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Comparison of file synchronization software

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

Free and open-source

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Name Programming language Platform License Stable 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 2022 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 2023 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

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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

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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

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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

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References

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  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. ^ a b c d "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. ^ a b c "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

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