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7 Best Free FTP Server Software

The best free FTP server software for Windows, Mac, and Linux

By Bradley Mitchell Bradley Mitchell Writer Massachusetts Institute of Technology University of Illinois An MIT graduate who brings years of technical experience to articles on SEO, computers, and wireless networking. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on December 26, 2021 Reviewed by Jerrick Leger Reviewed by Jerrick Leger Jerrick Leger is a CompTIA-certified IT Specialist with more than 10 years' experience in technical support and IT fields. He is also a systems administrator for an IT firm in Texas serving small businesses. lifewire's editorial guidelines Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Apps Best Apps Payment Services An FTP server is necessary to share files using the File Transfer Protocol. An FTP server is what an FTP client connects to for file transfers. The 6 Best Free FTP Clients for Windows, Mac, and Linux There are lots of FTP servers available, but many of them are only usable at a cost. Below is a list of the best freeware FTP server programs that run on Windows, macOS, and Linux. You can download and use them to share files as often as you like without paying a dime. 01 of 07

FileZilla Server

What We Like Intuitive interface. Perform file transfers simultaneously. Supports secure file transfers. Bookmarks for fast connections. What We Don't Like Can't edit files from inside the app. Does not refresh folder views automatically. FileZilla Server is an open-source and free server application for Windows. It can administer a local server as well as a remote FTP server. You can choose which ports the program should listen on, how many users can be connected to your server at once, the number of CPU threads the server can use, and timeout settings for connections, transfers, and logins. Some security features include auto-banning an IP address if it fails to login successfully after so many attempts, an option to enable FTP over TLS with the ability to disallow unencrypted FTP, and IP filtering so that you can prevent certain IP addresses or IP address ranges from connecting to your FTP server. It's also effortless to take your server offline or quickly lock the FTP server with one click to ensure that no new connections to your server can be made until you unlock it. You also have full access to the creation of users and groups with FileZilla Server, which means you can throttle bandwidth for some users and not others and provide select users with permissions like read/write, but others with only read access. Download FileZilla Server 02 of 07

Xlight FTP Server

What We Like Lightweight. Supports secure file transfers. Remote administration feature. Supports multiple connections at once. What We Don't Like More difficult to use for FTP novices. Can be complicated to configure. Xlight is a free FTP server that's more modern-looking than FileZilla Server and also includes tons of settings that you can modify to your liking. After you create a virtual server, double-click it to open its settings, where you can modify the server port and IP address, enable security features, control bandwidth usage for the server, define how many users can be on your server, and set an explicit maximum login count from the same IP address. An interesting feature in Xlight is that you can set the maximum idle time for users to get kicked out if they aren't communicating with the server. The Xlight FTP Server can use SSL and can require clients to use a certificate. It also supports ODBC, Active Directory, and LDAP authentication. Xlight is free for personal use only and works with Windows, both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. You can download this FTP server as a portable program so that it doesn't need to be installed, or you can install it on your computer like a regular application. Download Xlight FTP Server 03 of 07

CompleteFTP

What We Like Simple installation. Supports encrypted file transfers. Many customization options. More features than most FTP servers. What We Don't Like Full menu hidden by default. Has occasional performance issues. Limited features in free version. CompleteFTP is another free Windows FTP server that supports both FTP and FTPS. This program has a full graphical user interface and is easy to use. The interface is pretty bare, and the settings are hidden in the side menu and are simple to access. Step-by-step guides are built into the CompleteFTP install, so you can select Step-by-step guides at the top of the program at any time to learn how to use the different features and options. This program installs as a trial of the professional edition. See the instructions on the download page to learn how to activate the free edition of CompleteFTP (all the features above are in the free version). Download CompleteFTP 04 of 07

Core FTP Server

What We Like Quick setup. Supports encrypted file transfers. Supports Active Directory. Simple interface. What We Don't Like Free version only supports three domains. Core FTP Server is an FTP server for Windows that comes in two versions. One is a minimal server that's simple to understand and easy to set up in about a minute. It's 100 percent portable and has you choose a username, password, port, and root path. There are a few other settings as well if you want to configure them. The other version of Core FTP Server is the full-fledged server. You can define the domain name, have it auto-start as a service, add multiple user accounts with detailed access permissions and restrictions, designate access rules, and more. Both versions of this FTP server come as 32-bit and 64-bit versions for Windows. Download Core FTP Server 05 of 07

Vsftpd

What We Like Fast FTP server. Supports secure file transfer. Lightweight. What We Don't Like For Linux only. Complicated to install and configure. Limited functionality. vsftpd is a Linux FTP server that claims security, performance, and stability are its core selling points. This program is the default FTP server used in Ubuntu, Fedora, CentOS, and other similar OSs. vsftpd lets you create users, throttle bandwidth, and encrypt connections over SSL. It also supports per-user configurations, per-source IP limits, per-source IP address configurations, and IPv6. Refer to the vsftpd manual if you need help using this server. Download Vsftpd 06 of 07

ProFTPD

What We Like More secure than other FTP servers. Add-on modules available for more features. Ideal for web servers. What We Don't Like Linux only. Difficult for novices to install. ProFTPD is a good option for Linux if you're looking for an FTP server with a GUI so that it's easier to use than messing around with command-line commands. The only catch is that after installing ProFTPD, you must also install the gadmin GUI tool and connect it to the server. Here are some features you get with ProFTPD: IPv6 support, module support, logging, hidden directories, and files, which can be used as a standalone server, and per-directory configurations. ProFTPD works with macOS, FreeBSD, Linux, Solaris, Cygwin, IRIX, OpenBSD, and other platforms. Download ProFTPD 07 of 07

Rebex Tiny SFTP Server

What We Like Tutorials available. Simple to configure (no setup required). Protects user privacy. Securely transfer files. What We Don't Like Minimalist, with few advanced features. Requires .NET 4.0 Windows only. This Windows FTP server is lightweight, portable, and can get up and running in seconds. Just unzip the program from the download and select Start. The only downfall with this program is that you must make any settings adjustments through the RebexTinySftpServer.exe.config text file. This CONFIG file is how you change the username and password, set the root directory, change the FTP port, have the server start when an application is started, and adjust security settings. After extracting the ZIP file's contents, use the RebexTinySftpServer.exe file to open the program. Download Rebex Tiny SFTP Server Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire The 6 Best Free FTP Clients for Windows, Mac, and Linux 8 Best Free Download Managers (Updated October 2022) 15 Best Free Remote Access Software Tools (Oct. 2022) 3 Best Free Full Disk Encryption Programs 9 Best Free Firewall Programs (Updated October 2022) AeroAdmin 4.9 Review (A Free Remote Desktop Program) 31 Best Free Backup Software Tools (October 2022) The Best Free and Public DNS Servers (October 2022) The 4 Best Free Text Editors for Windows & Mac 12 Best Free Defrag Software Tools (October 2022) 4 Best Free Online Backup Plans (October 2022) 26 Best Free Video Converter Tools The 7 Best Music Editors of 2022 The 9 Best Free Antivirus Software of 2022 The 7 Best Free DVD Ripper Programs of 2022 8 Best Free Disk Space Analyzer Tools Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies