Comparison of file synchronization software

This is a list of file synchronization software for which there are Wikipedia articles.

Free and open-source

Name	Programming language	Platform	License	Last version	Portable	Detect conflict	Renames or moves	Propagate deletes	Version control	Scheduling or service	Other	Bidirectional	Only client needed	Protocol layer	Application layer	Delta copying
Conduit	Python	Linux, FreeBSD	GPL	2010 [1]	No					Yes	Synchronizes files, website, network apps
DirSync Pro	Java	Windows, macOS, Linux	GPLv3	2018 [2]	Yes	Yes	No		Yes (creates backup files)	Yes (native + via OS)	sym-links, filter, metadata, contents, auto-sync
FreeFileSync	C++	Windows, macOS, Linux	GPL (up to version 12.5)	last GPL version 12.5 Jul 21, 2023 [3] [4]	Yes (donation edition) [5]	Yes [6]	Yes [6]	Yes [6]	Yes (versioning, recycler) [6]	Yes	Older version had OpenCandy adware/malware, but now funded by donations. [7] [8] Since Version 13 license for business usage needed	Yes (two-way, mirror, update, custom)	Yes
iFolder	C#, Mono	Windows, macOS, Linux, Solaris	GPL	2010	No	Yes (centralized database)	Yes (files, not folders)
Kubo (IPFS)	Go	Windows, macOS, Linux	GPL	2022 [9]		Yes			No (planned) [10]					Noise/TCP and QUIC/UDP	Libp2p	Yes (network-wide de-duplication)
luckyBackup	C++	Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD	GPLv3	2018 [11]	Yes					Yes	Uses rsync backend
Nextcloud	JavaScript, PHP, Shell, Python, Vue [12]	Server: Linux, FreeBSD Clients: Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, Android, iOS, Windows Phone	AGPLv3	2023	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes [13]	Yes	Yes	Fork of ownCloud	Yes	No
ownCloud community edition	PHP, Go, JavaScript, Starlark, Shell [14]	Server: Linux, FreeBSD Clients: Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, Android, iOS, Blackberry	AGPLv3 (server edition) / proprietary (enterprise edition)	2021	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes [15]	Yes	Yes	External storage support; encryption	Yes	No
Pydio open source home	Server: PHP, Python, C++ Clients: JS, C#, Swift, Java	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS	AGPLv3	2017	Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes (Git [16] )	Yes
rclone	Go	Linux, Windows, macOS, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, Plan9, Solaris - Intel/AMD-64, Intel/AMD-32, ARM-32, ARM-64, MIPS-Big-Endian, MIPS-Little-Endian	MIT	2023	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes (via OS)	Supports over 50 cloud, protocol and virtual backends including S3 buckets, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, and other high-latency file storage. Capabilities include sync, cache, encrypt, compress and mount.	In alpha version since 2021[ citation needed ]	Yes
rsync	C in a Unix-Linux shell	Windows, macOS, [17] Linux, [18] [19] BSD	GPL v3	2025	Yes	No [20]	No	Yes using --delete	Yes using --backup and a time-stamped --suffix	Yes (via OS)	Client and server operation. Multiple comparison criteria (date, check-sum).	No, but can run in either direction	Yes	TCP	SSH, Rsh	Yes
Seafile community edition	C99, Python [21]	Server: Linux, Raspbian, Windows Clients: Linux, macOS, Windows, Android, iOS. [22]	AGPLv3 (Server) + Apache License 2.0 (Client)	2020	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes (via Seafile Client)	Android and iOS mobile clients
SparkleShare	C#	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS	GPL v3 and LGPL	2017	Yes	Yes	No		Yes (Git [23] )
SymmetricDS	Java	Java SE	GPL	2018	Yes	Yes	Yes		No	Yes	Plug-in APIs for customization
Synchronizer (krusader)		Windows, macOS, Linux	GPL v2	2017	No	Yes	No		No	No
Syncthing	Go	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, BSD, Solaris, 3rd party app for IPhone [24]	MPL v2	2025	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Distributed peer-to-peer sync with automatic NAT traversal. Custom topology (star, full-mesh, mixed). Encryption.	Yes	Yes	TCP, QUIC over UDP		Yes, block-based copying
Synkron	C++	Windows, macOS, Linux	GPL v2	2011 [25]	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Unison	Mainly OCaml [26]	Windows, macOS, Linux	GPL	2024 [27]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Uses rsync backend	Yes	No	TCP	SSH, socket	Yes
Name	Programming language	Platform	License	Last version	Portable	Detect conflict	Renames or moves	Propagate deletes	Version control	Scheduling or service	Other info	Bidirectional	Only client needed	Protocol layer	Application layer	Delta copying

Freeware

This is a comparison of the freeware (proprietary software release free of charge) file synchronization software.

