Comparison of FTP client software

The following tables compare general and technical information for a number of File Transfer Protocol (FTP) clients. Unless otherwise specified in footnotes, comparisons are based on the stable versions without any add-ons, extensions, or external programs.

Free and open-source software

Client	Developer	Initial release	Latest release		License	Copy files over 2 GB limit^[1]	Interface
Client	Developer	Initial release	Version	Date	License	Copy files over 2 GB limit^[1]	Interface
cURL	Daniel Stenberg	1998	8.13.0^[2]	2025-04-02	curl	Yes	CLI
Cyberduck	David V. Kocher	2001	9.1.3^[3]	2025-02-28	GPL-3.0-or-later	Yes	GUI and CLI
Far Manager	Eugene Roshal / FAR Group	1996	3.0.6364	2024-08-24	BSD-3-Clause	Yes	TUI
FileZilla	Community	2001 (January)	3.69.0^[4]	2025-04-15	GPL-2.0-or-later	Yes	GUI
FireFTP	Mime Čuvalo	2004 (September)	2.0.32^[5]	2019-02-01	MPL-1.1, Charityware	Yes (since version 2.0.5)	Waterfox, Firefox pre-version 57 addon
Fugu	University of Michigan Research Systems Unix Group	2003	1.2.0^[6]	2005-05-02	Fugu^[7]	?	GUI
gFTP	Brian Masney	1998			GPL-2.0-or-later	Yes	GTK+
lftp	Alexander V. Lukyanov	1996 (August)	4.9.3^[8]	2024-11-08	GPL-3.0-or-later	Yes	CLI
Macfusion	Michael Gorbach	0 ?	2.0.4^[9]	2010-12-03	Apache-2.0	?	GUI
NcFTP	NcFTP Software Inc.	1991	3.2.9^[10]	2025-03-23	ClArtistic	Yes	CLI
net2ftp	David C. Gartner	2003 (January)	1.3^[11]	2019-07-15	GPL-2.0-or-later	?	Web application
Rclone	Nick Craig-Wood	2015 (July)	1.69.1^[12]	2025-02-14	MIT	Yes	CLI
tnftp	Luke Mewburn	1999	20230507^[13]	2023-05-07	BSD-4-Clause	Yes	CLI
WinSCP	Martin Přikryl	2000	6.5.1^[14]	2025-04-30	GPL-3.0-only	Yes	GUI and CLI

Proprietary freeware

Client	Developer	Initial release	Latest release		License	Copy files over 2 GB^[1]	Interface
Client	Developer	Initial release	Version	Date	License	Copy files over 2 GB^[1]	Interface
CrossFTP	CrossFTP Software	2006	1.99.2	2020-05-23	Proprietary	Yes	GUI
LeechFTP	Jan Debis	1998	1.3 (Discontinued)		Proprietary	No	GUI
FTP Voyager	Rhino Software, Inc	1997 (January)	16.1.0.0	2013-08-20	Proprietary	Yes	GUI

Freeware and commercial editions

Client	Developer	Initial release	Latest release		License	Copy files over 2 GB^[1]
Client	Developer	Initial release	Version	Date	License	Copy files over 2 GB^[1]
Core FTP	CoreFTP.com	2003	2.2 (build 1751)	2012-06-27	Freeware	Yes
Fetch	Fetch Softworks	1989	5.7.7	2017-12-02	Proprietary	Yes
Secure FTP	Glub Tech	1999	2.6.2	2013-07-27	Apache	Yes
Sysax FTP Automation	Codeorigin, LLC	2005	5.31	2012-04-12	Proprietary	Yes

Trials of commercial

Client	Developer	Initial release	Latest release		License	Copy files over 2 GB^[1]
Client	Developer	Initial release	Version	Date	License	Copy files over 2 GB^[1]
AbsoluteTelnet	Celestial Software	1996	9.49	2012-07-02	Proprietary	Yes
Beyond Compare	Scooter Software	1996	5.0.7	2025-04-16	Proprietary	Yes
Commander One	Eltima Software	2015			Proprietary	Yes
CrossFTP Pro	CrossFTP Software	2006	1.98.7	2020-05-23	Proprietary	Yes
CuteFTP	Alex Kunadze/Globalscape	1994	macOS: 3.1.3 Windows: 9.3.0	2014-05-02 2018-07-11	Proprietary	Yes
Directory Opus	GPSoftware	1990	12.28	2022-06-03	Proprietary	Yes
FlashFXP	OpenSight Software, LLC	1999	5.4.0.3970	2017-04-01	Proprietary	Yes
SmartFTP	SmartSoft Ltd	1998	10.0.3185.0	2023-11-15	Proprietary	Yes
Total Commander	Christian Ghisler	1993	Android: 3.50^[15] Windows: 11.51^[16]	2024-03-27 2025-02-19	Proprietary	Yes
WebDrive	South River Technologies, Inc.	1998	2017	2017-06-16	Proprietary	Yes
WS_FTP	Ipswitch, Inc.	1996	12.7	2018-11-27	Proprietary	Yes
Yummy FTP	Yummy Software	2004	1.9.0	2018-05-10	Proprietary, Setapp	?

