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Best Productivity ResourcesBy Shushant LakhyaniVerified creator

Web App

Filen

Zero-knowledge encrypted cloud storage from Germany, with free space at sign-up.

Visit Filen4.3

  • Rating

    4.3 / 5

  • Pricing

    Freemium

  • Difficulty

    Beginner

  • Works on

    Web, Windows, macOS

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What is Filen?

Filen is end-to-end encrypted cloud storage based in Germany: files are encrypted on your device with AES-256 before upload, and its apps are open source. New accounts get 10 GB free when they pass a one-time sign-up check (connections that look like a VPN or proxy do not get it), and referrals add more. Paid plans start at €1.99 a month for 200 GiB, with web, desktop, mobile and command-line apps.

Pros: what Filen does well

  • Zero-knowledge, end-to-end encryption
  • Open-source apps, including Linux and a CLI
  • Very low-priced paid plans

Cons: where it falls short

  • Free 10 GB is not granted when signing up through a VPN or proxy
  • Smaller company than the big providers

Who Filen is for

Privacy-minded people who want cheap encrypted storage on every platform.

Who can skip it

People who need deep Office or Google Docs integration.

Compare Filen

See how Filen stacks up, side by side, plus the lists it made.

Filen alternatives

Not sold on Filen? These do a similar job, and each card says what it has in common.

All File Management resources

Ente

Focus: encrypted photos, 2fa and privacy. Shares cloud storage and open source with Filen. Rated 4.7 (Filen: 4.3).

Web AppFree planWeb, iOS
4.7Visit

Google Drive

Focus: file sync and file sharing. Shares cloud storage and dropbox alternative with Filen. Rated 4.6 (Filen: 4.3).

Web AppFree planWeb, Windows
4.6Visit

OneDrive

Focus: file sync and backup. Shares cloud storage and dropbox alternative with Filen. Same 4.3 rating.

Web AppFree planWeb, Windows
4.3Visit

Cryptomator

Focus: encryption and privacy. Shares cloud storage and open source with Filen. A desktop app, not a web app. Rated 4.6 (Filen: 4.3).

Desktop AppFree planWindows, macOS
4.6Visit

Syncthing

Focus: file sync and peer to peer. Shares open source and dropbox alternative with Filen. A desktop app, not a web app. Free (Filen: Freemium). Rated 4.6 (Filen: 4.3).

Desktop AppFreeWindows, macOS
4.6Visit

Free alternatives to Filen

Want to spend nothing? These free picks cover similar ground.

Duplicati

Focus: backup, encryption and scheduler. Shares cloud storage and open source with Filen. A desktop app, not a web app. Free (Filen: Freemium). Rated 4.5 (Filen: 4.3).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.5Visit

Immich

Focus: photo backup, photo library and self-hosted. Shares open source with Filen. Free (Filen: Freemium). Rated 4.8 (Filen: 4.3).

Web AppFreeWeb, iOS
4.8Visit

Paperless-ngx

Focus: documents, ocr and self-hosted. Shares open source with Filen. Free (Filen: Freemium). Rated 4.7 (Filen: 4.3).

Web AppFreeWeb, Linux
4.7Visit

PhotoPrism

Focus: photo library, self-hosted and face recognition. Shares open source with Filen. Free (Filen: Freemium). Rated 4.6 (Filen: 4.3).

Web AppFreeWeb
4.6Visit

Homebox

Focus: home inventory, organisation and self-hosted. Shares open source with Filen. Free (Filen: Freemium). Rated 4.5 (Filen: 4.3).

Web AppFreeWeb, Cross-Platform
4.5Visit

Photoview

Focus: photos, gallery and self-hosted. Shares open source with Filen. Free (Filen: Freemium). Rated 4.4 (Filen: 4.3).

Web AppFreeWeb
4.4Visit
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