Name	Operating system	Vendor	Online storage	Remote desktop	Prior file versions, revision control	Comments	Portable	Detect rename	Detect move	Scheduling	Full duplex transfer
Microsoft ActiveSync	Windows	Microsoft	No	No	?	Syncs mobile devices
Resilio Sync (formerly BitTorrent Sync)	Windows, OS X, Linux, FreeBSD, Android, iOS	Resilio, Inc.	No	No	Yes (via archive folder)	Distributed peer-to-peer sync., working also offline in a LAN	No	Yes	Yes	Pro only [28]	Yes
Briefcase (part of Windows) (removed in Windows 10 build 14942 [29] )	Windows	Microsoft	No	No	?
Cobian Backup	Windows	CobianSoft	No	No	Yes, trash folder	Backup software with folder synchronization feature; remote management; Shadow Copy	No	No	No	Yes
Windows Mobile Device Center	Windows	Microsoft	No	No	?	Syncs mobile devices; successor to Microsoft ActiveSync
Microsoft Sync Framework	Windows	Microsoft	?	No	?	Syncs files, data, services; a framework, not a tool		Yes	Yes	—
Microsoft SyncToy (discontinued January 2021)	Windows	Microsoft	No	No	No, recycle bin only	Sync. local folders	No	Yes	Yes	via OS	No
Windows Live Mesh (discontinued 13 February 2013)	Windows (Vista and greater), Windows Mobile, OSX	Microsoft	Yes	Yes	No, recycle bin only	Sync. folders, online storage	No	Yes	?	No, syncs whenever it is online	Yes
OmniGroup OmniPresence	OSX, OmniGroup software for iOS, open source framework available	OmniGroup	No	No	No, via local Time Machine backup only	Sync. local folders via OmniSync or WebDAV server but not to the server itself	No	?	?	No, syncs whenever it's online and not paused	Yes
Windows Live Sync (discontinued 31 March 2011)	Windows, OSX	Microsoft	No, browsing only	No	No, recycle bin only	Sync. folders, browse devices from website, remote access; was Microsoft FolderShare, 20,000 file limit	No	Yes	Yes	No, syncs whenever it's online	?

Commercial

This is a comparison of commercial software in the field of file synchronization. These programs only provide full functionality with a payment. As indicated, some are trialware and provide functionality during a trial period; some are freemium, meaning that they have freeware editions.

