What are the best file managers for Windows?

Allows customizing toolbars and keyboard hotkeys. Has a full scripting interface that allows in-depth customization options. See More

score 323 · Answer 2

Directory Opus

Top Pro

Customizable UI

Top Con

Expensive

Compared to the other options, Directory Opus is quite expensive. Prices are $35 for the Lite version and $64 for Pro (price changes based on the AUD to US exchange rate). Upgrading from light to pro costs about $30. See More

NonchalantBelenus's Experience

Followed Slant.to ranking, I compared Directory Opus with XYplorer, the top 2 on the ranking list, I wanted to experience on my own which product is better, or that they are equally good. My finding was surprising: the top ranked XYplorer lags behind Directory Opus by leaps and bounds! some of the obvious and important advantages in Directory Opus: Support themes, I can pick and download a theme I like, apply the theme to Directory Opus in one click, with XYPlorer, I spent hours reading their forum posts on how to install and use user shared custom scripts that attempted to do the same as downloading and applying themes, but it was so complicated and daunting (for me, an IT professional), that I chose abandon the task, just not worth the time and efforts for such a trillville task. Customizing visual style elements is much easier to accomplish than in XYplorer because the organization is logical and intuitive, with XYplorer, customizing visual style dialogue felt like I was reading programming codes, this is terrible for non-technical users. Has much better file preview function than XYplorer, works without a hitch, with XYplorer, the preview of video and image files is a mess and it has no way to specify which program I could use to preview specific video files, e.x. : .mkv, .flv, .mp4, etc., so some video formats don't work out of the box in XYplorer preview and I still don't know how to get them to work. -Has a built-in image viewer Can read compressed files within the program without invoking external file compression programs. Supports FTP, SSH, FTPS, etc Has fantastic file renaming features. ......... There are too many advantages for Directory Opus to list in this short review, suffice to say, Directory Opus beats XYplorer hands down! See More

Specs

License:Per-Machine (plus personal laptop)

Unique Explorer Replacement mode provides a full replacement for Windows Explorer. See More

Portable:No

See All Specs

Top Pro

Can be set to replace Windows Explorer

Top Con

Portability costs more

On top of an already expensive license, users must purchase a separate Export License to create a portable version. See More

Steven Dino Windfeld's Experience

This is the absolute best file explorer for Windows, none of the others even comes close (and I have tried most on this list, and also several which aren't listed here). It is extremely customizable, and you can make it look and act in almost any way imaginable. See More

Top Pro

Batch-options

Allows batch renaming, viewing and editing file metadata. See More

Top Con

Can be intimidating to novice/inexperienced users

While the program is ULTRA-customizable, this can be a double-edged sword to anyone that is overwhelmed easily or not willing/able to learn the inner workings of DOpus. See More

Eric Tellefsen's Experience

Another of my go-to programs. I will not have a PC (work or home) without it. The full version has so many valuable tools (such as desktop-double click to launch) ftp, secure ftp, favorites and is fully customizable. See More

Top Pro

Allows color-coding and assigning star ratings to files and folders

This is done with Directory Opus' inbuilt label and its Status system. See More

Top Con

Only available for Windows

DesertDwarf's Experience

Solid performance with new features being added all the time. Development is non-stop. Programmers consider reasonable suggestions and usually apply them. See More

Top Pro

FTP support

Supports SFTP (Secure FTP via SSH, port 22) Also supports FTP via SSL (port 990) and FTP via with TLS. Caution: FTP is a paid additive to the product although in relative terms it's not too expensive (around $12). See More

Top Con

Restrictive license

Product is licensed on a "per-machine basis" requiring purchasing multiple expensive licenses to cover a single user with multiple machines. However, if you have time and luck, you can write to the DO sales department and they can produce another license for you to use personally on another machine you own. See More

wonea's Experience

Use it constantly at home and work. Love the dual panes, and shortcuts. Using Windows Explorer on other people's machines now feels really awkward and slow. See More

Top Pro

Supports different archive formats

Supports archive formats like Zip, 7Zip and RAR. See More

Top Con

Limited to only two views

You are only able to have two concurrent views at a time. It does help, that you are able to have both the metadata-pane and the viewer-pane open whilst using Dopus in dual-view mode. See More

HappyWongTaiSin's Experience

The most powerful file explorer. See More

Top Pro

Tools for synchronizing files and finding duplicates

Can easily synchronize files and helps the user in finding and deleting duplicates. See More

Top Con

Limited support for Touch / Tablet mode

Your file manager + Start Menu are the main way to launch programs/documents... When using Touch Mode, the Surface running Opus would be far more usable if some attention was paid to this use case. See More

ProductiveUsinsh's Experience

Extremely good but has problems with previewing some file types and then freezes. See More

Top Pro

Customizable status bar

Directory Opus allows users to customize the status bar to display helpful information based on several different factors, including file counts, types, disk space, and others. The status bar can also be customized separately for dual displays. See More

Top Con

Complicated if one pursues mastery on the most advanced features

Takes a long time to become efficient with it. Mastering all the features can be rather exhausting. See More

