Which FTP client is the best? 9 FTP programs for Windows & Mac compared

To upload files to an FTP server or download them from it, you need an FTP client. This type of program es­tab­lish­es the TCP con­nec­tion to the server’s port, which is then used to control data exchange using commands. For transfers, you use spe­cial­ized FTP programs for Windows, macOS, and other operating systems that make file transfer via the FTP protocol much easier.

Overview of 9 FTP clients

The market offers numerous clients for transfer via FTP, some of which differ sig­nif­i­cant­ly in terms of features and usability. There are both paid and free options. Some are com­pat­i­ble only with Windows, others only with macOS or Linux. We’ll introduce you to nine programs.

FileZilla

FileZilla is one of the most widely used FTP ap­pli­ca­tions for good reason. This open-source FTP software is free and available for Windows 10 and later, Linux, and macOS. Once a con­nec­tion is es­tab­lished, files can be easily trans­ferred between the FTP client and server via drag-and-drop. FileZilla supports the transfer of very large files and allows in­ter­rupt­ed uploads or downloads to be resumed at any time. Users can manually adjust upload and download speeds as needed. The Server Manager lets you store fre­quent­ly used FTP servers along with their login details. In addition, the File Transfer Protocol can be secured using SSL/TLS or SSH en­cryp­tion. Here’s an overview of FileZilla’s features:

• com­pat­i­ble with Windows, Linux, and macOS
• supports SSL and SSH en­cryp­tion
• con­fig­urable transfer speeds
• enables con­nec­tions to FTP proxy servers
• detailed doc­u­men­ta­tion
• keep-alive system to maintain the network con­nec­tion

Cloud­Mounter

Cloud­Mounter is much more than a classic FTP client. It combines FTP, SFTP, and cloud storage functions in a single ap­pli­ca­tion that works directly with Windows File Explorer or the macOS Finder. Cloud­Mounter supports multiple protocols and services, allowing you to use not only tra­di­tion­al FTP con­nec­tions but also manage cloud accounts centrally. FTP, SFTP, and WebDAV as well as cloud storage services like Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Amazon S3, Box, MEGA, and Backblaze B2 can be in­te­grat­ed and managed together. Here’s an overview of Cloud­Mounter’s features:

• com­pat­i­ble with Windows and macOS
• supports FTP, SFTP, and FTPS for secure con­nec­tions
• mounts cloud storage as a drive
• multiple con­nec­tions can be used in parallel
• encrypted storage of access cre­den­tials
• no local syn­chro­niza­tion required

WISE-FTP

WISE-FTP is a free FTP program for Windows operating systems (Vista and later). The FTP software supports all common protocols such as FTP, SFTP, FTPS, or FTPES, making it possible to connect to any FTP server. Thanks to the in­te­grat­ed task scheduler, uploading and down­load­ing files can be fully automated with WISE-FTP. Users simply need to define the target server in advance and specify when and how often a par­tic­u­lar task should run. Both au­then­ti­ca­tion and file transfer are subject to the highest security level thanks to the SFTP or FTPS protocol. In addition, the data can op­tion­al­ly be encrypted via Rijndael, BlowFish, or TripleDES. Here’s an overview of WISE-FTP’s features:

• com­pat­i­ble with Windows
• data en­cryp­tion available (Rijndael, BlowFish, TripleDES)
• in­te­grat­ed task scheduler
• powerful FTP syn­chro­niza­tion
• cus­tomiz­able, saveable keyboard shortcuts
• ad­justable upload and download speed

Transmit

The paid FTP client Transmit is a top-tier choice for macOS devices. The engine used enables very fast data transfer, including an ad­justable bandwidth limit. The Mac-style interface impresses not only visually, but also func­tion­al­ly. Thanks to the sync feature, for example, entire di­rec­to­ries can be easily syn­chro­nized between server and client. Transmit supports encrypted transfer via SSL/TLS and SSH, as well as the use of online storage services such as Amazon S3, Dropbox, or WebDAV. Users can access the re­spec­tive servers either via Quick Connect or save them as favorites, so they are then listed on the ap­pli­ca­tion’s home screen. Here’s an overview of Transmit’s features:

• com­pat­i­ble with macOS
• supports SSL and SSH en­cryp­tion
• enables con­nec­tions to FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, and Amazon S3
• ad­justable upload and download limit
• server-to-server data transfer via FXP
• multiple active con­nec­tions possible

Cyberduck

Cyberduck is a free FTP program that supports all Windows operating systems from Windows 10 as well as macOS from 10.13. It allows easy con­nec­tions to any FTP, SFTP, or WebDAV servers and cloud services such as Amazon S3, Azure, or OpenStack. The user interface is intuitive and clear, making it quick to add new servers. If needed, you can limit the number of si­mul­ta­ne­ous file transfers, and resuming in­ter­rupt­ed transfers is also possible with this FTP software without any issues. Cyberduck also offers excellent bookmark or­ga­ni­za­tion via drag-and-drop, which can even be imported from other programs if needed. Here’s an overview of Cyberduck’s features:

• com­pat­i­ble with Windows and macOS
• enables con­nec­tions to FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, Azure, OpenStack, Amazon S3, and much more
• ad­justable number of si­mul­ta­ne­ous transfers
• archiving and ex­tract­ing tar/zip files via SSH
• client-side en­cryp­tion via Cryp­to­ma­tor
• depending on the service, segmented uploads for files larger than 5 GB

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Commander One Pro

The Mac file manager Commander One can also function as an FTP client once you upgrade to the paid Pro edition. In addition to sup­port­ing FTP, FTPS, and SFTP, the Pro version enables data transfers via WebDAV as well as in­te­gra­tion with cloud storage services such as Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, and Amazon S3.

