Faro vs SmartFTP
Faro
github.comSmartFTP
smartftp.comSide by side
| Figure | Faro | SmartFTP |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 12 |
| Spec score · FTP and SFTP clients | 8.1 (#15) | 8.4 (#9) |
| File synchronization | Yes | Yes |
| Supported platforms | cross-platform | windows |
| Product | Faro is a desktop client for file transfer, remote shells, and storage across servers and cloud services. | SmartFTP is an FTP, FTPS, SFTP, WebDAV, Amazon S3, Backblaze B2, Google Drive, OneDrive, SSH, and terminal client for transferring files between a local computer and an internet server. |
| Protocol coverage | multi-protocol | multi-protocol |
| Protocols | It supports SFTP, FTP, FTPS, SSH, S3-compatible storage, Azure Blob, Google Cloud Storage, WebDAV, and HTTP(S). | The editions page lists FTP, FTPS, SFTP over SSH, and WebDAV in all three editions. |
| Support | The maker directs users to its Discord community for setup help and feedback. | The maker provides tutorials, a regularly updated knowledge base, and a way to request technical support from within the application. |
| Transfer automation | Yes | Yes |
Plans
SmartFTP
- ProfessionalPrice not published
- UltimatePrice not published
- EnterprisePrice not published
- Professional SubscriptionPrice not published
- Ultimate SubscriptionPrice not published
- Enterprise SubscriptionPrice not published
- SmartFTP Professional Subscription$79.99 a year
- SmartFTP Ultimate Subscription$119.99 a year
- SmartFTP Professional$399.95, paid once
- SmartFTP Enterprise Subscription$399.99 a year
In their own words
Faro
Faro is a free, MIT-licensed desktop client for file transfer, remote shells and storage across servers and cloud services. It supports SFTP, FTP, FTPS, SSH, S3-compatible storage, Azure Blob, Google Cloud Storage, WebDAV and HTTP(S), plus Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive and Box through browser-based OAuth. File tools include dual-pane browsing, drag-and-drop transfers, directory comparison, continuous folder sync and editing remote files locally. Disk-usage exploration and fleet search by name or content extend its management tools. The standalone faro-cli reuses saved GUI profiles for file operations, synchronization, differences, searches and command execution. Agent Bridge can expose authenticated sessions to Claude Code or other MCP agents through localhost, with opt-in sessions, command approval by default and audit logging. Remote Faro Agent connections use a Noise handshake with X25519 and ChaCha20-Poly1305, pin peer keys and follow the controlled machine’s execution and file-access policy. HTTP(S) sources are read-only. Downloads include macOS, Windows and Linux installers. Builds are unsigned, and macOS builds are not notarized.
SmartFTP
SmartFTP is a Windows client for transferring files between local computers and internet servers. It supports FTP, FTPS, SFTP over SSH, WebDAV, Amazon S3, Backblaze B2, Google Drive, OneDrive, SSH, and terminal access, with cloud connections varying by edition. Listed uses include website publishing and maintenance, uploads and downloads, managed file transfers, and local or remote backup and synchronization. Professional includes FTP, FTPS, SFTP, WebDAV, file synchronization, transfer integrity, and an integrated editor. Ultimate adds Google Drive, OneDrive, a terminal client, and password-manager integrations. Enterprise adds scheduled transfers plus Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, Backblaze B2, and Box. All editions include transfer resume, integrity verification, and on-the-fly compression. Windows downloads include x64 and Arm64 builds for listed Windows versions and servers. SmartFTP has no free plan, but offers a 30-day Enterprise evaluation without limitations. Subscription and perpetual license prices are listed separately, including $79.99 a year for Professional Subscription and $1,995.95 as a one-time purchase for Enterprise.