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Cloud Storage & File Sharing

Nextcloud Files (Nextcloud Hub)

EU-Made Report an error

Panel rating · 6 judges · How to read the stars

Category median

Sovereignty: not determined

0–5 in half steps. 5 means the rubric's top anchor is met on the evidence.

by Nextcloud GmbH · nextcloud.com

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Nextcloud Files (Nextcloud Hub): AI-assisted analysis on whats-best.ai Nextcloud Files (Nextcloud Hub): AI-assisted analysis on whats-best.ai (dark)

Add ?theme=dark to the image address for dark backgrounds. The badge shows the category and the month of the latest evaluation, and EU-Made where that is the product’s provenance. It never shows a score.

Nextcloud Files (Nextcloud Hub) at a glance

Vendor
Nextcloud GmbH
Headquarters
Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026
Data hosting
Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026
Free plan
Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026
Panel verdict
The AI panel rates Nextcloud Files (Nextcloud Hub) 4/5, the mean of 6 judges. Persona-weighted totals run from 7.2 to 7.9. how scores are made
As of
Vendor pages captured 1 Nov 2026; evaluated by the panel 1 Nov 2026. all sources

Nextcloud Files (Nextcloud Hub) alternatives, European ones first →

Read this page as one judge. Each weighs the same scores by what they care about.

The Architecture Practice Partner

Weighted verdict

Partner in a 25-person architecture practice in Hamburg whose CAD and BIM models run to several gigabytes each, worked on from the office, from home and on the building site. Needs files on demand so laptops do not fill up, sync that sends only what changed, a drive letter the CAD software accepts, phones that open plans offline in a basement, and structural engineers who can pick up a folder without an account.

Same scores as the panel view — this lens weights them the way this judge cares.

Scored by The Architecture Practice Partner

Panel median The Architecture Practice Partner This judge’s scores over the panel median. Each label opens its reasoning below.
Scores per criterion, in stars out of 5
Criterion Panel median The Architecture Practice Partner
Sync, clients & file access 3.5 of 5 3.5 of 5
Sharing & external collaboration 4 of 5 4 of 5
Encryption, key custody & recovery 4 of 5 4 of 5
Administration, audit & governance 3.5 of 5 3.5 of 5
Export, API & self-hosting 4 of 5 4 of 5
European sovereignty 4 of 5 4 of 5
Pricing transparency 3 of 5 3.5 of 5

Sync, clients & file access

How this is scored

How files reach the people who work with them: desktop clients for Windows, macOS and Linux, files on demand (virtual drive) and selective sync, offline access, mobile apps with camera upload and offline folders, a web interface, block-level or delta sync for large files, sync of folders outside the main folder, file size limits, preview of common formats, full-text search, and access through open protocols (WebDAV, SFTP, S3) or a mounted network drive.

0 — Not a file storage or sync product; files cannot be stored and synced with it.

3 — A web interface and apps for some platforms to upload and download files; desktop sync, files on demand, offline access and limits are basic or not described.

5 — Desktop sync clients for Windows and macOS, files on demand or selective sync, mobile apps with offline files and camera upload, a web interface with previews, file size limits stated, and search by file name.

8 — Clients for Windows, macOS and Linux, a virtual drive with files on demand, block-level or delta sync documented, full-text search inside documents, access via WebDAV, SFTP or S3, large-file handling stated, and LAN sync or a performance figure for big folders.

10 — File access that a whole organisation runs on: every platform covered with feature parity stated, sync conflicts and their resolution documented, open protocols and a mountable drive on every desktop, search across content and metadata with OCR, and sync behaviour and limits published in technical documentation.

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The Architecture Practice Partner

Sync clients for Windows, Linux and Mac plus Android and iOS, automatic camera upload, and synchronisation of selected files and folders are confirmed, and a Dokan-based virtual drive keeps every file visible on demand so laptops do not fill — my CAD software keeps a drive letter, though a community answer notes the client must be running for it. WebDAV access and a full-text search engine with ElasticSearch or Solr backends are documented, and external storage from Windows network drives to S3 can be mounted. I found no public information on block-level sync for multi-gigabyte BIM models, on file size limits, or on LAN sync, which is exactly the missing piece for us. 1 2 3 7 8 13

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Sharing & external collaboration

How this is scored

How files are shared inside the team and with people outside it: shared team folders or spaces, share links with password, expiry, download limits and view-only or no-download mode, upload links (file requests) for customers, guest or external user accounts, link and access reports, notifications, watermarking, comments and file locking, editing of office documents in the browser together, large-file transfer, and an Outlook or Teams add-in for sending links instead of attachments.

0 — Files cannot be shared with anyone else.

3 — Folders and files can be shared with other users and by public link; link controls, upload links and external accounts are basic or not described.

