Microsoft OneDrive vs Syncthing

OneDrive is Microsoft’s cloud storage, built into Windows and bundled with Microsoft 365, offering seamless file sync and Office integration. It is the default cloud drive for Microsoft-centric users.

Syncthing is free, open-source software that continuously synchronizes files directly between a user's own devices, without routing data through a central cloud server. Devices authenticate each other using cryptographic certificates and communicate over TLS with perfect forward secrecy, so file contents never pass through a third-party server that could read or lose them. Configuration and monitoring happen through a browser-based interface, and peer devices discover each other automatically via UPnP without requiring manual IP address setup. It's fully open source with a documented protocol specification and public bug tracker, runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, and OpenBSD, and Kastelo Inc. provides optional commercial support while sponsoring ongoing development.

• Native Windows integration
• Bundled 1TB with Microsoft 365
• Good Office collaboration
• Files On-Demand

• Fully free and open source with no account or subscription required
• No central server means files aren't exposed to a third-party cloud provider
• Runs on a wide range of operating systems including BSD variants
• Automatic peer discovery simplifies local network setup

• Best within Microsoft ecosystem
• Small free tier
• Sync quirks occasionally

• No official mobile client maintained by the core team
• Requires each device to be online for sync, unlike a persistent cloud server
• Configuration is more technical than mainstream consumer sync apps