Comparison of FTP server software
The table below compares basic characteristics of notable FTP Servers. This list is not exhaustive.
Name |
Managed by |
Target Niche |
OS |
Features |
License |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BulletProof Software LLC |
Commercial and Home-Use |
Windows 98/ME, NT/2000, XP, Vista, Windows Server 2003/2008 |
Activity and Traffic Monitor, User Quota system, Bandwidth Throttling, Virtual File System, Advanced Logging, GUI Administration with Windows System Service Support, Event Manager (eg: React on file upload), Resumed Upload/Downloads, Anti-Hammering, Ratio Support (Private File Trading) |
Proprietary software |
|
Cerberus FTP Server |
Cerberus, LLC |
Commercial and home use |
Windows NT, 2000, XP, Vista, Windows Server 2003/2008 |
Simple Administration, TLS/SSL security, IPv6, logging, Anti-Hammering, ACTIVE Directory authentication, virtual file system |
Free for personal use |
CrushFTP Server |
Ben Spink |
Commercial to Home User |
Windows NT, 2000, XP, Vista, Windows Server 2003/2008, Windows 7, Mac OS X Client, Mac OS X Server, Linux, Unix, Solaris |
FTP, FTPS, SFTP, HTTP, HTTPS, WebDAV, Remote Administration, WebInterface (Browser uploads, and Java Applet uploads), Zipped Uploads and Downloads, Plugin Architecture, Usage Reports, User Email Event Notification, Server Email Alerts, Protocol Translation, SQL, LDAP, MS Active Directory, Local/Remote Virtual File System (LOCAL,FTP,SFTP file systems), AJAX + XSLT, Adobe PDF Form Posting and Uploads, User and Group Inheritance, Virtual File System Chaining, Virtual Domains, Quotas, Ratios, Bandwidth Limiters, Live Graphs, GUI Administration, XML, Self Update, Automatic Backups, UTF-8, 32bit, 64bit, Windows Service, Daemon (headless) |
Proprietary software |
FileZilla Server |
Tim Kosse |
Medium traffic, medium security, non-critical |
Windows NT,2000,XP,2003 |
Simple administration, TLS/SSL security control, Remote administration, virtual file system |
GPL |
Internet Information Services |
Microsoft |
Commercial applications |
Windows NT, 2000, XP Professional, Windows XP Professional x64 EDition, Server 2003 and future releases |
Remote administration inside Active Directory. Applying additional "FTP Publishing Service for IIS 7.0" also provides support for FTPS. |
Proprietary software |
ProFTPd |
The proftpd Project |
Fast, secure, modulable |
Linux, Mac OS X, Windows (with cygwin) |
LDAP Authentication, TLS/SSL security control, Shaping traffic, SQL or LDAP or File Quota, Ratio ... |
GPL |
Pure-FTPd |
Frank Denis |
Production and secure environments |
Linux, Solaris, HPUX, Mac OS X and FreeBSD, (Potentially Windows though unofficial) |
TLS Encryption, Flexible authentication |
BSD |
Serv-U |
Rhinosoft |
High traffic, production and secure environments |
Windows |
Support for FTP, FTPS, SFTP, HTTP, HTTPS listeners, Windows Active Directory integration, ODBC user/group storage, custom event triggers, remote browser-based administration, web-based file transfer client |
Proprietary software |
Sysax Multi Server |
Codeorigin, LLC |
Commercial and personal use |
Windows (All editions) |
Secure FTP Server that also supports Secure Shell Access and Web browser based secure file transfer. Protocols supported include FTP, FTPS, SFTP, HTTP, HTTPS, Telnet, and Secure Shell. Features include remote browser based administration, server event triggers and scripting, and authentication using Windows, ODBC, or Active Directory. Certified for Windows Vista. |
Free Personal Edition, Commercial Editions |
vsftpd |
Chris Evans |
High traffic, production and secure environments (couples well with ssh for sftp) |
Linux/Unix variants |
Flexible configuration via PAM, impressive list of high-profile users |
GPL |
zFTPServer |
Västgöta-Data AB |
Commercial and home use |
Windows NT,2000,XP,2003 |
Strong TLS/SSL security control, Remote administration, Advanced virtual filesystem, Anti-Hammering, System Service support, Active Directory integration, Reactive and Proactive scripting functionality, Speed Scheduler |
Proprietary (Freeware with paid extensions/support) |
Name |
Managed by |
Target Niche |
OS |
Features |
License |
See also
- List of FTP server software
- File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
- FTP over SSL (FTPS)
- FTP over SSH
- SSH file transfer protocol (SFTP)