How to self-host your Dropbox alternative
Setting up self-hosted file storage raises a network fork right from the start: a centralized node your devices connect to, or direct replication between them with no server in between. The catalog's Dropbox alternatives fall squarely into one camp or the other, and that fork changes how you share files, how you back up, and what you need to leave running.
Tools that meet this intent
Alternative to Google Drive, Dropbox
File cloud and collaboration, an alternative to Google Drive.
Alternative to Dropbox
Encrypted, efficient file sync, an alternative to Dropbox.
Alternative to Dropbox
Encrypted P2P sync between devices, a decentralized alternative to Dropbox.
Alternative to Dropbox
Enterprise file sharing with auditing, an alternative to Dropbox Business.
Real server requirements
Between 256MB and 1GB of RAM depending on the tool — never a single number.
Nextcloud, Seafile and Pydio Cells are client-server: you run a server (with its own database — MySQL/MariaDB in all three cases) that your devices connect to, same as Dropbox. Syncthing is different: it syncs your devices directly with each other, encrypted, with no central server for you to maintain.
The difference shows up most in backups and sharing with outsiders. With a central server, the backup is one thing — the server — and sharing a file externally is a link. With Syncthing there's no single point: a real backup copy means you configuring a device yourself that stays on holding a copy, and sharing with someone outside your own devices requires that person to also run Syncthing. Within the client-server group, Seafile stands out for optional per-library encryption and stronger performance with large file counts; Pydio Cells adds approval workflows and access auditing built for organizations with governance needs, not personal use.
What you gain and lose versus the SaaS
Choosing P2P (Syncthing) doesn't mean "no infrastructure to maintain" — it just moves where that infrastructure lives: onto each of your own devices instead of a server. You gain that your files never pass through any third party at all; you lose the convenience of a single access point from anywhere without another one of your own devices being on. With the client-server model (Nextcloud/Seafile/Pydio) you keep the experience closest to Dropbox — a server reachable from anywhere — in exchange for being the one who runs and backs it up.