FileRun review: pricing, features, self-hosted setup and top alternatives like Nextcloud and ownCloud. See if this private file cloud fits your team in 2026.
FileRun is a self-hosted file manager that gives businesses a private, Google Drive-style interface for storing, sharing, and collaborating on files that live entirely on a server the customer controls. It is installed directly onto existing infrastructure — a Linux or Windows server, a VPS, a virtual machine, bare metal, or a NAS device such as Synology, Unraid, or TrueNAS — and works with files already present on that server's filesystem, so there is no forced migration into a proprietary storage format.
The product is developed by Afian AB and traces its roots to a file manager called Afian first launched in 2003, reworked from 2006 onward, with the first commercial FileRun license sold on July 17, 2007. That long development history has produced a mature, PHP-based application that now follows a year-based release numbering scheme.
FileRun combines a browser-based file manager with native desktop sync clients for Windows, Mac, and Linux, and mobile apps for iOS and Android, giving it feature parity with consumer cloud-sync tools while keeping data on-premises. It integrates with ONLYOFFICE, Collabora Online, LibreOffice Online, Google Docs, Microsoft 365, and Zoho Docs for in-browser document editing, and supports authentication via LDAP, Active Directory, OAuth2, Authentik, and WordPress for enterprise identity integration.
Administrative features include white-label branding with custom logos and color themes, publishable white-label desktop and mobile apps, file versioning, resumable uploads, unlimited file sizes, and standard WebDAV/HTTP access that avoids vendor lock-in. The interface has full translation coverage in 35 languages, and the underlying stack (PHP 8.3/8.4, MySQL/MariaDB, ionCube Loader, and Libvips/ImageMagick for thumbnails) is documented in detail on FileRun's own support site.
FileRun sells four tiers, all denominated in euros. The Family plan is a EUR99 one-time lifetime license for up to 5 non-commercial user accounts (plus one added per year), while the three Business plans are each priced at EUR10 per user per year, billed annually, and scale from Small Business (10-20 users, installation-assistance support) through Medium Business (30+ users, weekday email support and free Docker installation) up to Large Business (100+ users, nine free guest accounts per paid seat, and free premium installation with weekend/holiday support).
Because pricing scales per user rather than per gigabyte, FileRun's cost structure is closer to a traditional software license than to consumer cloud storage. The Family plan carries a 14-day money-back guarantee and the Business plans carry a 30-day guarantee, and support scope — from self-service to fully managed installation — expands materially at the higher tiers.
Only for personal, non-commercial use through the EUR99 one-time Family plan, which explicitly excludes work, freelance, or family-business use. All business use requires a paid per-user annual license starting at EUR10 per user per year.
No. FileRun is closed-source commercial software distributed under a paid license and protected with the ionCube PHP loader; it is self-hosted but not open source.
FileRun requires PHP 8.3 or 8.4, the ionCube Loader extension, a MySQL or MariaDB database, SSL, and cron support, plus Libvips, ImageMagick, or GraphicsMagick for generating file thumbnails and previews.
Yes. FileRun's own documentation and marketing specifically list Synology, Unraid, and TrueNAS as supported deployment targets, alongside Docker, VMs, and bare-metal Linux or Windows servers.
Yes, through integrations with ONLYOFFICE, Collabora Online, and LibreOffice Online for self-hosted editing, or Google Docs, Microsoft 365, and Zoho Docs for cloud-hosted editing.
FileRun focuses narrowly on file management, sharing, and sync with a Drive-like UI, while Nextcloud bundles a broader groupware suite (calendar, contacts, chat, video). Reviewers often rate FileRun's file-sharing UX and mobile apps highly, but Nextcloud offers more collaboration tools beyond storage.