5 Best FTP Clients for Linux

File Transfer Protocol or File Transfer Protocol is the most common way to transfer files between computers over a network. It is also the go option for transferring large amounts of files back and forth from/to the server.

As such, you’ll find a variety of FTP clients, depending on your operating system, to help you with the same thing, each promising to offer better transfer and management features than the other while remaining true to its core functions.

Here are some of the best FTP clients that you can start using right now.

FileZilla FTP Client

FileZilla tops our list of the best FTP clients for Linux. It is open source and comes with a user friendly interface, which makes it easy to use even for first time users.

Besides FTP, which is at the core of FileZilla, the software also supports FTPS (FTP over TLS) and SFTP (SSH over FTP) protocols along with various cloud storage services like Dropbox, OneDrive, Microsoft Azure Blob Storage and more.

With FileZilla, you can transfer large files (>4GB) without facing any problems. If necessary, you also have the option to resume sending files halfway. As for other features, the program gives you access to remote file search, remote file editing, transfer queue, and a powerful site manager to simplify and manage file transfers even more.

How to install FileZilla

To install FileZilla on Ubuntu/Debian, run:

sudo apt install filezilla

On Arch Linux:

sudo pacman -S filezilla

On Fedora/CentOS and RHEL:

sudo dnf install filezilla
sudo yum install filezilla

crossFTP FTP client

CrossFTP is another cross-platform FTP client for Linux. Just like FileZilla, it offers the usual list of features like fast search, multi-connection, multi-protocol support, and cloud storage services but it also offers some extra features.

One of CrossFTP’s unique features is scheduling, which comes in handy when you need to move items later. Likewise, you also get a speed limiter to limit the consumption of bandwidth required during file transfers. So, for example, if you’re running multiple tasks and don’t want CrossFTP to increase your entire bandwidth, you can use a limiter to limit bandwidth usage.

Speaking of CrossFTP’s most notable features, the program uses what it calls a turbo engine, which is essentially a transfer engine that promises to facilitate faster file transfers. It also provides client-side encryption using the AES algorithm to protect your data during transmission.

Related Topics: How does encryption work? Is encryption really secure?

CrossFTP installation

To install CrossFTP on Debian-based distributions like Ubuntu, first, head over to the link below and download the appropriate CrossFTP package.

Once downloaded, open Terminal and go to the directory where you saved the file.

download: Cross FTP

Finally, run the following command to install the DEB package on your system:

sudo dpkg -i ./crossftp_deb_package.deb

On Arch Linux you can download the package from AUR using yay:

yay -S crossftp-client

gFTP FTP Client

gFTP is a free and open source FTP client for Linux. It provides both a GUI – based on the GTK + toolkit – and a CLI, which you can choose to use based on your preference. In addition to FTP, the tool also includes support for FTPS, SFTP, FSP and FXP protocols for a greater range of use.

When it comes to usability, gFTP offers a basic and easy-to-use interface to simplify file operations. You can connect to remote sites easily and transfer files fairly quickly without any hiccups. One of the neat additions to the program is a message history box that tells you about any errors encountered during the file transfer so you can act upon them.

Other interesting features that gFTP offers include support for Unix, macOS, VMS, MVS, NT (DOS) style guide menus and a bookmarks function to quickly connect to remote sites.

How to install gFTP

To install gFTP on Debian/Ubuntu, run the following command:

sudo apt install gftp

On Arch Linux:

sudo pacman -S gftp

On Fedora/CentOS and RHEL:

sudo dnf install gftp
sudo yum install gftp

lftp FTP client

lftp is a CLI-based FTP client for Linux. Compared to some of the other GUI-based FTP client programs on this list, lftp appears as a neat and faster program for those who prefer to use the command line.

In terms of functionality, lftp offers pretty much the same set of features as the others, providing support for different file access methods, including FTPS, SFTP, HTTP, HTTPS and HFTP, as well as the BitTorrent protocol, making it a versatile file transfer tool. . Since it is a CLI tool, you can of course enjoy the advantages of commands, which in the case of lftp are plenty and allow you to perform a range of tasks efficiently.

In the midst of transferring files with lftp, if you accidentally exit the program at some point, it ensures that it will transfer itself to nohup Mode to complete the transfer in the background. Likewise, if the download stops halfway, the program will automatically restart from the point where it left off.

lftp installation

On Debian/Ubuntu, run the command below to install lftp:

sudo apt install lftp

On Arch Linux:

sudo pacman -S lftp

On Fedora/CentOS and RHEL:

sudo dnf install lftp
sudo yum install lftp

konqueror FTP client

Konqueror is more than just a regular FTP client: it’s swiss-army-knife for all kinds of file management and file preview operations, including file transfer between systems via FTP (and SFTP) protocols. As such, by installing it on your system, you get two programs in one.

Having the functionality of both programs in one also allows you to use Konqueror to browse files on the connected server/computer and perform operations on them easily. Most of these functions come as part of KIO plug-ins, so you can choose from a selection of these plug-ins to expand the capabilities of the software.

As for other FTP features, Konqueror offers pause/resume, fragmented file transfer (downloading from multiple servers) to speed up download time, and downloading from BitTorrent sources.

How to install Konqueror

To install Konqueror on Debian/Ubuntu, run:

sudo apt install konqueror

On Arch Linux:

sudo pacman -S konqueror

On Fedora/CentOS and RHEL:

sudo dnf install konqueror
sudo yum install konqueror

Finding the Right FTP Client for Your Needs

With the help of this list, you should be able to choose the right FTP client for Linux that meets your criteria and fulfills your requirements.

Although the feature set of any software is personal preference and attracts different types of users differently, there are some aspects that you should always consider when choosing an FTP client.

One such important aspect is the protocol used. To ensure all data transfers (and logins to the server) are done securely, you should always use SFTP since it uses cipher to encrypt both data. Alternatively, you can check other file transfer methods to learn about the different ways to transfer files.


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