Is MinIO or Sync.com better?

Neither clearly leads. MinIO starts at Free and Sync.com at $8/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, MinIO or Sync.com?

MinIO has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for MinIO and $8/month for Sync.com.

Does MinIO or Sync.com run on more platforms?

MinIO runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Docker. Sync.com runs on Web.

Can I use MinIO for free?

Yes. MinIO has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Sync.com starts at $8/month.

What is MinIO best used for?

MinIO is most often used for providing an s3 endpoint inside an air gapped or regulated network where a cloud bucket is not permitted, backing a kubernetes platform with object storage that lives on the same hardware as the cluster, standing up s3 semantics in ci so tests exercise the same api path as production, fronting local disk shelves with an s3 interface so applications only ever learn one storage api. Of those, providing an s3 endpoint inside an air gapped or regulated network where a cloud bucket is not permitted and backing a kubernetes platform with object storage that lives on the same hardware as the cluster are not what Sync.com is typically brought in for.

What can MinIO do that Sync.com cannot?

MinIO covers S3 API implementation, Erasure coding, Single binary deployment, Bucket replication.

File Storage · head to head

MinIO vs Sync.com

MinIO

File Storage

S3-compatible object storage server you run yourself, now under AGPL with a stripped community edition

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Sync.com

File Storage

Cloud storage, backup and sharing with end-to-end encryption

From: $8/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only MinIO has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: MinIO the AGPL v3 licence applies copyleft over network use, so embedding MinIO in a product or hosted service obliges you to release your own source or buy a commercial licence, and legal review has removed it from several vendor stacks for this reason alone.; Sync.com all Teams plans require a minimum of 3 users
Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which MinIO and Sync.com actually diverge.

Attributes where MinIO and Sync.com differ
Attribute	MinIO	Sync.com
Starting price	Free	$8/month
Pricing model	Open source, no licence fee	subscription
Free tier	Yes	No
Platforms	Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Docker	Web

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (File Storage).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in MinIO

S3 API implementation
Erasure coding
Single binary deployment
Bucket replication
Object locking and versioning
Identity provider integration

Only in Sync.com

Nothing recorded that MinIO does not also cover.

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

MinIO

Providing an S3 endpoint inside an air gapped or regulated network where a cloud bucket is not permittednot Sync.com
Backing a Kubernetes platform with object storage that lives on the same hardware as the clusternot Sync.com
Standing up S3 semantics in CI so tests exercise the same API path as productionnot Sync.com
Fronting local disk shelves with an S3 interface so applications only ever learn one storage APInot Sync.com

Sync.com

Sharing patient records between healthcare providers with HIPAA compliancenot MinIO
Managing confidential legal documents with encrypted folders and version historynot MinIO
Providing secure client portals for financial advisors sharing sensitive datanot MinIO
Maintaining GDPR-compliant file storage for European customer datanot MinIO
Enabling remote work access to sensitive files without third-party trackingnot MinIO

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

MinIO

The AGPL v3 licence applies copyleft over network use, so embedding MinIO in a product or hosted service obliges you to release your own source or buy a commercial licence, and legal review has removed it from several vendor stacks for this reason alone.
The community edition console was reduced in 2025 to an object browser, so user, policy, bucket and configuration management now happen through the mc command line client or through the paid product, which is a real operational regression for teams that trained staff on the UI.
The vendor has changed the terms of the free edition twice, so planning long lived infrastructure around the community build carries the risk that the next change removes something you depend on.
Erasure coded deployments cannot be grown by adding single drives; capacity is added in server pools, so expansion is a hardware purchase in units rather than an incremental one.
Commercial pricing is capacity based and aimed at large deployments, so a team that outgrows the community edition faces an enterprise sized quote rather than a graduated upgrade path.

