Alternatives to Classic FTP
A simple FTP client for Windows and Mac for uploading and maintaining website files. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Classic FTP
A simple FTP client for Windows and Mac for uploading and maintaining website files.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Classic FTP.
FileZilla
The long-standing free FTP, FTPS and SFTP client, with a matching server for Windows.
FileZilla is open source and adds SFTP to FTP and FTP over TLS, with builds for Windows, macOS and Linux, while cloud back ends need the paid Pro edition.
Cyberduck
A server and cloud storage browser for Mac and Windows that speaks FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, SMB and every major object store.
Cyberduck is free and open source on Mac and Windows, supporting SFTP, WebDAV and many cloud stores beyond FTP, without a non-commercial restriction on its free use.
WinSCP
A Windows file manager for remote servers, covering SFTP, FTP, FTPS, SCP, S3 and WebDAV, with scripting built in.
WinSCP is free, open source and covers SFTP, SCP, S3 and WebDAV with scripting, but it runs only on Windows and has a dense interface.
Core FTP LE
A free Windows FTP client with SFTP, FTPS, transfer resume and site-to-site transfers.
Core FTP LE is a free Windows client adding SFTP and site-to-site transfers, but it has no Mac version and keeps advanced features in the paid Pro edition.
Transmit
A macOS file transfer client for FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, Amazon S3 and cloud storage services.
Transmit is a paid macOS-only client covering FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, S3 and cloud services, sold as a one-time purchase after a 7-day trial.
SmartFTP
A Windows client for FTP, FTPS, SFTP, WebDAV, SSH and cloud storage transfers.
SmartFTP is a commercial Windows client with broad protocol support, an SSH terminal and automated transfers, dropping the Mac support Classic FTP offers.
Xftp
A Windows SFTP and FTP client from NetSarang for moving files between local and remote hosts.
Xftp is a commercial Windows SFTP and FTP client with scheduled transfers and synchronized browsing across two servers, aimed at users handling several servers regularly.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
NcFTP Client
A long-running free command-line FTP client that also runs on Microsoft Windows.
LFTP
A command-line file transfer program for FTP, HTTP, SFTP, FISH and BitTorrent, with mirroring and job control.
Commander One
A dual-pane file manager for macOS with FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, cloud storage and archive support.
ExpanDrive
Mounts cloud storage and file servers as native drives on macOS, Windows and Linux.
