Air Explorer vs FolderSync

Air Explorer manages cloud storage accounts through one interface for transfers, synchronization and encryption. It can move files directly between cloud services without saving them locally; the home page says transfers have no data limits. Listed services include Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, S3, SFTP, WebDAV and SharePoint. The desktop app supports scheduled synchronization and backups, including mirror and bidirectional modes. Files and filenames can be encrypted before upload, and the site says they are unreadable without the password. Its Android app handles cloud and device files, synchronization, encryption and access to computer files added as a cloud. Free BASIC costs nothing and limits users to one account per cloud, read-only cloud transfers and synchronization, plus two simultaneous downloads and two uploads. Pro starts at $21 a year for one device; a two-year plan is $31 a year, and a lifetime license is $42 as a one-time purchase. Supported platforms are Windows, macOS and Android.

FolderSync moves files between folders on a device and cloud services or file servers, and it can also sync folders stored on the same device. One-way sync mirrors a source to a destination; two-way sync is also supported. It can transfer files between two remote locations through an Android device or desktop computer, which temporarily holds the files. Connections include Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Box and Nextcloud, along with FTP, SFTP, SMB, S3-compatible storage and WebDAV. Its V2 engine adds encryption, pre-sync change analysis, parallel transfers and Cron-based scheduling. FolderSync also supports Tasker integration and configurable events such as schedules and syncs. Encryption protects file names and contents before upload, but works only with one-way sync; a lost encryption password cannot be recovered. FolderSync says account, folder-pair and sync-log data stays on the device, while files go directly to the configured service or server. A free plan is available. Android requires version 8.0 or newer; desktop support covers Windows 10 or newer, macOS 10.15 or newer, and qualifying 64-bit x86 Linux systems.