JavaScript File Upload Libraries Compared
The short answer: the main JavaScript file upload options split three ways. react-dropzone is a file-selection primitive with no upload logic. Uppy, FilePond and upup are open-source uploaders you run against your own backend. UploadThing and Uploadcare are hosted services that also store your files. Pick by who owns the storage and how much UI you want.
This page compares them side by side, then links to a detailed page for each pairing and to per-framework roundups.
Feature matrix
| Feature | upup | Uppy | FilePond | UploadThing | react-dropzone | Uploadcare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Uploader library + optional server | Uploader library + optional Companion server | Uploader component | Hosted upload service + SDK | Drag-and-drop selection hook | Hosted file service + uploader widget |
| Ready-made UI | Yes | Yes (Dashboard) | Yes | Yes (button and dropzone) | No, you render it | Yes |
| Frameworks | React, Vue, Svelte, Angular, Preact, vanilla JS | Vanilla JS, React, Vue, Svelte, Angular | Vanilla JS core + React, Vue, Angular, Svelte, jQuery | React, Next.js and other framework adapters | React only | Web components, usable in any framework |
| Where files are stored | Your S3-compatible bucket | Your backend, tus server or S3 bucket | Your server endpoint | UploadThing's infrastructure | Wherever your own code sends them | Uploadcare's storage by default |
| Cloud-drive sources | Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, Box | Many, via Companion | No | Not built in | No | Yes, several |
| Resumable uploads | Yes (tus or S3 multipart) | Yes (tus or S3 multipart) | Chunked uploads to your server | Yes (since v7) | No | Multipart uploads for large files |
| Direct-to-S3 | Yes (presigned URLs, your bucket) | Yes (AWS S3 plugin) | Not built in | No, uploads go to UploadThing | You build it | Not by default; see their docs |
| Image editing | Yes, React/Preact only | Yes (Image Editor plugin) | Crop/resize plugins; full editor is Pintura (commercial) | Not built in | No | Yes |
| License / cost | MIT, free | MIT, free | MIT, free | MIT SDK; the service is paid with a free tier | MIT, free | Paid service with a free tier |
Hosted services change plans and limits often. For UploadThing and Uploadcare, see their pricing pages for current numbers.
The three kinds of upload library
Selection primitives
react-dropzone gives you a hook
that turns an element into a drop target and hands you File objects. Upload
requests, progress, retries, previews and storage are all yours to write. It is
the right choice when you want total control over a small React UI and already
have an upload path.
Self-hosted uploaders
Uppy, FilePond and upup ship a complete uploader (UI, progress, retries) but send files to storage you control. They differ mainly in where the UI comes from and how much server you need:
- Uppy is a modular toolkit: pick plugins for the Dashboard, sources and upload destination. Remote sources such as Google Drive go through Companion, a server you run.
- FilePond is a polished single component that posts files to your own server endpoint, with plugins for previews and image transforms.
- upup renders a native component per framework from one headless core,
uploads straight to an S3-compatible bucket with presigned URLs, and ships
@useupup/serverfor signing, multipart and cloud-drive transfers.
Hosted upload services
UploadThing and Uploadcare run the storage for you. You trade monthly cost and vendor lock-in for zero bucket setup. Uploadcare adds a CDN and image transformations on top; UploadThing focuses on a type-safe upload flow for TypeScript full-stack apps.
How to choose
- Do you need to own the storage? For compliance, data residency or egress control, rule out the hosted services and pick a self-hosted uploader.
- Which frameworks do you ship? react-dropzone is React-only. upup, Uppy and FilePond cover the major frameworks.
- Do users pick files from cloud drives? upup and Uppy support Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox and Box; Uploadcare supports cloud sources as a hosted feature. FilePond and react-dropzone don't.
- How large are the files? For multi-gigabyte uploads, you need resumable uploads: tus or S3 multipart in upup and Uppy.
- How much UI do you want to build? None: upup, Uppy, FilePond or a hosted widget. All of it: react-dropzone.
Roundups by framework
- Best React file upload libraries: upup, react-dropzone, Uppy, FilePond, UploadThing and react-uploady.
- Best Vue file upload libraries: upup, vue-upload-component, PrimeVue FileUpload, FilePond and Uppy.
- Best Angular file upload libraries: upup, ngx-file-drop, PrimeNG FileUpload, FilePond and Uppy.
Head-to-head comparisons
FAQ
What is the best JavaScript file upload library?
It depends on the job. For a full uploader against your own S3-compatible storage across several frameworks, upup or Uppy. For one polished component posting to your own server, FilePond. For a bare React drop target, react-dropzone. For no storage setup at all, a hosted service such as UploadThing or Uploadcare.
Which file upload libraries are free and open source?
upup, Uppy, FilePond and react-dropzone are MIT-licensed. UploadThing's SDK is MIT but the service it talks to is paid, with a free tier. Uploadcare is a paid service with a free tier.
Which libraries upload directly to S3?
upup (presigned URLs, with @useupup/server or your own signing endpoint) and
Uppy (its AWS S3 plugin). With FilePond or react-dropzone you write the S3
signing and upload code yourself.
Which libraries support Google Drive and Dropbox?
upup supports Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox and Box. Uppy supports those and more through its Companion server. Uploadcare supports cloud sources as part of its hosted service.