Alternatives to Unreal Commander
A freeware two-panel file manager for Windows with archive support, an FTP client and plugins. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Unreal Commander
A freeware two-panel file manager for Windows with archive support, an FTP client and plugins.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Unreal Commander.
Total Commander
The dual-pane Windows file manager people have been using since 1993, still updated, still shareware.
Total Commander is paid shareware and the origin of the WLX, WCX and WDX plugin formats, with archives, FTP, SFTP and directory synchronisation.
Double Commander
A free dual-pane file manager in the Total Commander tradition, running on Linux and macOS too.
Double Commander is free and open source on Windows, macOS and Linux, with partial Total Commander plugin compatibility, FTP and multi-rename.
FreeCommander
Free dual-pane Windows file manager with tabs, search and archive handling.
FreeCommander is a free dual-pane Windows manager with tabs, archive handling, folder synchronisation and a portable mode, plus a paid donor edition.
Altap Salamander
A two-panel file manager for Windows with built-in viewers, archive support and FTP/SFTP clients.
Altap Salamander is a free two-panel Windows manager with FTP, FTPS, SCP and SFTP clients and viewers, though its latest major version is older.
Far Manager
A two-pane text-mode file manager and shell for Windows, extended by plugins for archives, FTP and network browsing.
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.
Multi Commander
Free multi-tab, multi-pane Windows file manager aimed at power users.
Multi Commander is free for commercial use too, with multi-tab panes, a scripting engine and user-defined commands in a dense interface.
EF Commander
A two-panel Windows file manager with an archiver, viewer, hex editor and FTP/SFTP client.
EF Commander is paid and closed source, adding SFTP, FTPS and SCP, an archiver and a hex editor to the two-panel layout.
SpeedCommander
A dual-pane file manager for Windows with a viewer for 80+ formats, archives and FTP/SFTP.
SpeedCommander is a paid dual-pane Windows manager with a viewer for over 80 formats, FTP and SFTP access, macros and add-ins.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Directory Opus
Professional Windows file manager with tabs, dual pane, scripting and FTP.
XYplorer
Tabbed Windows file manager with scripting, portable mode and deep search.
xplorer²
A paid tabbed dual-pane file manager for Windows that replaces File Explorer.
Q-Dir
Quad-pane Windows file manager that shows up to four folders at once.
Files
A file manager for Windows with tabs, columns, tags and dual panes, built the way Explorer should have been.
OneCommander
Modern Windows file manager with Miller columns, dual pane and previews.