Name	Operating system	Freeware version	Portable	Encrypts files	Detect conflict	File lock	Open file support	Revision control	Detect rename	Detect move	Full duplex transfer	Propagate deletes	Case sensitive	Delta transfer	LAN sync.	P2P sync.
@MAX SyncUp	Windows	Limited	No		Yes	Yes	Yes		No	No		Yes		Yes	Yes
Allway Sync	Windows	Limited	Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes			Yes
AIMstor (discontinued)	Windows	Limited	Yes		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes through VSS	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Case preserving only
Argentum Backup	Windows	No	Yes				No	Yes					Yes
BackupAssist	Windows	No			No		Yes
Beyond Compare	Windows, OS X, Linux	Limited	Yes	No	Yes		Yes	Yes				Yes
Box Sync	Windows, [30] OS X, [30] Android, BlackBerry, iOS [30]	Limited			Yes	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	Yes	?		No
Cloudike	Windows, OS X, iPhone, Android, HarmonyOS	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
CloudMe	Windows, OS X, Linux, iPhone, Android, Google TV, Samsung TV	Yes	No		Yes	?	?	No	Yes	No	?	?	Yes	?	No
Distributed Storage	Windows, Linux	No			Yes	Yes	Yes
Dmailer Sync (discontinued)	Windows	Yes
Dropbox	Windows, OS X, Linux, Android, iPhone, BlackBerry	Yes	No		Yes	?	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Easy2Sync for Files	Windows	Yes			Yes			Yes	Yes, for folders
Egnyte	Windows, OS X, Linux, Android, iPad, iPhone	No	No		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Case preserving only	Yes	Yes
Gladinet	Windows, OS X, Android, iPad, iPhone, Windows RT, Blackberry	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
GoDrive	Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Android, iOS	Limited	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?	Yes
GoodSync	Windows, OS X, Android, iPad, iPhone, USB flash drive	Limited	Yes	Yes, beta	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
IBM Connections	Windows, OS X, Android, iOS	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
MediaFire	Windows, OS X, Android, iOS	Yes		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Name	Operating system	Freeware version	Portable	Encrypts files	Detect conflict	File lock	Open file support	Revision control	Detect rename	Detect move	Full duplex transfer	Propagate deletes	Case sensitive	Delta transfer	LAN sync.	P2P sync.
Mega	Windows, OS X, Linux, Android, iPhone, BlackBerry	Yes		Yes	Yes			Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No [31]	No [32]
RepliWeb	Windows, Linux	No			Partial			Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Resilio Sync (ex. BitTorrent Sync)	Windows, OS X, Linux, Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Amazon Kindle Fire, FreeBSD	Limited	No	Yes, optional	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes	Yes
Robocopy	Windows	Yes	No		No
SecureSafe	Windows, OS X, Android, iOS	Yes			Yes	No		No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No
SpiderOak	Windows, OS X, Debian, Fedora, Slackware, Android, iOS	No			No			Yes [33]	No		No			Yes [34]	Yes
ShareFile	Windows, OS X, Android, iPhone	Yes		Yes				Yes [35]	Yes		Yes		Yes		Yes
SugarSync	Windows, OS X, Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, Windows Mobile	No	No		Yes			Yes [36]	Yes	Yes		Yes
Syncdocs	Windows, web app	Beta versions only	Yes		Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Microsoft Word only [37]	Yes
Synchronize It!	Windows	No			No
Syncovery	Windows, OS X, Linux, FreeBSD	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Syncplicity	Windows, OS X, Android, iPhone, Windows Mobile	Yes			Yes			Yes			Yes	Yes		No [38]	No
Tonido	Windows, OS X, Linux, Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, Windows Phone	Yes	Yes		Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Tresorit	Windows, OS X, Linux, Android, BlackBerry, iOS, Windows Phone	Limited	Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes, for Windows	Yes				Yes	Yes	No
Ubuntu One (discontinued 2 April 2014)	Windows, OS X, Ubuntu, iOS, Android [39]	Yes
Wuala (discontinued)	Windows, OS X, Debian, Ubuntu, Android, iOS	Yes		Yes
ZumoDrive (discontinued)	Windows, OS X, Linux, Android, iPhone, Palm webOS	Yes			Yes			Yes
Zetta.net	Windows, OS X, Linux	No			Yes		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes, Preserve file name case & file metadata	Yes	Yes
Name	Operating system	Freeware version	Portable	Encrypts files	Detect conflict	File lock	Open file support	Revision control	Detect rename	Detect move	Full duplex transfer	Propagate deletes	Case sensitive	Delta transfer	LAN sync.	P2P sync.

Glossary

Platform

Operating system & / or software platform like Java SE or .NET.

Edit conflict detection

Detect if an operation may result in data loss. See File Synchronization

Renames/moves

Propagate renaming/moving of a file/directory. This saves bandwidth for remote systems but increases the analysis duration. Commonly done by calculating and storing hash function digests of files to detect if two files with different names, edit dates, etc., have identical contents. Programs which do not support it, will behave as if the originally-named file/directory has been deleted and the newly named file/directory is new and transmit the "new" file again.

Version control

Can revert to a precedent version of a file/directory.

Scheduling or service

Run automatically (via a scheduler or as a system service), or manually for each sync.

Online storage

Online file storage option and type

Network-attached storage

Can sync. with NAS shares.

