Air Explorer vs rclone
Air Explorer
airexplorer.netrclone
rclone.orgSide by side
| Figure | Air Explorer | rclone |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $1.75/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 1 |
| Spec score · WebDAV Client Software | 8.4 (#8) | 8.4 (#9) |
| Encryption | The product can encrypt file content and filenames before upload, and the site says files are unreadable without the password. | The crypt remote provides client-side encryption, encrypts files before upload and decrypts them after download, and leaves data encrypted at rest in the wrapped remote. |
| Integrations | The supported services page lists Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, S3, SFTP, WebDAV, SharePoint, and many other cloud services. | The site lists more than 70 cloud storage products, including Amazon S3, Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, and Backblaze B2. |
| Platforms | The official download page offers Air Explorer for Windows and Mac, and a separate official page offers the Android app. | The downloads page lists builds for Windows, macOS, Linux, BSD variants, Plan 9, and Solaris; Android builds are available but are not first-class builds. |
Plans
Air Explorer
- Free BASICFree
- Pro 1 Year$21 a year
- Pro 2 Years$31 a year
- Pro Lifetime$42, paid once
In their own words
Air Explorer
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.
rclone
Rclone is a free command-line program for managing files on cloud storage. It can back up and restore files, mirror or migrate data, mount storage as a disk, and combine file systems. The project lists more than 70 cloud storage products, including Amazon S3, Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, and Backblaze B2. Sync options include copying changed files, one-way sync, and two-way bisync. Rclone checks MD5 and SHA1 hashes, preserves timestamps, and can restart operations. Where supported, it transfers between providers without using local disk. It can mount local, cloud, or virtual file systems and serve files over SFTP, HTTP, WebDAV, FTP, and DLNA. Rclone is also available through scripts and an API. Its crypt remote encrypts files before upload and decrypts them after download, but leaves file length and modification time unencrypted. The crypt password in the configuration file is only lightly obscured unless configuration encryption is enabled. The web-based GUI is described as experimental, and Android builds are not yet first-class builds.