Nextcloud

Nextcloud is the open-source file-sync and collaboration platform built by Nextcloud GmbH in Stuttgart. Nextcloud Files covers desktop, mobile, and web sync, shared folders, public links with passwords and expiry dates, file versioning, server-side encryption, and federated sharing between independent servers. The wider Hub bundle adds Talk, Groupware, and Office. Nextcloud GmbH sells support subscriptions rather than hosting — you either run the server yourself or buy a managed instance from a certified provider. It is the file layer of the German public sector’s openDesk sovereign workplace suite.

Nextcloud GmbH is based in Stuttgart and was founded in 2016 by Frank Karlitschek, who forked the project from ownCloud after leaving it. The company builds Nextcloud Hub — file sync and sharing, plus Talk for chat and calls, Groupware for mail and calendar, and Office through Collabora or ONLYOFFICE — and releases all of it under the AGPL.

Its business model is unusual and worth knowing before you compare prices: Nextcloud GmbH sells support subscriptions, not hosting. You either run the server yourself or buy a managed instance from a certified provider, which means there is no first-party plan to put next to a Dropbox or Google Drive subscription.

The company is privately held and German-owned, with Karlitschek as managing director. Its most consequential customer is the German public sector — Nextcloud is the file and collaboration layer of openDesk, the sovereign workplace suite commissioned by ZenDiS, and it is deployed across federal and state administrations.