Best Open-Source FTP Clients 2026: 6 Options Compared

An FTP client is a small tool, but the open-source versions differ in ways that matter on the day you need one. Plain FTP sends passwords unencrypted, so use SFTP or FTPS whenever the server allows it, and any client below handles those. FileZilla is the one most people have heard of, with Windows, macOS and Linux versions and a two-pane window, but it is worth getting from the project's own site and declining bundled extras. Cyberduck is friendlier on macOS and Windows and connects to cloud storage like S3 and Dropbox as well. WinSCP is Windows only, with scripting and a built-in text editor, which suits administrators. TermSCP and lftp work in the terminal, and lftp is strong at scripted transfers and mirroring. Rclone is a command-line tool for syncing to over 70 cloud storage products and can mount them like a disk, which makes it the best choice for backups. Think about whether you click or script, and whether your target is a web host or cloud storage. For occasional uploads to a web host, any graphical client works, so pick the one that looks least cluttered. For anything repeated, script it and keep credentials in a key file, not typed in.

FileZilla

GPL-2.0-or-later client for Windows, macOS and Linux; free for commercial use. FileZilla Pro adds cloud storage and costs 12.99 EUR a year per device.

Price: Free (Free client under the GPL; commercial use allowed); paid from EUR 12.99 per year, FileZilla Pro single device (FileZilla pricing, checked 2026-10-22).

Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux. GPL-2.0-or-later (open source) (license source).

Best for: General FTP and SFTP work.

Compare: FileZilla alternatives

Cyberduck

GPL-3.0 client for macOS and Windows covering FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, S3 and several cloud drives. Free, with donations requested.

Price: Free (Free open source client; donations requested) (Cyberduck pricing, checked 2026-10-22).

Platforms and license: macOS, Windows. GPL-3.0 (open source) (license source).

Project activity: 4.9k GitHub stars · last commit Oct 27, 2026

Best for: Mixing servers and cloud storage.

Worth knowing: Covers FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, SMB, S3, Azure, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive and more. Mountain Duck, for mounting remote storage as a disk, is a separate product.

WinSCP

GPL-3.0 Windows-only client supporting FTP, FTPS, SCP, SFTP, WebDAV and S3, with scripting and an integrated editor.

Price: Free (Free) (WinSCP pricing, checked 2026-10-22).

Platforms and license: Windows. GPL-3.0 (open source) (license source).

Project activity: 3.9k GitHub stars · last commit Oct 26, 2026

Best for: Windows administrators.

Worth knowing: Supports FTP, FTPS, SCP, SFTP, WebDAV and S3 with scripting and an integrated text editor. Windows only.

termscp

MIT terminal interface for SCP, SFTP, FTP/S, S3, Kube, SMB and WebDAV on Windows, macOS, Linux and BSD.

Price: Free (Free open source software) (termscp pricing, checked 2026-10-22).

Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux, BSD. MIT (open source) (license source).

Project activity: 3.1k GitHub stars · latest release v1.2.1 (Oct 19, 2026) · last commit Oct 19, 2026

Best for: Terminal users who want a visual layout.

Worth knowing: Terminal UI client for SCP, SFTP, FTP/S, S3, Kube, SMB and WebDAV.

rclone

MIT command-line tool for over 70 cloud storage products that can mount storage as a disk. The web GUI is experimental.

Price: Free (Free open source software) (rclone pricing, checked 2026-10-22).

Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD. MIT (open source) (license source).

Project activity: 60.6k GitHub stars · latest release v1.75.2 (Oct 9, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026

Best for: Backups and sync to cloud storage.

Worth knowing: Command-line tool for over 70 cloud storage products; can mount storage as a disk and serve over SFTP, HTTP, WebDAV and FTP. Web GUI is experimental.

lftp

GPL-3.0 command-line transfer program covering ftp, http, sftp, fish and torrent. Strong for scripted mirroring.

Price: Free (Free open-source software) (lftp pricing, checked 2026-10-23).

Platforms and license: Command line (Linux, macOS, Unix-like). GPL-3.0 (open source) (license source).

Project activity: 1.3k GitHub stars · latest release v4.9.3 (Nov 8, 2024) · last commit Oct 5, 2026

Best for: Scripted transfers and mirroring.

Worth knowing: Command-line client for ftp, http, sftp, fish and torrent per the repo description.

Which one to pick

• You need a familiar two-pane client on any system: FileZilla
• You use cloud storage as well as servers: Cyberduck
• You run Windows and need scripting: WinSCP
• You back up to cloud storage: rclone
• You mirror a directory from a script: lftp