5 — Shared team folders, share links with password and expiry, view-only links, upload links for external people, permissions per folder (view, edit), notifications on changes, and office documents opened and edited in the browser.

8 — Link policies the administrator sets (forced expiry, passwords, domains allowed), download limits and no-download view, watermarking, guest accounts with their own permissions, an access log per share, file locking and comments, co-editing documented with the editor named, and an Outlook or Teams add-in.

10 — External collaboration at the level of a data room: granular rights including print and download control on shared files, revocation that also reaches copies already opened, recipient identity verification, a complete record of who opened and downloaded what, and end-to-end encryption kept intact when sharing externally and when editing.

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The Architecture Practice Partner

Password-protected links with enforced expiration, hide-download, video verification of the recipient, a watermark-protected secure view and a virtual data room with DRM and audit log reach data-room level, while File Drop and file requests let external structural engineers hand over folders without an account. Guest accounts that set their own password, file locking, co-editing with Collabora Online named, and an Outlook secure sharing add-in are documented. A captured forum discussion describes a share link as unprotected at the moment an email address is entered, with the password applied only afterwards — a workflow detail I would want tightened before relying on it for tender documents. 1 2 9 16

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Encryption, key custody & recovery

How this is scored

How the files are protected and restored: encryption in transit and at rest, client-side or end-to-end encryption and whether it covers all folders, sharing and office editing, who holds the keys and what happens when a user loses theirs, customer-managed keys, two-factor authentication and single sign-on, version history and its length, a recycle bin, restore of a whole folder or account to a point in time after ransomware, ransomware detection, malware scanning, an independent security audit or penetration test, a bug bounty, and certifications (ISO 27001, SOC 2, BSI C5) with their scope. Where the data is stored is scored under sovereignty.

0 — Files are stored without any stated encryption and no account protection beyond a password.

3 — Encryption is mentioned and a recycle bin or version history exists; key custody, two-factor, restore after ransomware and audits are basic or not described.

5 — TLS in transit and AES encryption at rest stated, two-factor authentication, version history with its length stated, a recycle bin, the restore of deleted or overwritten files, and a security page naming at least one certification or audit.

8 — Client-side or end-to-end encryption documented with who holds the keys (or customer-managed keys), a whitepaper describing the scheme, single sign-on (SAML), restore of a folder or account to a point in time, ransomware detection or recovery documented, an independent audit or penetration test named, and ISO 27001, SOC 2 or BSI C5 stated with scope.

10 — Security that can be verified: zero-knowledge end-to-end encryption by default that stays on for sharing and editing, the cryptography published and externally audited with the report available, key recovery for organisations documented without the provider gaining access, open-source clients or a public bug bounty, and certifications published with their scope and date.

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The Architecture Practice Partner

End-to-end encryption is documented as zero-knowledge and folder-level from desktop client 3.0, with a published whitepaper inviting scrutiny of the cryptographic approach, a twelve-word mnemonic held by the user, an optional offline master recovery key for administrators, and pluggable key handling with HSM or external key server support. TLS, AES-256 or stronger, server-side encryption, enforced two-factor with FIDO2 and WebAuthn, ISO 27001, BSI IT-GRUNDSCHUTZ and an ANSSI CSPN certification plus a $10K bug bounty give a verifiable picture — though the compliance documents cover the Enterprise offering only. I found no public information on ransomware detection or restoring a whole account to a point in time, and a community answer states a lost mnemonic cannot be recovered, so key discipline in the office is on us. 1 2 5 6 7 18

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Administration, audit & governance

How this is scored

What an administrator controls: an admin console with users, groups and roles, provisioning through Entra ID, Google or LDAP with SCIM, quotas per user or team, an audit log of logins, shares and file actions with export, retention policies and legal hold, data loss prevention or classification, device management with remote wipe and unlinking, policies for external sharing, account transfer when someone leaves, team folders that belong to the company rather than to a user, and reports on storage and sharing.

0 — No administration: every account is independent and nobody can manage the team's users or files.

3 — A team plan with an administrator who can invite and remove users; roles, audit log, retention and device controls are basic or not described.

5 — An admin console with users, groups and admin roles, quotas, an activity or audit log, policies for external sharing, file transfer when a user leaves, company-owned team folders, and remote unlinking of lost devices.

8 — Provisioning via SCIM or a directory (Entra ID, Google, LDAP), an exportable audit log covering logins, shares and file actions, retention policies and legal hold, remote wipe, IP or device restrictions, data classification or DLP, and integration with a SIEM.

10 — Governance a regulated organisation can sign off: granular delegated administration per department or tenant, retention and legal hold with eDiscovery export, DLP with content inspection, every admin and user action logged and streamed to a SIEM, and the audit log retention and completeness stated.

