curl vs rclone
curl
curl.serclone
rclone.orgSide by side
| Figure | curl | rclone |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Command Line Tools | 8.4 (#7) | 8.4 (#9) |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Platforms | The downloads page lists packages for Linux, macOS, iOS, and 32-bit and 64-bit Windows, among many other systems. | 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. |
| Purpose | curl is a command line tool and library for transferring data with URLs. | Rclone is a command-line program for managing files on cloud storage. |
| Use cases | The project says curl is used in command lines and scripts, while libcurl is embedded in a wide range of devices and software applications. | Rclone supports backing up and restoring files, mirroring data, migrating between storage providers, and mounting cloud storage as a disk. |
Plans
In their own words
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.