Alternatives to Explorer++
A tabbed replacement for Windows Explorer that can run completely portable and save its settings to a file. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Explorer++
A tabbed replacement for Windows Explorer that can run completely portable and save its settings to a file.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Explorer++.
Files
A file manager for Windows with tabs, columns, tags and dual panes, built the way Explorer should have been.
Files is also open source, under MIT, and adds dual panes, columns, colour tags and archive handling, but it needs a recent Windows 10 or 11 and starts slower.
OneCommander
Modern Windows file manager with Miller columns, dual pane and previews.
OneCommander adds Miller columns, dual pane and modern theming, but it is closed source, freemium with Pro-only features, and limited to Windows 10 and 11.
XYplorer
Tabbed Windows file manager with scripting, portable mode and deep search.
XYplorer keeps tabs and a portable mode and adds a scripting language and deep search, but it requires a paid licence and is closed source.
Directory Opus
Professional Windows file manager with tabs, dual pane, scripting and FTP.
Directory Opus adds dual pane, scripting, FTP and a very strong batch rename to tabbed browsing, but it is closed source and paid with no free tier.
FreeCommander
Free dual-pane Windows file manager with tabs, search and archive handling.
FreeCommander also runs portable from a USB stick and adds a dual-pane layout with folder synchronisation, though it is closed source and the donor edition is paid.
Multi Commander
Free multi-tab, multi-pane Windows file manager aimed at power users.
Multi Commander is free for any use and adds multi-pane layouts and a scripting engine, but it is closed source and its dense interface has a learning curve.
Q-Dir
Quad-pane Windows file manager that shows up to four folders at once.
Q-Dir is also a small portable Windows program, showing up to four folders at once, but it is closed source and commercial use requires a donation licence.
Total Commander
The dual-pane Windows file manager people have been using since 1993, still updated, still shareware.
Total Commander replaces single-pane tabs with a keyboard-driven dual-pane workflow including FTP and SFTP, but it is paid shareware and closed source.
Also worth comparing
These listings name Explorer++ as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
File Pilot
A small, fast file explorer for Windows with panels, tabs, fuzzy search and batch renaming.
Explorer++ is free, open source and portable with tabs and a preview pane, but single pane and without recent releases.
Sigma File Manager
Modern file manager with tabs, dual-pane view, global search and media previews.
Explorer++ is a lighter GPL tabbed browser with a preview pane and portable mode, but it is Windows only and single-pane.
Tablacus Explorer
A portable, tabbed file manager for Windows that can be extended with add-ons.
Explorer++ is also an open-source portable tabbed Explorer replacement, with bookmarkable tabs and ARM64 builds, though its last tagged release is from January 2024.
xplorer²
A paid tabbed dual-pane file manager for Windows that replaces File Explorer.
Explorer++ is free GPL-3.0 software with tabs and full portability, but single-pane with its last tagged release in January 2024.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
WinSetView
Apply consistent folder views across Windows Explorer.
Double Commander
A free dual-pane file manager in the Total Commander tradition, running on Linux and macOS too.
Spacedrive
Cross-device file explorer built on a distributed virtual filesystem.
RnR
A command-line tool that batch renames files and directories using regular expressions.
