Syncthing Smashes Cloud Sync Times
Afam, a seasoned tech writer and advocate for data privacy and security, had been using Google Drive, OneDrive, and Dropbox for years. However, he noticed that his files were moving at an inefficient pace, especially when transferring between devices on the same network.
He decided to switch to Syncthing, which allows devices to communicate directly without relying on a cloud server. The difference was immediate: even large project folders that had previously crawled began to move faster.
Afam ran a test using a 15.2GB ZIP archive containing his project files. He recorded the transfer time with OneDrive, Google Drive, and Dropbox, which all showed similar upload-then-download lag. In contrast, Syncthing completed the transfer in about 30 minutes by sending the file directly across the local network.
What's more, after the initial sync, Syncthing only transfers the blocks that differ, making subsequent transfers efficient and reducing the need for a company's cloud server to sit between devices. Afam found that his files stopped taking the scenic route when he switched to Syncthing, saving him time and bandwidth.