OnionShare vs Rclone
| Tagline | Securely and anonymously share files of any size over Tor | Command-line program to sync files across 70+ cloud storage providers |
| Category | File Storage & Sync | File Storage & Sync |
| Replaces | Dropbox, Google Drive | Dropbox, Google Drive, Box |
| GitHub stars | 7k | 58k |
| Language | Python | Go |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Self-host difficulty | 2/5 Easy | 2/5 Easy |
| Deploy options | Manual | Docker Manual |
| Managed hosting | ||
| Last updated | 3 days ago | yesterday |
| View repo | View repo |
Where each falls short
The honest trade-offs — what you give up with each, versus the proprietary tools they replace.
OnionShare
- Requires Tor; recipients need Tor Browser, creating friction for non-technical users
- Shares are typically ephemeral and one-time by default; not suited for persistent storage
- No folder sync, versioning, or long-term file organisation
- Transfer speeds are slow due to Tor network routing
Rclone
- Primarily a CLI tool; no polished consumer GUI or always-on sync daemon out of the box (the web GUI is experimental)
- No multi-user accounts, sharing links, or collaboration features
- Real-time continuous sync requires scripting or third-party scheduling
- Steep learning curve for non-technical users compared to a Dropbox app
Bottom line
Both are a similar lift to self-host; choose Rclone for the larger community and ecosystem. Rclone has seen more recent development. Open each guide below for deploy steps and the full feature gap.