Commercial

Client	Developer	Initial release	Latest release		License	Copy files over 2 GB^[1]
Client	Developer	Initial release	Version	Date	License	Copy files over 2 GB^[1]
ALFTP	ESTsoft	2000	5.31	2012-02-01	Proprietary	?
ExpanDrive (formerly SFTPDrive)	ExpanDrive, Inc	2005	Linux: macOS: Windows:		Proprietary	Yes
ForkLift	BinaryNights, LLC	2007	4.0.7^[17]	2024-01-30	Proprietary	Yes
FTP Explorer	FTPx Corp.	October, 1996	1.0.1.53	2012-01	Proprietary	?
FTP Files	Anders Borum ApS	2024	2024.47	2024-10-07	Proprietary	Yes
Interarchy	Nolobe Software Pty Ltd	1993 (as Anarchie)	10.0.6	2014-08-18	Proprietary	Yes
Steed	French Fry, SAS	2012	1.2.1.1169	2017-06-27	Proprietary	Yes
Transmit	Panic, Inc.	1998	5.6.4	2020-04-20	Proprietary	Yes
WISE-FTP	AceBIT	1998	7.0 (Build 7.0.4)	2012-03-16	Proprietary	?
edtFTPj	Bruce P. Blackshaw	2000	2.5.0^[18]	2016-07-06	Proprietary	Yes
edtFTPnet	Bruce P. Blackshaw	2003	2.2.1	2011-08-26	Proprietary	Yes

Operating system support

The operating systems the clients can run on:

Client	Windows	macOS	Linux	BSD	Unix	AmigaOS	ChromeOS
AbsoluteTelnet	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
ALFTP	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Beyond Compare	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Classic FTP	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Codeanywhere (webbased)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Commander One	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Core FTP	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
CrossFTP	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
cURL (CL)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
CuteFTP	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Cyberduck	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Directory Opus	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
ExpanDrive	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Far Manager	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Fetch	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
FileZilla	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
FireFTP	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
FlashFXP	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Fling FTP	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
ForkLift	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
FTP Client	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
FTP Explorer	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
FTP Files	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
FTP Voyager	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Fugu	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
gFTP	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Interarchy	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
LeechFTP	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
lftp (CL)	Yes (cygwin)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Macfusion	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Mosaic	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
NcFTP (CL)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
net2ftp (web-based)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
PSFTP (PuTTY) (CL)	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Rclone	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Secure FTP	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
SmartFTP	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Steed	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Sysax FTP Automation	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Total Commander	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
tnftp (CL)	Yes (cygwin)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Transmit	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
WebDrive	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
WinSCP	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
WISE-FTP	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
WS_FTP	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Yummy FTP	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Client	Windows	Mac OS X	Linux	BSD	Unix	AmigaOS	ChromeOS

(CL) Command-Line interface only – no GUI (Graphical user interface)

Protocol support

Information about what internet protocols the clients support. External links lead to information about support in future versions of the clients or extensions that provide such functionality.


Client	FTP	FTP over SSH	SFTP	FTPS (FTP over SSL)	FXP (Site2site transfer)	DAV / HTTP(S)	Compression	Mode Z / Remote Compression	API / Commandline available	Resume Download	Passive mode	Parallel Transfer^[19]	Segmented Downloads^[19]
AbsoluteTelnet	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?
ALFTP	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	?	?	?	?	?	?
Beyond Compare	Yes	No	Yes (Pro only)	Yes (Pro only)	No	Yes (Pro only)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?
Classic FTP	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	?	?	?	Yes	?	?
Codeanywhere	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?
Commander One	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	?	?
Core FTP	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	?	?	?	Yes^[20]
CrossFTP	Yes	Yes (Pro only)	Yes (Pro only)	Yes (Pro only)	Yes (Pro only)	Yes (Pro only)	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?
cURL	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes (Only)	Yes	Yes	?	?
CuteFTP	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes (HTTP(S))	Yes	No	?	Yes	Yes	?	Yes
Cyberduck	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes (SFTP only)	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?
Directory Opus	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	?	?
ExpanDrive (Mac)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	?	?	?	?
ExpanDrive (Windows)	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	?	No	?	?	?	?	?
Far Manager	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	No	?	?	Yes	Yes	?	?
Fetch	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	?	?
FileZilla	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes (basic)	Yes	Yes	?	No
FireFTP	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	?	?
FlashFXP	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?
Fling FTP	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?
ForkLift	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	?	?
FTP Client	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	?	?	?
FTP Explorer	Yes	No	No	No	?	?	No	?	?	?	?	?	?
FTP Voyager	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?
Fugu	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	?	?	?	?	?	?
gFTP	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes (control connection only)	Yes	?	No	?	Yes	?	?	?	?
Interarchy	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	?	?	Yes	Yes	?	?
LeechFTP	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	?	?	?	?	?	?
lftp	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes (Partial)	No	No	Yes	Yes	?	?	Yes
Macfusion	Yes	?	Yes	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Macfusion	Yes	?	Yes	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
NcFTP	Yes	No	No	?	?	?	No	?	Yes	?	Yes	?	?
PSFTP (PuTTY)	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	?	?	?
Rclone	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Secure FTP	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?
SmartFTP	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes
Steed	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	?	Yes	?	?
Sysax FTP Automation	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes (script and command line)	?	?	?	?
Total Commander	Yes	Yes	Yes (plugin)	Yes	Yes	Yes (plugin)	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?
Transmit	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	?	Yes (AppleScript)	Yes	Yes	?	?
WebDrive	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes (SFTP)	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?
Windows 7 (ftp.exe)	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	?	No	?	?
WinSCP	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes (SFTP only)	Yes (SCP command)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
WISE-FTP	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?
WS_FTP	Yes	Yes (Pro only)	Yes (Pro only)	Yes	Yes (Pro only)	Yes	Yes (Pro only)	No	Yes (Pro only)	Yes (Pro only)	Yes	?	?
Yummy FTP	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes (AppleScript)	Yes	Yes	?	?
Client	FTP	FTP over SSH	SFTP	FTPS (FTP over SSL)	FXP (Site2site transfer)	DAV / HTTP(S)	Compression	Mode Z / Remote Compression	API / Commandline available	Resume Download	Passive mode	Parallel Transfer	Segmented Downloads