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The Architecture Practice Partner

Active Directory, Azure AD and LDAP user directories, a full audit trail configurable to its own log file, data retention rules, automatic classification labels, location- and group-based file access control, configurable storage quotas per team and remote wipe even on unmanaged devices are all documented, and ownership transfer of files when someone leaves is listed — that keeps project folders with the practice. What holds me back: I found no public information on SCIM provisioning, legal hold, or export of the audit log to a SIEM, and a community answer states the audit app cannot log directly to syslog. That is governance enough for a 25-person practice, short of what a bank would sign off. 1 2 3 7 19

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Export, API & self-hosting

How this is scored

Whether the files and their structure can leave and connect: a bulk export or download of all data with folders and versions, open protocols (WebDAV, S3, SFTP) usable for migration, a documented REST API and SDKs, webhooks, migration tools from Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive or a file server, integrations with office suites, Microsoft 365 and Teams, Slack, CRM and project tools, an app marketplace, open-source code, a self-hosted or on-premise edition, and deletion of data on termination.

0 — Files can only be downloaded one by one; no export, API or migration path.

3 — Files can be downloaded in bulk or as an archive; an API, migration tools, integrations and self-hosting are basic or not described.

5 — A documented API, bulk download of all files with the folder structure, a migration path from at least one named provider, integrations with named office and collaboration tools, and what happens to data after cancellation stated.

8 — A REST API with SDKs and webhooks, open-protocol access (WebDAV, S3 or SFTP) that makes migration tool-independent, migration tools in both directions or a supported migration service, an app marketplace, a self-hosted or on-premise edition, and deletion on termination under stated terms.

10 — The customer owns the data end to end: open-source code under a named licence that runs fully self-hosted with feature parity stated, a complete export including versions, shares and permissions in a documented format, and the deletion of every copy and backup on termination documented.

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The Architecture Practice Partner

The code is fully open source and self-hostable — Docker, VM or our own cluster — with WebDAV and S3 access that makes any exit migration tool-independent, a REST API, and an app store of 600+ applications. Migration paths from Microsoft 365, Dropbox, Box, DRACOON and legacy file servers are named, including a dedicated migration service and a user migration app for moving individual users between instances. Two real caveats from the captured discussions: there is stated to be no general way to re-create shares on another system, and the user migration tool must be installed separately before it can be used. 2 7 8 21 22

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European sovereignty

How this is scored

Who the contracting entity and the parent company are, where files, metadata and backups are stored and processed, and who the subprocessors are (data centres, CDN, email that carries share notifications, support desk, payment, office editing). Independently sourced by the sovereignty pipeline; files hold the company's documents and personal data, so the whole chain counts, not only the storage. End-to-end encryption with keys only the customer holds reduces what a foreign provider could hand over but does not change who the provider is. A self-hosted edition the customer runs on its own European servers counts as the customer's chain, whatever the vendor's seat.

0 — Non-EU vendor and contracting entity, storage location unstated, subprocessors unnamed, and no data processing agreement offered.

3 — A privacy policy and a data processing agreement exist, but the storage location is unstated or non-EU and the subprocessors are not listed.

5 — EU storage available and an EU contracting entity or EU representative, but parts of the chain (account data, metadata, notifications, support, office editing, payment) run through non-EU providers without a stated safeguard, or the parent company is subject to non-EU disclosure laws.

8 — EU storage on named data centres, EU or EEA or Swiss contracting entity, subprocessors listed with their locations, a data processing agreement published, and security certifications (ISO 27001, BSI C5, SOC 2) stated — or a self-hosted edition documented that keeps every file on the customer's own servers.

10 — Sovereign end to end and evidenced: European ownership, entity, storage and every subprocessor, or a self-hosted open-source edition with no call home, data export and deletion documented, and certifications published with their scope rather than implied.

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The Architecture Practice Partner

Nextcloud GmbH is a German company with its seat in Stuttgart and a commercial register entry at AG München, publishes a data processing page listing subcontractors with their locations — mostly German, with stated transfer mechanisms for a US email provider and a Korean office-suite vendor — and documents a fully self-hosted open-source edition that keeps every file on our own servers, which for a Hamburg practice is the decisive fact. ISO 27001 is stated, though scoped to the Enterprise offering. It is not a zero call-home setup: mobile push notifications are forwarded through Google and Apple by default and the server reports configuration data for fourteen days, with documented alternatives such as unified push. 3 10 11 12

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Pricing transparency

How this is scored

Whether a buyer can compute the real annual cost from public pages alone: price per user or per plan, storage included per user or pooled, the minimum number of users, what extra storage costs, which features (end-to-end encryption, SSO, audit log, longer version history, data residency, advanced admin) need a higher tier or an add-on, the free tier and its limits, lifetime offers and their terms, the self-hosted edition's licence and support, minimum term and VAT.

