Comparison

Syncthing vs Nextcloud

Syncthing lands on Worth it, and Nextcloud lands on Depends.

Syncthing

Worth it

Confidence: Medium

Buy if you're technical and want free, private device-to-device sync with no cloud middleman.

Read the full report

Nextcloud

Depends

Confidence: High

Buy it if you have technical staff and want your files, calendars, and office suite on your own servers.

Read the full report

Syncthing versus Nextcloud
Compare	Syncthing	Nextcloud
Verdict	Worth it	Depends
Best for	Self-hosters	Self-hosters and homelab users
Who it's not for	Non-technical users wanting Dropbox simplicity	Non-technical users wanting zero-maintenance cloud storage
Privacy	3 public CVEs disclosed (most recent patched June 2023); no breach of the project itself, but malware operators abuse the tool for data exfiltration.^⁷	Active 2026 advisories including a server auth bypass; self-hosted installs require manual hardening.^⁷
Support quality	Community forum only; no quality evidence	Active community forums; vendor support costs extra
Public sentiment	Users love the privacy and cross-device sync but consistently gripe about setup friction and no iOS support.^³	Users consistently praise the data control and sync capabilities but frequently complain about setup effort and feature bloat.¹⁶
Biggest gotcha	iOS unsupported; syncing with an iPhone requires third-party workarounds¹⁰	Default install is not secure . HTTPS, updates, and hardening steps are your job

Pick Syncthing when

Self-hosters
Privacy-conscious multi-device users
Obsidian and note-sync users
Technical hobbyists

When Syncthing is not a fit

Non-technical users wanting Dropbox simplicity
iPhone-centric households and teams
Businesses needing vendor support or SLAs
IT managers wanting central admin of many users

Pick Nextcloud when

Self-hosters and homelab users
Orgs that need data sovereignty
Teams wanting Dropbox plus Google suite in one

When Nextcloud is not a fit

Non-technical users wanting zero-maintenance cloud storage
Small teams with no one to admin a server
Anyone expecting secure defaults out of the box
Users who only need simple file sync

Sources

Syncthing Review | Is it worth it? . ProPrivacyproprivacy.com
review
6 reasons Syncthing is still the best P2P file sync tool . XDAxda-developers.com
review
After 5 minutes of use: Syncthing is amazing . Redditreddit.com
review
Just started using Syncthing with Obsidian . Redditreddit.com
review
First-time user usability review . Syncthing Forumforum.syncthing.net
review
Syncthing does not sync and is stuck . Syncthing Forumforum.syncthing.net
review
CVE-2022-46165 . NVDnvd.nist.gov
security
Ukraine says hackers abuse Syncthing . BleepingComputerbleepingcomputer.com
news
Donations . Syncthingsyncthing.net
official
Native iOS port / GUI . GitHub issuegithub.com
official
Fully Managed Syncthing as a Service . Elestioelest.io
official
Localized price complaint (Android app) . Redditreddit.com
review
Nextcloud Review (2026 Test Results)cyberinsider.com
review
Nextcloud Reviews . G2g2.com
review
Nextcloud: Details, Reviews, Pricing & Featurescheckthat.ai
review
Is Nextcloud Really Worth the Hassle? . Reddit r/selfhostedreddit.com
review