Nextcloud vs ownCloud
Nextcloud and ownCloud share an origin: Nextcloud was forked from ownCloud in 2016 by one of its co-founders. Both are German, open source and self-hosted. Nextcloud has grown into a whole workspace with files, office, calendar, chat and calls under one login. ownCloud stays closer to file sync and share, rebuilt as Infinite Scale for large deployments.
Choose Nextcloud if
you want one self-hosted platform to replace Google Workspace, with documents, calendar, contacts, chat and video calls beside the files, and a network of managed European providers to run it.
Read the Nextcloud reviewChoose ownCloud if
file sync and share at scale is the core requirement, you want the choice of Collabora Online or ONLYOFFICE as editor, or you want ownCloud's own hosted option with data kept in Germany.
Read the ownCloud reviewNextcloud and ownCloud side by side
| Nextcloud | ownCloud | |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Nextcloud GmbH | ownCloud GmbH |
| Headquarters | Stuttgart, Germany | Regensburg, Germany |
| Founded | Not stated in our data | 2010 |
| Jurisdiction | EU (Germany) | EU (Germany) |
| Where the data sits | Self-hosted, or a managed provider you choose | Germany (ownCloud.online hosting), or self-hosted wherever you choose |
| Pricing | Free (self-hosted) / enterprise plans available | Community Edition free, self-hosted, unlimited users, 100% open source / Enterprise and Standard from 25 users, annual commitment, quote-based / ownCloud.online hosted plans from 1 user, quote-based / volume and education licensing on request, from about €1.85/user/year |
| Free tier or trial | Free self-hosted | 30-day free trial (Enterprise); 14-day free trial (ownCloud.online) |
| Certifications and checks | GDPR (depends on hosting) | Not stated in our data |
| Source code | Open source (AGPL) | Open source (Apache 2.0 (Infinite Scale core)) |
| Usually replaces | Microsoft 365, Google Workspace | Dropbox Business, Box, Microsoft SharePoint |
| Position in our Office Suites guide | #7 of 9 | #9 of 9 |
Both are listed in our European Office Suites guide. The table is built from the same directory data as those entries; how we check it is described in the editorial process.
Where Nextcloud and ownCloud differ
Across the four points below, Nextcloud has the edge on 1 point, ownCloud on 1 point and 2 are a tie. A count like that is a summary, not a verdict: the point that matters to you may be the one the other product wins.
How much of the workspace is included
Nextcloud presents files, Nextcloud Office, calendar, contacts, chat and Talk calls as one workspace under one login and one administration. ownCloud takes a modular route too, with calendar, contacts and chat as marketplace apps, and its review centres on the file platform. As a complete Google Workspace replacement the edge is Nextcloud's, though not by a wide margin.
Edge: Nextcloud
Document editing
Neither writes its own editor. Nextcloud Office is Collabora technology underneath, good on OOXML but slightly behind OnlyOffice on complex documents. ownCloud embeds Collabora Online or ONLYOFFICE in its file manager, and OnlyOffice lists integrations with both platforms. Fidelity therefore depends on the editor you attach, not on which of the two hosts it.
No clear winner on this point.
Growing large
ownCloud's current generation, Infinite Scale, is a ground-up rewrite aimed at large-scale deployments. Nextcloud's review lists the opposite caution: performance needs attention as an installation grows. Neither claim comes with benchmark figures in our data, but for a very large file estate the architecture argument points to ownCloud.
Edge: ownCloud
Managed hosting and where data sits
ownCloud sells its own hosted service, ownCloud.online, from one user upward with data kept in Germany and a 14-day trial, priced on quote. Nextcloud GmbH points instead to a network of managed European providers, so residency depends on the host you pick. One contract with the vendor or a market of providers: which is better depends on the buyer.
No clear winner on this point.
When neither Nextcloud nor ownCloud fits
If nobody on the team will run a server, and what you need is the editor rather than a file platform, neither is the right start. OnlyOffice has a cloud service from about €4 per user a month, and CryptPad offers end-to-end encrypted co-editing with a free tier.
Nextcloud vs ownCloud: questions
ownCloud is the original project, founded in 2010. In 2016 Frank Karlitschek, one of its three co-founders, left and forked it to start Nextcloud. Both are still developed by German companies, ownCloud GmbH in Regensburg and Nextcloud GmbH in Stuttgart, and both remain open source and free to self-host.
Yes. Nextcloud is licensed under the AGPL. ownCloud's Infinite Scale core is Apache 2.0, and its Community Edition is described as 100% open source with unlimited users. Both vendors sell enterprise plans on top: ownCloud's Enterprise and Standard tiers start at 25 users and are quote-based, with a 30-day trial.
Neither can promise that by itself, because both are usually self-hosted. For Nextcloud, our data says the GDPR position depends on how it is hosted. ownCloud can be self-hosted wherever you choose, or taken as ownCloud.online with data kept in Germany. Compliance follows the hosting decision, not the software.