Direct comparison
Zenodo vs. Figshare: Repository Comparison
Zenodo vs. Figshare compared: cost, file-size limits, GitHub archiving, licensing, and CoreTrustSeal status, with guidance on which to use for a deposit.
Side-by-side comparison
| Dimension | Zenodo | Figshare |
|---|---|---|
| Operator / funder | CERN, built on OpenAIRE-aligned infrastructure (InvenioRDM); funded by CERN, OpenAIRE, and the EU | Digital Science (commercial); founded 2011 by Mark Hahnel, backed by Digital Science since 2012 |
| Cost (public tier) | Free, no institutional affiliation required | Free on figshare.com; paid Figshare for Institutions and Figshare+ tiers also available |
| File size limit (free tier) | 50GB per record, up to 100 files, plus up to 150GB distributable quota; larger by request | 20GB per file, 20GB private storage on figshare.com |
| Institutional tier ceiling | No separate branded institutional product; higher quotas granted case by case | Figshare for Institutions: up to 5TB per file, per-contract private storage |
| DOI / PID system | DataCite DOIs, versioned (concept DOI + version DOI) | DataCite DOIs, versioned |
| Default license | Depositor-chosen, full open-license range | CC-BY default on figshare.com (CC0 also available); broader CC suite on institutional/Figshare+ |
| Pre-publication curation | None by default — immediate public deposit | None by default on figshare.com; institutional instances may add review, per-institution configuration |
| GitHub / software release archiving | Native, well-established one-click integration for tagged GitHub releases | General code/software deposit supported; no equivalent native GitHub-release workflow |
| Institutional branding & analytics | Not offered — shared zenodo.org platform, community collections only | Figshare for Institutions offers a branded portal plus usage/altmetric-style analytics |
| CoreTrustSeal certification (platform itself) | Not listed as certified in its own right as of this writing — verify at CoreTrustSeal's certificate database | Not certified as a platform; institutions can pursue their own certification for a branded instance using Figshare-provided template guidance |
Common questions
FAQ
Can I use both Zenodo and Figshare for the same project?+
Yes, and many research groups do — for example, archiving a GitHub software release on Zenodo while depositing the underlying dataset on an institutional Figshare instance. There's no rule against using different repositories for different output types within one project, as long as each output is consistently and correctly cited.
Does my funder care which one I use?+
Some funders name acceptable repository types or characteristics (e.g., requiring a trusted digital repository or a specific disciplinary repository) rather than naming Zenodo or Figshare specifically. Check your funder's data policy and your own data management plan before assuming either is automatically acceptable.
Is data on Zenodo or Figshare preserved long-term?+
Both describe long-term preservation commitments, but neither currently appears on CoreTrustSeal's certificate database as an independently certified platform. If long-term preservation assurance specifically matters for your use case, check the current CoreTrustSeal listing for the specific instance rather than relying on either brand's own preservation claims.
Which one is better for a large genomics or imaging dataset?+
Neither is really designed for very large discipline-specific datasets the way a domain repository (e.g., a sequence archive for genomics) is — check whether your discipline has a dedicated repository first. If a generalist repository is genuinely the right fit, Zenodo's 50GB/record free-tier ceiling accommodates more than figshare.com's 20GB/file limit, though an institutional Figshare instance may exceed both.