Sync.com

All Teams plans require a minimum of 3 users
The advertised low monthly rate (e.g. $4/month for Teams 1TB) is a promotional annual rate described as 50% off; the standard monthly price is $8/month without the promotion
Enterprise pricing for 100+ users is custom and requires contacting a dedicated account manager

Pricing, plan by plan

MinIO

Free

Community (AGPL v3)Free
- Full server functionality
- Erasure coding and replication
- Object browser only in the web console
AIStor$undefined/year
- Commercial licence removing AGPL obligations
- Full management console
- Vendor support with response commitments

Sync.com

$8/month

Teams 1TB$8/month
- 1 TB secure storage
- Advanced sharing
- Administrator account
Teams 2TB$12/month
- 2 TB secure storage
- Custom branding
- Role-based access control
Teams 10TB$18/month
- 10 TB secure storage
- VIP support
- 365-day history
Sync Enterprise$undefined/mo
- Custom storage limits
- Custom branding
- Role-based access control

Which should you pick?

Choose MinIO if

You need s3 api implementation.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Docker.
You also want erasure coding.

MinIO review

Choose Sync.com if

Nothing in the data separates Sync.com from MinIO on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Sync.com review

Questions people ask

Is MinIO or Sync.com better?: Neither clearly leads. MinIO starts at Free and Sync.com at $8/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, MinIO or Sync.com?: MinIO has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for MinIO and $8/month for Sync.com.
Does MinIO or Sync.com run on more platforms?: MinIO runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Docker. Sync.com runs on Web.
Can I use MinIO for free?: Yes. MinIO has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Sync.com starts at $8/month.
What is MinIO best used for?: MinIO is most often used for providing an s3 endpoint inside an air gapped or regulated network where a cloud bucket is not permitted, backing a kubernetes platform with object storage that lives on the same hardware as the cluster, standing up s3 semantics in ci so tests exercise the same api path as production, fronting local disk shelves with an s3 interface so applications only ever learn one storage api. Of those, providing an s3 endpoint inside an air gapped or regulated network where a cloud bucket is not permitted and backing a kubernetes platform with object storage that lives on the same hardware as the cluster are not what Sync.com is typically brought in for.
What can MinIO do that Sync.com cannot?: MinIO covers S3 API implementation, Erasure coding, Single binary deployment, Bucket replication.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

MinIO: Can I still use MinIO for free?

Yes, the AGPL v3 server remains available and functional. What changed is the console, which no longer manages users, policies or configuration in the community build.

Sync.com: What are the Sync.com team plan price differences?

Sync.com offers three main team tiers: Teams 1TB at $8/month per user (annual), Teams 2TB at $12/month per user (annual), and Teams 10TB at $18/month per user (annual). All require a minimum of 3 users. Higher tiers include enhanced features like custom branding, admin delegation, and longer file history.

Source

MinIO: Does AGPL affect me if I only use it internally?

Internal use without offering the software over a network to third parties generally does not trigger the source obligation, but if MinIO forms part of a service you offer to others, it does. Take advice rather than a forum answer.

Sync.com: Does Sync.com offer a free trial?

Yes, Sync.com offers a 30-day free trial with no credit card required. All plans also include a full 30-day money-back guarantee.

Source

MinIO: What replaced the community console features?

The mc client and the server admin API. Third party UIs exist but they are not maintained by MinIO.

Sync.com: What file history retention does Sync.com provide?

Sync.com Teams 1TB includes 180-day file history. Teams 2TB and Teams 10TB offer 365-day history. This history duration applies across all shared files and team folders.

Source

MinIO: Is it suitable as a Veeam or restic backup target?

Yes, object locking and versioning work and both tools treat it as standard S3. Immutability depends on configuring the lock policy at bucket creation.

MinIO vs Sync.com

MinIO

Sync.com

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in MinIO

Only in Sync.com

What people use each for

MinIO

Sync.com

Where each one falls short

MinIO

Sync.com

Pricing, plan by plan

MinIO

Sync.com

Which should you pick?

Choose MinIO if

Choose Sync.com if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on MinIO

More on Sync.com

Keep looking

Other head to heads