Commander One enables si­mul­ta­ne­ous file transfers to ensure fast and efficient uploads and downloads. An in­te­grat­ed queue function manages transfer tasks in­tel­li­gent­ly, helping to avoid bandwidth bot­tle­necks. When con­nect­ing to an FTP server, users can also specify the maximum number of con­cur­rent con­nec­tions. Here’s an overview of Commander One Pro’s features:

• com­pat­i­ble with macOS
• enables con­nec­tions to FTP, FTPS, SFTP, WebDAV, Google Drive, OneDrive, and Amazon S3
• in­te­grat­ed process manager
• built-in terminal emulator
• various themes available
• au­to­mat­i­cal­ly saves all server settings and login cre­den­tials in the macOS Keychain

SmartFTP

The com­mer­cial FTP solution SmartFTP offers a 30-day trial before purchase. The client runs on Windows 10 and later and supports the FTP, FTPS, and SFTP protocols. Depending on the selected edition, it also provides in­te­gra­tion with WebDAV, Amazon S3, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Google Cloud Storage, Backblaze B2, Box, and a built-in terminal emulator.

SmartFTP allows con­nec­tions to multiple servers si­mul­ta­ne­ous­ly, enabling direct server-to-server transfers via FXP. Its in­te­grat­ed search function is par­tic­u­lar­ly useful when working with large FTP servers, making it easier to locate files quickly. After the trial period, users can choose between the Pro­fes­sion­al, Ultimate, and En­ter­prise editions, each offering a different range of features. Here’s an overview of SmartFTP’s features in the En­ter­prise edition:

• com­pat­i­ble with Windows
• supports SSL and SSH en­cryp­tion
• enables con­nec­tions to FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, and Amazon S3
• transfer schedules
• resume in­ter­rupt­ed transfers
• si­mul­ta­ne­ous con­nec­tions to multiple servers

ForkLift

The FTP program ForkLift has been one of the most feature-rich solutions for Mac computers for years. The paid FTP software not only supports various protocols such as FTP, SFTP, SMB, AFP, and NFS, but also provides in­ter­faces to online services like Amazon S3, Google Drive, and Backblaze B2. Users can establish con­nec­tions to multiple servers at the same time and con­ve­nient­ly move files between them via drag and drop. In addition, entire di­rec­to­ries can be syn­chro­nized (one-way or two-way) with a single click, making it possible, for example, to transfer changes to local files to the FTP server in no time at all—and files can also be renamed in batches. Here’s an overview of Forklift’s features:

• com­pat­i­ble with macOS
• enables con­nec­tions to FTP, SFTP, SMB, Google Drive, and Amazon S3, among others
• password pro­tec­tion for server in­for­ma­tion
• easy file or­ga­ni­za­tion using tags
• directory syn­chro­niza­tion
• preview (images, PDFs, text) and playback function (video and audio files)

WinSCP

WinSCP is an open-source program for Windows (Windows 7 and later) that, in addition to the FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, and S3 protocols, also supports the SCP en­cryp­tion protocol, among others. When con­nect­ing to SSH servers, users benefit from encrypted file exchange, and login cre­den­tials are also trans­mit­ted in encoded form in this case. With WinSCP, di­rec­to­ries can be syn­chro­nized and files can be copied, deleted, or moved. Depending on pref­er­ence, the user can choose between two in­ter­faces. The Explorer interface is based on the familiar Windows folder structure, while the Norton Commander interface is modeled on the file manager of the same name. Fre­quent­ly used con­nec­tions can be saved as favorites with WinSCP. Here’s an overview of WinSCP’s features:

• com­pat­i­ble with Windows
• supports SSL, SSH, and SCP en­cryp­tion
• enables con­nec­tions to FTP and SFTP
• directory syn­chro­niza­tion in semi-automated or fully automated steps
• built-in text editor
• optional portable version enables use without in­stal­la­tion

How file transfer via (S)FTP works

To access an FTP server, a con­nec­tion must first be es­tab­lished using an FTP client. The client creates a TCP con­nec­tion to the server’s control port (by default, port 21) and can then send commands, which the server responds to. The actual file transfer takes place over a separate port. Two transfer modes are dis­tin­guished:

• In active mode, the client provides the server with its own IP address and port during the con­nec­tion setup via port 20. This allows the server to know which port to use to reach the client.
• In passive mode, the server does not receive an IP address from the client, for example due to a blocking firewall. Instead, the server offers a port to the client, which then initiates the con­nec­tion.

With a web hosting solution that includes FTP access, users can transfer files quickly and ef­fi­cient­ly between their local device and the web server. Dedicated FTP software sim­pli­fies this process through an intuitive user interface, offering func­tion­al­i­ty and con­ve­nience that browser-based clients typically do not provide.