AList vs ZFile
| Tagline | File list program supporting multiple storages, with WebDAV and web UI | Online file directory program that mounts cloud and local storage as a web drive |
| Category | File Storage & Sync | File Storage & Sync |
| Replaces | Google Drive, Dropbox | Google Drive, Dropbox |
| GitHub stars | 50k | 11k |
| Language | Go | Java |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Self-host difficulty | 2/5 Easy | 2/5 Easy |
| Deploy options | Docker Manual | Docker Manual |
| Managed hosting | ||
| Last updated | 4 days ago | 1 month ago |
| View repo | View repo |
Where each falls short
The honest trade-offs — what you give up with each, versus the proprietary tools they replace.
AList
- Primarily a read/list and aggregation layer; not a true two-way sync engine like Dropbox
- No native desktop/mobile sync clients (relies on WebDAV)
- Limited collaboration, versioning, and team permission features
- Documentation is partly Chinese-first and can lag for some backends
ZFile
- Focused on browsing and direct-linking files, not bidirectional sync
- No native desktop/mobile sync clients
- Limited collaboration and versioning features versus Google Drive
- Java runtime makes it heavier than Go-based alternatives for small servers
Bottom line
Both are a similar lift to self-host; choose AList for the larger community and ecosystem. AList has seen more recent development. Open each guide below for deploy steps and the full feature gap.
ZFile
Online file directory program that mounts cloud and local storage as a web drive