ownCloud
German self-hosted file platform with Collabora and ONLYOFFICE document editing built in
Quick Overview
| Company | ownCloud GmbH |
|---|---|
| Category | Office Suites |
| Headquarters | Regensburg, Germany |
| Founded | 2010 |
| EU Presence | EU (Germany) |
| Data Location | Germany (ownCloud.online hosting), or self-hosted wherever you choose |
| Open Source | Apache 2.0 (Infinite Scale core) |
| Pricing | 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 Option | 30-day free trial (Enterprise); 14-day free trial (ownCloud.online) |
| Replaces | Dropbox Business, Box, Microsoft SharePoint |
Detailed Review
ownCloud is the original of the two major open-source, self-hosted file platforms in this directory — Frank Karlitschek, one of its three co-founders, left in 2016 and forked the project to start Nextcloud, which is also reviewed here. ownCloud earns its own place through the same route: file sync and share on infrastructure you control, with Collabora Online or ONLYOFFICE embedded for document, spreadsheet and presentation editing directly from the file manager.
The current generation, ownCloud Infinite Scale, is a ground-up rewrite for large-scale deployments, and its Community Edition stays free, Apache-2.0 licensed and unlimited in users, so trying it costs nothing beyond a server.
ownCloud GmbH operates from Regensburg, Germany, and offers ownCloud.online as a hosted option with data kept in Germany for teams that would rather not run the server themselves.
Enterprise and Standard tiers start at 25 users on an annual commitment, quote-based rather than published per seat, and volume or education licensing starts from about €1.85 per user per year according to ownCloud's own pricing page. In 2018 ownCloud was named the only open-source vendor in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Content Collaboration Platforms, a recognition earned for the file-sharing core this office layer sits on top of.
The trade-offs mirror Nextcloud's: OOXML fidelity is Collabora's or ONLYOFFICE's, not ownCloud's own, so it is good rather than pixel-exact on complex documents; someone has to run, patch and back up the server unless you pay for hosting; and ownCloud's calendar, contacts and chat apps live in its marketplace rather than the core, the same modular approach Nextcloud takes.
Between the two, the practical difference is less about features than about which fork's roadmap and support relationship an organisation would rather commit to.
What ownCloud does well
- Community Edition free, Apache-2.0 licensed, unlimited users
- Collabora Online or ONLYOFFICE for document, sheet and slide editing
- ownCloud.online hosted option keeps data in Germany
- Named the only open-source vendor in Gartner's CCP Magic Quadrant (2018)
- German company, self-hostable anywhere you choose
Where ownCloud falls short
- Document fidelity depends on Collabora/ONLYOFFICE, not ownCloud itself
- Enterprise and hosted pricing is quote-based, not published per seat
- Self-hosting means you run patching, uptime and backups
- Calendar, contacts and chat are marketplace apps, not core
Standout feature. The original: ownCloud is the platform Nextcloud itself forked from in 2016, still developed and free to self-host.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Community Edition free, Apache-2.0 licensed, unlimited users
- Collabora Online or ONLYOFFICE for document, sheet and slide editing
- ownCloud.online hosted option keeps data in Germany
- Named the only open-source vendor in Gartner's CCP Magic Quadrant (2018)
- German company, self-hostable anywhere you choose
Cons
- Document fidelity depends on Collabora/ONLYOFFICE, not ownCloud itself
- Enterprise and hosted pricing is quote-based, not published per seat
- Self-hosting means you run patching, uptime and backups
- Calendar, contacts and chat are marketplace apps, not core
Alternatives to ownCloud
Frequently Asked Questions
What is ownCloud?
ownCloud is the original of the two major open-source, self-hosted file platforms in this directory — Frank Karlitschek, one of its three co-founders, left in 2016 and forked the project to start Nextcloud, which is also reviewed here. ownCloud earns its own place through the same route: file sync and share on infrastructure you control, with Collabora Online or ONLYOFFICE embedded for document, spreadsheet and presentation editing directly from the file manager.
The current generation, ownCloud Infinite Scale, is a ground-up rewrite for large-scale deployments, and its Community Edition stays free, Apache-2.0 licensed and unlimited in users, so trying it costs nothing beyond a server.
Where is ownCloud based?
ownCloud operates from Regensburg, Germany, which places it under EU (Germany).
What does ownCloud cost?
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. 30-day free trial (Enterprise); 14-day free trial (ownCloud.online).
Who is ownCloud best for?
Organisations wanting a self-hosted file platform with document editing built in. The original: ownCloud is the platform Nextcloud itself forked from in 2016, still developed and free to self-host.
What are the drawbacks of ownCloud?
Document fidelity depends on Collabora/ONLYOFFICE, not ownCloud itself. Enterprise and hosted pricing is quote-based, not published per seat. Self-hosting means you run patching, uptime and backups. Calendar, contacts and chat are marketplace apps, not core.