Alternatives to Far Manager

A two-pane text-mode file manager and shell for Windows, extended by plugins for archives, FTP and network browsing. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.

The original

Replacements

Listings that take over the same core job as Far Manager.

  • Total Commander

    The dual-pane Windows file manager people have been using since 1993, still updated, still shareware.

    PaidProprietaryWindows

    Total Commander keeps the two-pane keyboard workflow in a graphical interface with archives, FTP and a large plugin ecosystem, but it is paid and closed source.

  • Double Commander

    A free dual-pane file manager in the Total Commander tradition, running on Linux and macOS too.

    Double Commander offers a free GPL graphical two-pane manager with multi-rename and FTP that also runs on macOS and Linux, though its releases are infrequent.

  • Midnight Commander

    Two-panel file manager for the terminal, with an editor and remote access.

    Midnight Commander is a text-mode two-panel file manager with an editor and remote filesystem browsing, but on Windows it needs Cygwin or WSL.

  • Multi Commander

    Free multi-tab, multi-pane Windows file manager aimed at power users.

    FreeProprietaryWindows

    Multi Commander swaps text mode for a free graphical multi-pane interface with a scripting engine, but it is closed source rather than BSD licensed.

  • FreeCommander

    Free dual-pane Windows file manager with tabs, search and archive handling.

    FreemiumProprietaryWindows

    FreeCommander provides a graphical dual-pane Windows interface with tabs and folder synchronisation, but it is closed source and extra features sit in a paid donor edition.

  • Directory Opus

    Professional Windows file manager with tabs, dual pane, scripting and FTP.

    PaidProprietaryWindows

    Directory Opus provides a graphical dual pane with scripting, FTP and archive handling, but it requires a paid closed-source licence and has many options to learn.

  • xplorer²

    A paid tabbed dual-pane file manager for Windows that replaces File Explorer.

    PaidProprietaryWindows

    xplorer² is a paid graphical dual-pane Windows manager with tabs, Miller columns, folder sync and macros.

  • muCommander

    An open-source, cross-platform dual-pane file manager with remote filesystem, cloud storage and archive support.

    muCommander is a free open-source Java dual-pane manager across Windows, macOS and Linux with SFTP, SMB and cloud storage.

Also worth comparing

These listings name Far Manager as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.

  • Altap Salamander

    A two-panel file manager for Windows with built-in viewers, archive support and FTP/SFTP clients.

    FreeProprietaryWindows

    Far Manager is an open-source text-mode two-pane manager for Windows, relying on plugins for archives and FTP, and it is actively developed with x64 and ARM64 builds.

  • EF Commander

    A two-panel Windows file manager with an archiver, viewer, hex editor and FTP/SFTP client.

    PaidProprietaryWindows

    Far Manager is free and open source under BSD-3-Clause, a text-mode two-pane manager using plugins for archives, FTP and network browsing.

  • far2l

    A port of the Far Manager v2 dual-panel console file manager to Linux and macOS.

    Far Manager is the original Windows program far2l ports, open source under BSD-3-Clause, with x64 and ARM64 builds but no Linux or macOS version.

  • SpeedCommander

    A dual-pane file manager for Windows with a viewer for 80+ formats, archives and FTP/SFTP.

    PaidProprietaryWindows

    Far Manager is free and open source, a text-mode two-pane manager extended by plugins for archives, FTP and network browsing.

  • Unreal Commander

    A freeware two-panel file manager for Windows with archive support, an FTP client and plugins.

    FreeProprietaryWindows

    Far Manager is free and open source under BSD-3-Clause, a text-mode two-pane manager with plugins for archives, FTP and network browsing.

Similar software

Related functionality, not a direct replacement.