file sharing app? | | Picks | 15 | | Top pick | qBittorrent (40,592 stars) | | Data as of | Oct 7, 2026 | | Canonical URL | https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-file-sharing | ## Top picks 10 of the 35 apps in the file sharing category, ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits. - [qBittorrent](https://appsgit.com/apps/qbittorrent) (40,592 stars, GPL-2.0, C++): qBittorrent has 40,592 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 460 commits in the last year. - [Transmission](https://appsgit.com/apps/transmission) (15,282 stars, GPL-3.0, C++): Transmission has 15,282 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license and had 566 commits in the last year. - [slskd](https://appsgit.com/apps/slskd) (4,010 stars, AGPL-3.0, C#, Docker): slskd has 4,010 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,056 commits in the last year. - [transfer.sh](https://appsgit.com/apps/transfer-sh) (15,897 stars, MIT, Go, Docker): transfer.sh has 15,897 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 10 commits in the last year. - [Yopass](https://appsgit.com/apps/yopass) (3,164 stars, Apache-2.0, Go, Docker): Yopass has 3,164 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,051 commits in the last year; it replaces Pastebin. - [Zipline](https://appsgit.com/apps/zipline) (3,441 stars, MIT, TypeScript, Docker): Zipline has 3,441 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 312 commits in the last year; it replaces Imgur. - [OnionShare](https://appsgit.com/apps/onionshare) (7,122 stars, GPL-3.0, Python): OnionShare has 7,122 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license and had 170 commits in the last year. - [Plik](https://appsgit.com/apps/plik) (1,825 stars, MIT, Go, Docker): Plik has 1,825 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 581 commits in the last year. - [Gokapi](https://appsgit.com/apps/gokapi) (2,895 stars, AGPL-3.0, Go, Docker): Gokapi has 2,895 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 144 commits in the last year. - [PicoShare](https://appsgit.com/apps/picoshare) (3,045 stars, AGPL-3.0, Go, Docker): PicoShare has 3,045 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 97 commits in the last year. ## Best for freelancers Ranked for freelancers on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits. - [qBittorrent](https://appsgit.com/apps/qbittorrent) (40,592 stars, GPL-2.0, C++): qBittorrent has 40,592 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 460 commits in the last year. For freelancers it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days. - [slskd](https://appsgit.com/apps/slskd) (4,010 stars, AGPL-3.0, C#, Docker): slskd has 4,010 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,056 commits in the last year. For freelancers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days. - [Transmission](https://appsgit.com/apps/transmission) (15,282 stars, GPL-3.0, C++): Transmission has 15,282 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license and had 566 commits in the last year. For freelancers it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days. - [transfer.sh](https://appsgit.com/apps/transfer-sh) (15,897 stars, MIT, Go, Docker): transfer.sh has 15,897 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 10 commits in the last year. For freelancers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days. - [Yopass](https://appsgit.com/apps/yopass) (3,164 stars, Apache-2.0, Go, Docker): Yopass has 3,164 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,051 commits in the last year; it replaces Pastebin. For freelancers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days. ## How this list was made - Candidates: the 35 apps in the file sharing category. Archived projects and projects with no commit in the last two years are left out. - Base score: GitHub stars on a log scale plus commits in the last 12 months (log scale, capped at 1,000). - Bonus points for a published Docker image, an OSI-approved open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days. - Each "Best for" section re-ranks the same apps with that audience's profile (for example startups add points for permissive licenses, project websites and recent commits; small business for Docker images and deploy guides). - Source-available apps can rank, but they are labelled and never described as open source. ## FAQ ### Is qBittorrent free? Yes. qBittorrent is open-source software released under the GPL-2.0 license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan. ### Which open source file sharing app is best for a freelancer? qBittorrent ranks first for freelancers, with 40,592 GitHub stars and the GPL-2.0 license; slskd and Transmission follow. The freelancers ranking adds points for Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits on top of stars and activity. ### Can I self-host these file sharing apps with Docker? Yes, 7 of the 10 picks. slskd, transfer.sh and Yopass publish Docker images, so you can run them on a VPS or home server with Docker Compose. The others install from their own packages or source; follow each project's install guide. ### Are all of these file sharing apps open source? All 10 apps on this list are open source. You can self-host and modify each one under its license. ### Which of these file sharing apps is the most actively developed? slskd, with 1,056 commits in the last 12 months and a latest release, 0.26.0, from July 2026. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed. ## Related questions - [What is the best open source pastebin?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-pastebins) - [What is the best open source URL shortener?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-url-shorteners) - [What is the best open source search engine?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-search-engines) - [What is the best open source budgeting app?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-budgeting-software) - [What is the best open source blogging platform?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-blogging-platforms) - [What is the best open source developer tool?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-developer-tools) - [What is the best open source reverse proxy?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-reverse-proxies) - [What is the best open source self-hosted dashboard?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-dashboards) ## See also - [All file sharing apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/file-sharing) - [All pastebins apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/pastebins) - [All URL shorteners apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/url-shorteners) - [Open-source alternatives to Pastebin](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/pastebin) - [Open-source alternatives to Imgur](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/imgur) --- Canonical page: https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-file-sharing Source: appsgit (https://appsgit.com), the app store for github. Data from the GitHub API, refreshed nightly. Machine access: JSON API https://appsgit.com/api/v1/apps (OpenAPI: https://appsgit.com/openapi.json), MCP server https://mcp.appsgit.com/mcp, full index https://appsgit.com/llms-full.txt.