Only client needed

It is only needed to install synchronizing software on the client side. Server is only running arbitrary storage protocol like SFTP, SMB, NFS, etc. All synchronization logic is handled by client. This is generally good, because cheap cloud storage usually does not allow users to run custom software on storage server, they only provide access to storage.

See also

• Backup software
  • List of backup software
  • Comparison of online backup services
• Disk cloning
  • Comparison of disk cloning software
• Comparison of file comparison tools
• Comparison of file hosting services
• Comparison of file transfer protocols
• Comparison of version-control software

References

1. "Index of /Sources/Conduit/0.3/".
2. "DirSync Pro".
3. "FreeFileSync".
4. "FreeFileSync Forum: Wording in FAQ conflicts with license".
5. "Free File Sync Software". Portable Edition. Archived from the original on 2018-01-11. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
6. "Frequently Asked Questions - FreeFileSync". Features. Archived from the original on 28 September 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
7. Akerlund, Geoff (June 2014), FreeFileSync comes bundled with the OpenCandy malware., Backup Review, retrieved 2 February 2018
8. FFS FAQ , retrieved 27 June 2018
9. "Releases · ipfs/kubo". GitHub .
10. "Versioning: Commit + Repo Datastructures · Issue #23 · ipfs/notes". GitHub. Archived from the original on 2019-02-14. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
11. "LuckyBackup - backup and sync utility".
12. "Nextcloud". GitHub. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
13. "Yes on desktop, but NO on mobile - Issue 19". GitHub .
14. "ownCloud". GitHub. Retrieved 2015-07-13.
15. "ownCloud Documentation Overview". ownCloud Documentation.
16. "Files versionning". Pydio. 2017-05-14. Archived from the original on 2019-02-14. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
17. "rsync Backups on a Mac" . Retrieved 2016-01-24.
18. "Arch Linux packages". archlinux. Retrieved 2015-09-16.
19. "Software packages in "vivid"". ubuntu. Retrieved 2015-09-16.
20. "How does rsync resolve conflicts?" . Retrieved 2022-08-26. Rsync doesn't try to resolve conflicts.
21. "haiwen/seafile". GitHub. Retrieved 2015-07-13.
22. "Seafile clients". Seafile. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
23. Bons, Hylke (2019-02-12), Share and collaborate by syncing with any Git repository instantly. Linux, macOS, and Windows.: hbons/SparkleShare, archived from the original on 2019-02-14, retrieved 2019-02-14
24. "Möbius Sync".
25. "Synkron 1.6.2 released - Synkron Documentation". sites.google.com.
26. Pierce, Benjamin (2021-12-18), Unison File Synchronizer , retrieved 2021-12-19
27. "Release 2.53.4". GitHub . Retrieved 2024-02-24.
28. "Sync 2.x change log".
29. "Briefcase - Add to New Context Menu in Windows 10". tenforums.com. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
30. "What Is the Box Policy for Browser and OS Support? – Box Help". Box. Retrieved 2014-08-28.
31. "Software Developer Documentation - MEGA". mega.nz.
32. "Will MEGAsync use peer-to-peer transfers to achieve faster syncing between computers in the same local area network?" . Retrieved 2020-07-11.
33. Susie Ochs (2009-06-11). "Online Storage Battle: Which Cloud Back-Up Service Reigns Supreme?". MacLife. Archived from the original on 2009-12-10. Retrieved 2009-11-04.
34. "Does SpiderOak backup the whole file every time it changes?". SpiderOak. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
35. Citrix ShareFile. "File Versioning". Citrix ShareFile. Archived from the original on 2015-05-13. Retrieved 2015-01-10.
36. "See How SugarSync Stacks up to the Competition". SugarSync (formerly called SharpCast). Retrieved 2010-01-13.
37. "Syncdocs feature list". Syncdocs Web. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
38. "Why Delta Sync Doesn't Matter". 2009-07-20. Retrieved 2014-05-21.
39. "Ubuntu One:Downloads". Ubuntu One. Archived from the original on 9 August 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2013.

Further reading

• Kerner, Sean (2008-02-13). "Get In Sync with File Syncing Software". Tom's Guide. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
• Kerner, Sean (2008-02-27). "Syncing Software Redux: More Options". Tom's Guide. Retrieved 2009-07-01.