Filestash review covering pricing, S3/SFTP/WebDAV support, AI search, SSO, and open-source self-hosting, plus how it compares to Nextcloud and FileRun.
Category
Cloud Storage
Pricing
Open Source core plus Freemium/Subscription (paid Standard and Enterprise tiers), from Free (self-hosted Hobby/open-source tier) or $50/month (Self Served/Standard plan)
Filestash is an open-source universal file manager that connects to existing storage — Amazon S3 and S3-compatible object stores, SFTP, FTP, WebDAV, SMB, NFS, IPFS, Azure, SharePoint, and roughly 25 backends in total — and presents them through one consistent web interface, API, and set of protocol gateways. It does not require migrating data into a new proprietary store; instead it acts as a unified access and governance layer on top of storage that already exists.
The project, created by developer Mickael Kerjean, has its GitHub repository dated to June 13, 2017, and was previously known as Nuage before being rebranded to Filestash. It is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and, as of mid-2026, has accumulated roughly 14,400 stars and nearly 1,000 forks on GitHub.
Key Features
Filestash is built around a plugin-driven architecture — 'everything that matters is a plugin' — which lets storage backends, authentication providers, and file previewers be swapped in and out around a minimal Go-and-JavaScript core. It exposes universal access through a web client, an API, and gateways that let other systems reach Filestash-managed storage over SFTP, S3, FTP, WebDAV, MCP, and AS2.
Additional capabilities include SSO with SAML, OIDC, and LDAP and role-based access control, a workflow engine for automating file-event actions, immutable audit logging for GDPR and compliance, AI-powered semantic search, smart folders and OCR (with local model support via Ollama), antivirus integration, quota management, versioning, and white-label theming.
Pricing
Filestash offers three published tiers. Hobby is free and open source, self-hosted under AGPL-3.0, capped at up to 3 users. Self Served (Standard) starts at $50 per month for a commercial license with SSO (SAML, OIDC, LDAP) and RBAC on a single-node, 3-seat deployment, available self-hosted or as managed cloud hosting, with a free trial.
Enterprise starts at $290 per month, with flexible plans scaling to $750 per month and beyond for larger deployments, unlocking unlimited users, audit and compliance tooling, white-labeling, 24/7 support, high availability, a dedicated account manager, custom SLAs, and professional services. All plans can cancel anytime and billing runs through Stripe.
Key Features
Universal multi-protocol storage gateway — Connects to S3, SFTP, FTP, WebDAV, SMB, NFS, IPFS, Azure, SharePoint, and roughly 25 total backends through one interface, API, and set of protocol gateways (SFTP, S3, FTP, WebDAV, MCP, AS2).
Plugin-driven architecture — A minimal, opinion-free core with storage backends, authentication, previewers, and behaviors implemented as swappable plugins, following the project's 'everything that matters is a plugin' philosophy.
Enterprise SSO and RBAC — SAML, OIDC, and LDAP single sign-on with role-based access control, available from the Self Served tier upward.
AI-powered search and OCR — Semantic search, smart folders, and OCR capabilities, with the option to run supporting models locally via Ollama rather than a third-party AI service.
Workflow automation engine — Event-driven automation that can trigger actions in response to file changes across connected storage backends.
Compliance-grade audit logging — Immutable, tamper-proof audit trails aimed at GDPR and broader regulatory compliance for regulated enterprises.
White-label branding and theming — Multiple UI themes and white-label customization available at the Enterprise tier for organizations that need a branded portal.
Extensive file-format viewers — Built-in app support spanning photography, astronomy, GIS, 3D, and biomedical file formats, beyond generic file preview.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Genuinely free, unlimited-feature open-source Hobby tier under AGPL-3.0 for up to 3 users, with full source code on GitHub.
Connects to virtually any existing storage backend or protocol (S3, SFTP, FTP, WebDAV, SMB, NFS, and more) without requiring data migration.
Strong enterprise security posture in paid tiers: SSO, RBAC, immutable audit logs, and antivirus integration.
Plugin architecture enables deep customization, including support for the Model Context Protocol for AI-agent access.
Validated at scale by named enterprise and academic customers including MIT, JP Morgan, and Monash University.
Flexible deployment as either self-hosted or managed SaaS at the same price point.
Cons
The free Hobby tier is capped at just 3 users, so most real teams must move to a paid plan.
Enterprise-grade features (SSO, compliance, white-labeling) are gated behind the $290+/month Enterprise tier, not the entry-level plan.
Self-hosting requires technical setup and ongoing maintenance of the Go-based backend and its dependencies.
Smaller community and ecosystem than broader competitors like Nextcloud.
Company headquarters, team size, and full enterprise pricing are not publicly disclosed, requiring direct sales contact for larger deployments.
AGPL-3.0's copyleft terms may deter companies that want to build closed-source derivatives on top of the codebase.
Pricing
Hobby Free N/A (open source, self-hosted)
Self Served (Standard) $50/month Monthly
Enterprise From $290/month (flexible plans to $750+/month) Monthly
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Filestash free to use?
Yes. The Hobby tier is free and open source under AGPL-3.0 for self-hosted deployments with up to 3 users. Larger teams or organizations needing SSO and compliance features require the paid Self Served ($50/month) or Enterprise (from $290/month) tiers.
Is Filestash open source?
Yes. Filestash's source code is published on GitHub under the AGPL-3.0 license, with roughly 14,400 stars as of mid-2026. It was previously known as Nuage before being rebranded to Filestash.
What storage backends does Filestash support?
Filestash connects to S3 and S3-compatible object storage, SFTP, FTP, WebDAV, SMB, NFS, IPFS, Azure, SharePoint, and roughly 25 backends in total, unifying them behind one web interface and API.
Can Filestash be self-hosted?
Yes. Filestash supports both self-hosted deployment and a managed cloud/SaaS deployment at the same pricing, so organizations can choose based on their infrastructure preference rather than paying extra for hosting.
Does Filestash support single sign-on?
Yes, starting at the Self Served tier ($50/month), Filestash supports SAML, OIDC, and LDAP single sign-on with role-based access control.
Who uses Filestash?
Filestash's own marketing names enterprise and academic customers including MIT, JP Morgan, Bell, Orange, UCI, Monash University, Schneider Electric, and government bodies such as the European Commission and Ukraine.