Direct comparison
OSF vs. Figshare: Key Differences Explained
OSF vs. Figshare compared: project workspace vs. deposit repository, free storage limits, institutional pricing, DOIs, and preregistration support.
Side-by-side comparison
| Dimension | OSF | Figshare |
|---|---|---|
| What it's built for | Managing an active research project (files, collaborators, version history, preregistration) | Depositing a finished output and getting a DOI/citation |
| Operator | Center for Open Science (nonprofit) | Digital Science (commercial) |
| Core unit | Project, with nested components | Item (dataset, figure, code, poster, etc.) |
| Free storage limit | 5GB per private project/component, 50GB per public project/component (per-component, so effectively extensible); 5GB per-file cap | 20GB per file, 20GB private storage per free account |
| External storage add-ons | Google Drive, Dropbox, GitHub, Amazon S3 and more -- don't count against the storage cap | No equivalent free add-on extension path |
| Preregistration | Yes -- OSF Registries, purpose-built for preregistration/registered reports | No preregistration workflow |
| DOI registration | Via DataCite, on request when a project/registration is made public | Via DataCite, automatically on publish |
| Default license | Selected per project (no platform-wide default) | CC-BY (CC0 also available) |
| Institutional tier | OSF Institutions -- branding/SSO/admin layer on the same free platform, reported membership pricing in the low five figures/year | Figshare for Institutions -- up to 5TB/file, quote-based pricing tied to storage and contract |
| Best fit | Managing the project before, during, and after data collection | Depositing a specific finished dataset or supplementary file for a paper |
Common questions
FAQ
Can I use both OSF and Figshare for the same project?+
Yes, and many research teams do -- OSF to manage the working project and preregister the design, then Figshare (or another repository) to deposit the finished dataset once a paper is ready to submit.
Which one should I list in my data management plan?+
If your DMP only needs a final-deposit repository, Figshare's simplicity is usually the faster fit. If the plan needs to cover active project management or a preregistration, OSF is the better fit for that portion of the plan.
Does OSF or Figshare have a lower free storage limit?+
Figshare's free tier allows more per single file (20GB) with a flat 20GB private-storage cap. OSF caps each project/component at 5GB (private) or 50GB (public), but because every component gets its own allowance and external add-on storage is uncapped, an OSF project can practically hold far more than Figshare's flat limit.
