# Alternatives to lftp lftp is a free, open-source command-line file transfer program for Unix/Linux (and via ports, macOS/Windows) supporting FTP, FTPS, HTTP, HTTPS, SFTP, and FXP server-to-server transfers. It is a staple for sysadmins and DevOps engineers scripting backups and deployments, prized for its `mirror` command that does true two-way directory synchronization, segmented/parallel transfers, and bandwidth throttling. lftp ranks #4 of 11 in FTP clients, with an Alt Score of 85. It is licensed under GPL-3.0, free from Free and available on Linux. 9 of 9 checklist rows are verified against a public source. Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/lftp/ Category: FTP clients ## Where lftp stands out - **Speed limits & scheduling** — 4 of 10 apps with a verified answer have this - **Open source** — 5 of 11 apps with a verified answer have this ## Overview - **Who it's for**: lftp is aimed at technical users and system administrators who manage file transfers from a Unix-style command line rather than a graphical interface, particularly for scripted, unattended, or unreliable-network transfer scenarios. - **What you get**: lftp is a free, open-source (GPL-3.0) command-line file transfer program supporting FTP, HTTP, FTPS/HTTPS, SFTP, FISH (over SSH), partial WebDAV, and BitTorrent. It includes a built-in mirror/reverse-mirror command for directory synchronization, job queueing and scheduling (the `at` command), per-connection and total transfer-rate limiting, parallel and segmented (pget) downloads, an `edit` command for round-tripping remote files through a local editor, and shell-like job control with backgrounding. - **How it works**: Users interact with lftp through an interactive shell (with readline-based input, bookmarks, and command history) or by passing commands via `-e`/scripts, connecting to remote hosts over any supported protocol via URLs. Every operation is designed to be reliable: non-fatal errors and dropped connections trigger automatic retry and resume, and if lftp is closed while jobs are still running it moves itself into background (nohup) mode to finish them. ## Profile - **License**: GPL-3.0 (verified 2026-07-30) - **Pricing model**: Free (verified 2026-07-30) - **Starts at**: Free (verified 2026-07-30) - **Platforms**: Linux - **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-30) ## Ranked alternatives | # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms | |---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------| | 1 | [Cyberduck](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/cyberduck.md) | 95 | GPL-3.0 | Windows, macOS | | 2 | [AeroFTP](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/aeroftp.md) | 90 | GPL-3.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux | | 3 | [CrossFTP](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/crossftp.md) | 90 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, Linux | | 4 | [SmartFTP](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/smartftp.md) | 85 | Proprietary | Windows | | 5 | [WinSCP](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/winscp.md) | 85 | GPL-3.0 | Windows | | 6 | [Xftp](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/xftp.md) | 80 | Proprietary | Windows | | 7 | [FileZilla](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/filezilla.md) | 75 | GPL-2.0-or-later | Windows, macOS, Linux | | 8 | [Core FTP](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/coreftp.md) | 65 | Proprietary | Windows | | 9 | [Transmit](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/transmit.md) | 65 | Proprietary | macOS | | 10 | [Commander One](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/commander-one.md) | 50 | Proprietary | macOS | Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/ ## Feature comparison Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified). | FTP clients checklist | lftp | Cyberduck | AeroFTP | CrossFTP | SmartFTP | WinSCP | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Pricing model | Free | Donationware | Free | Freemium | One-time | Free | | Starts at | Free | Free | Free | $24.99 | $79.99/user/yr | Free | | License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 | Proprietary | Proprietary | GPL-3.0 | | Platforms | Linux | Windows, macOS | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows | Windows | | Protocols (FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, S3) | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Sync / mirror mode | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Editing remote files | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Key-based auth | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Speed limits & scheduling | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | Partial | Partial | | Open source | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | | One-time purchase option | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | ? | | Directory comparison | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | CLI | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ## Sources Sources for lftp. Each alternative is sourced on its own page. - **Pricing model**: Free — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: README's License section (re-sourced from bare homepage); no pricing/purchase page exists anywhere in official sources. - Quote: “LFTP is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at ” - **Starts at**: Free — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: Same README License section; no paid tier exists anywhere in official sources, so starting price is Free. - Quote: “LFTP is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at ” - **Status**: active — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: Re-sourced from bare homepage. Commit history on the master branch shows commits as recent as 2026-03-23, well after the last packaged release (lftp-4.9.3, 2024-11-08 per NEWS), so development continu - Quote: “Mar 23, 2026 ... mirror: use xfer:destination-directory as default target directory” - **Platforms**: Linux — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: README also lists Solaris, FreeBSD, NetBSD, SCO, IRIX, and Tru64 as known-to-compile Unix targets, and lftp.yar.ru/get.html offers Fedora RPM binaries (Linux), but none of these fall outside Linux in - Quote: “The package is known to compile on Solaris(gcc), Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD, SCO v5.0(gcc), IRIX(gcc), Tru64(gcc) and other systems.” - **License**: GPL-3.0 — (verified 2026-07-30) - Quote: “GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 3, 29 June 2007” - **Protocols (FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, S3)**: Partial — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: FTP and SFTP are fully supported; WebDAV support is explicitly called 'Partial'; the features list has no mention of S3. - Quote: “FTP and HTTP protocols support. ... SFTP protocol v3-v6 support. ... Partial WebDAV support.” - **Sync / mirror mode**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-30) - Quote: “lftp has builtin mirror which can download or update a whole directory tree. There is also reverse mirror (mirror -R) which uploads or updates a directory tree on server.” - **Editing remote files**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-30) - Quote: “Retrieve remote file to a temporary location, run a local editor on it and upload the file back if changed.” - **Key-based auth**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-30) - Quote: “you can use ssh-based protocols with authorized keys, so you don't have to enter a password.” - **Speed limits & scheduling**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: Scheduling is provided by the built-in `at` command ('There is command `at' to launch a job at specified time in current context') documented on desc.html. - Quote: “net:limit-rate (bytes per second) limit transfer rate on data connection.” - **Open source**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: Re-sourced from bare homepage to the GitHub README license section. - Quote: “LFTP is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at ” - **One-time purchase option**: No — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: Re-sourced from bare homepage. No purchase option exists anywhere in official sources (site or GitHub); the software is entirely free/open source under GPL with no paid tier or one-time purchase menti - Quote: “LFTP is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at ” - **Directory comparison**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-30) - Quote: “mirror compares timestamps of directories and enters a directory only if it is older or missing on the target side.” - **CLI**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-30) - Quote: “LFTP is a sophisticated file transfer program with command line interface.” --- Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/