Free, open-source alternatives to Amazon S3
Object storage from Amazon Web Services. 3 apps you can run yourself instead of Amazon S3, sorted by how well they replace it. Each one is open source, so your data stays with you.
SeaweedFSBest match
SeaweedFS is an open source distributed file system supporting WebDAV, S3 API, FUSE mount, HDFS, etc, optimized for lots of small files, and easy to add capacity.
GarageHQ
Geo-distributed, S3‑compatible storage service that can fulfill many needs.
Zenko CloudServer
Implementation of the Amazon S3 protocol on the front-end and backend storage capabilities to multiple clouds, including Azure and Google.
Side by side
| App | Stars | License | Activity | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SeaweedFS | 35,428 | Apache-2.0 | Go | |
| GarageHQ | - | AGPL-3.0 | Docker, Rust | |
| Zenko CloudServer | 1,952 | Apache-2.0 | Docker, Node.js |
Why replace Amazon S3?
Amazon S3 works, but your data lives in someone else's account, the price can change at any time, and features can disappear. An open-source app you run yourself is yours: you choose where it runs, who can see the data, and when to update.
Questions
What is the best free alternative to Amazon S3?
SeaweedFS is the closest open-source replacement for Amazon S3 in our list. GarageHQ and Zenko CloudServer are worth a look too, depending on what you need.
Can I self-host an alternative to Amazon S3?
Yes. All 3 apps on this page are open source and can run on your own server, usually with Docker, or on a managed host that installs them for you.