0 — No public prices at all; every customer is a sales call.

3 — A starting price or a free tier exists, but how cost scales with users, storage or features is unclear.

5 — Business tiers are public with their price per user and storage included, but at least one commonly needed piece (extra storage, SSO, audit log, data residency, minimum users) is unpriced or "on request".

8 — Every tier priced publicly with its scaling rule (users, storage), extra storage and add-ons priced, minimum users and term stated, the self-hosted edition's licence and support cost stated, and VAT treatment stated.

10 — Complete price computability: annual cost derivable for a given team size, storage need and feature set, with every add-on, migration, support and overage fee and the cancellation and data-return terms published.

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The Architecture Practice Partner

Three enterprise tiers are public — Standard from 71.29€/user/year, Premium from 104.99€/user/year, Ultimate from 204.75€/user/year — with 200-user prices also listed, a stated minimum of 100 users, and prices described as "in Euro per year and net/excl. VAT"; for a 25-person practice the 100-user minimum is the floor, not our headcount. Optional components "can be separately purchased" without figures, the phone support option and Global Scale carry no prices, and I found no stated minimum contract term or published price for support on the community edition. The subscription floor is computable from the public page; the real total also depends on the hosting we run ourselves. 9

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European sovereignty — proven facts

0 of 6 dimensions proven

Built only from facts shown on the vendor's own pages. A dimension we could not prove is left open, not scored as zero.

Hosting location Not determined — uncited Report an error
Hosting options Not determined ⚠ unverified — uncited Report an error
Open source Not determined ⚠ unverified — uncited Report an error
Data processing agreement Not determined — uncited Report an error
Transfer impact assessment Not determined — uncited Report an error

Questions about Nextcloud Files (Nextcloud Hub)

Is Nextcloud Files (Nextcloud Hub) European?

Yes. whats-best.ai classifies Nextcloud Files (Nextcloud Hub) as EU-Made.

Where does Nextcloud Files (Nextcloud Hub) store data?

Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026.

Does Nextcloud Files (Nextcloud Hub) have a free plan?

Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026.

What are the best alternatives to Nextcloud Files (Nextcloud Hub)?

As of 1 Nov 2026, the panel rates Tresorit (3.5/5), Proton Drive (3/5) and DRACOON (3/5) highest among the other 13 Cloud Storage & File Sharing products evaluated. Ratings that look equal are rounded to half stars; the order uses the unrounded rating, then the name. The highest-rated European alternative is Tresorit (UK / wider Europe). Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: how scores are made. The full list, with European products first: Nextcloud Files (Nextcloud Hub) alternatives.

Where this could be wrong

What we left out

A claim that does not survive our checks costs us the claim, not the page. This is what was taken off this one.

Do you know more about Nextcloud Files (Nextcloud Hub)? Tell us Report an error on this page

Sources (24)

The pages every claim on this page was read from — each one checked, dated, and kept verifiable.

  1. 1 Vendor homepage (Nextcloud Files) nextcloud.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  2. 2 Features page nextcloud.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  3. 3 Features page (Enterprise subscription) nextcloud.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  4. 4 Security / trust page nextcloud.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  5. 5 Features page (encryption and hardening) nextcloud.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  6. 6 Security / trust page (compliance) nextcloud.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  7. 7 Features page (migration) nextcloud.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  8. 8 API and developer documentation nextcloud.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  9. 9 Pricing page nextcloud.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  10. 10 Legal notice nextcloud.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  11. 11 Privacy policy nextcloud.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  12. 12 Data processing agreement (dpa) nextcloud.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  13. 13 Sync, clients & file access — found from sitemap help.nextcloud.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  14. 14 Sync, clients & file access — found from sitemap help.nextcloud.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  15. 15 Sharing & external collaboration — found from sitemap help.nextcloud.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  16. 16 Sharing & external collaboration — found from sitemap help.nextcloud.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  17. 17 Encryption, key custody & recovery — found from sitemap help.nextcloud.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  18. 18 Encryption, key custody & recovery — found from sitemap help.nextcloud.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  19. 19 Administration, audit & governance — found from sitemap help.nextcloud.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  20. 20 Administration, audit & governance — found from sitemap help.nextcloud.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  21. 21 Export, API & self-hosting — found from sitemap help.nextcloud.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  22. 22 Export, API & self-hosting — found from sitemap help.nextcloud.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  23. 23 Self-hosting / on-premises installation docs — found from the homepage nextcloud.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  24. 24 Code repository (open-source licence) — found from the homepage github.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →