Help to choose between freefilesync and syncthing (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 17 hours ago by Sirius006@sh.itjust.works to c/opensource@lemmy.ml

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I need some help choosing a synchronisation programme for my small business (~15 people, in construction).

Our freelance IT technician who set up our OMV NAS has been hired by a large company and is no longer available, so as a partner who’s considered vaguely competent in IT I’m filling in for the time being. To be honest, I’m not actually competent.

I’m hesitating between FreeFileSync and Syncthing. I was thinking of using the former as I used it personnally a long time ago, but I’ve seen the latter mentioned on Lemmy.

The aim is to copy our data, which is stored in a commercial cloud, to our NAS running OMV. We’d do this via a Windows computer in the office where the cloud is always synced. The NAS is in my flat.

The copy would take place twice a week at predefined times.

Syncthing seems a bit overkill, but more modern than FreeFileSync.

If we choose Syncthing, we will make a donation equivalent to the cost of the FreeFileSync Pro licence.

Any advice to help me avoid any pitfalls in my attempt to set this up?

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[-] BertramDitore@lemmy.zip 3 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago)

I like freefilesync for one-off synchronizations, mostly because of the super-simple UI. If I need to quickly make sure a folder on two drives are identical, I go to freefilesync.

For everything else, I use syncthing. I use it to keep files synchronized between my PC, tablet, and phone. I use it to sync Obsidian, as well as KeePass so my passwords are accessible across my devices.

Sounds like syncthing is probably more robust for your purposes, though its default behavior is continuous sync, you might need to do some extra configuration to strictly run it on a schedule.

[-] Sirius006@sh.itjust.works 1 points 38 minutes ago

Thanks, as I didn't find a straightforward way to install syncthing on the NAS I will probably keep things simples with either freefilesync or rclone, mentionned elsewhere in this thread. Now I know those are good options so the time I invest will not be lost !

this post was submitted on 11 Jun 2026

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