TolerantTlaltecuhtli's Experience

Not as much customizable as Xyplorer and lacks many important features. See More

Top Pro

Available for different architectures

Available in both 32 and 64 bit versions. See More

Top Con

No good support for right-sided tree

The only way to get a right sided tree is to display both panes in horizontal layout and then switch the first (upper) tree off. Which leaves you with 2 horizontal panes and one tree on the right. There is no other way (neither with 2 vertical nor with 1 pane) to have a tree on the right side. And since this layout setting is rather the step-child of the developers, it also is a bit buggy and not of top priority as far as fixing any issues with it. See More

FunClementia's Experience

By far the best file manager on Windows! See More

Top Pro

Tabs

Directory Opus has tabs for each view, which are customizable in size, appearance, functionality, etc. See More

Top Con

Large file sizes

The installer weighs in at 50MB and the app directory is over 95MB. See More

DeliberateSopdet's Experience

xyplorer free really is a good one...although discontinued it still works great. worth a try. See More

Top Pro

Customized filters

Directory Opus allows users to create custom filters that can be saved and recalled as needed. See More

Top Con

No native/good support for restoring multiple search paths for the find files tool

Although all other options of the find files tool are very good, there simply is no easy way of regularly using the same multiple search paths. For using only one search path, one can simply navigate to that path and activate the automatic path-use-button in the tool or choose one path from the previous paths drop-down, but that only works for one path. It can get cumbersome if one wants to restore multiple search paths at once. One must basically write his own script to do that. This is surprisingly annoying that such a basic and needed functionality is not natively supported (built-in) by such a generally powerful program. See More

NeighborlyWanamangura's Experience

custom plugins supported, custom commands, custom everything See More

Top Pro

Extended scripting API

The scripting capabilities of DirectoryOpus extend from version to version. You can do a whole lot of unheard stuff with that. Custom columns, custom commands, handling events etc. just to name a few things. It even has a GUI editor to allow for custom interfaces for your file management and scripting tasks. Even though mastering it is not easy in the beginning, it's worth it in the long run. See More

Top Con

Erroneous Con

Con has been deleted, as it stated untruthful information. See More

ImaginativeMormo's Experience

great See More

Top Pro

Very powerful and easy to use batch rename dialog/feature

From powerful RegEx renaming to batch macro renaming, Directory Opus can compete with any third party renaming tool. See More

InterestingIphimedeia's Experience

It is photoshop of File Management. You will never use untalented windows explorer. Expensive? Mercedes too. See More

Top Pro

Integrates seamlessly as a launcher for other programs

You can launch via a toolbar button or user definable custom context menu items. See More

TrustworthyAmaterasu's Experience

If you need hep the Support is the best I have ever used See More

Top Pro

Easy to sort photos

Image marking adds the images you select to a different file, making it easy to sort through a large number of them. See More

ReceptiveSarutahikoOkami's Experience

I have been using it for 6 years and it gets better with every release. Totally customisable, well integrated with system tools so it is much more than a file manager. See More

Top Pro

Customizable and downloadable themes

The Directory Opus community has created everything from dark themes to themes emulating other applications. See More

DignifiedMalakbel's Experience

I have used DOpus for years, have been forced to use alternatives at various places of work, but was always able to show that DOpus was worth investing in. See More

Top Pro

Standard and customized layouts/styles

Directory Opus includes 8 standard layouts, including Commander, Dual Horizontal, Dual Vertical, Explorer, Filmstrip, Images, Metadata and Single. In addition, users can create and save their own layouts to suit specific needs and file processes. See More

Yanis's Experience

I prefer this one... just clean it up a bit. See More

Top Pro

Backup and restore configuration

Directory Opus includes a comprehensive configuration backup and restore feature. Users can backup their customized configuration at any time and restore a previous configuration as needed. See More

ExcellentTriton's Experience

GREAT See More

Top Pro

Powerful image viewer

Directory Opus includes a powerful independent image viewer with configurable toolbar, menus and hotkeys. See More

DynamicTalos's Experience

Excellent software, well supported, very stable, a much better file explorer than explorer. Pay the money and don't waste your time on xyplorer etc. See More

Top Pro

Manual sorting

Directory Opus allows users to sort files as they want in manual sorting mode. See More

MeticulousHehu's Experience

this has been a fantastic file manager. the best I have ever used. See More

Top Pro

Single or dual independent trees

Directory Opus allows the user to use a single tree or dual independent trees with the dual file display. See More

blueroly's Experience

I have been using Directory Opus for over a decade and I refuse to work without it. No other file manager comes close to Directory Opus. Yes, it may be more expensive than the others but you get what you pay for. Personally, I would pay double the price but don't tell the developers this :) I would like to see a comparison table on here showing all the features of each file manager but I guess this would be a little bit embarrassing for all the other file managers. See More

Top Pro

Relative size and date graphs

Directory Opus has an option to include relative size and date graphs. These can be displayed independently, in their own columns, or nested behind the size and date columns respectively. They can also be toggled on and off with a simple button as needed. See More

MeticulousAnahita's Experience

This is the most configurable File Manager in the world. Do you work with specific file structure, no worries. DOpus will get you hooked. This is an industry-level tool. You will know what i mean when you can not find any other file manager which can do what you want. This is the KRS-One of managers. Might look expensive, but it gave the price back in countless priceless time i would lose with other apps. THANK YOU DEVELOPERS FOR THIS SOFTWARE!!! See More

Top Pro

Double-click on desktop to open a new file browser window

SharpPepromene's Experience

Directory Opus has been central to my daily workflow for more than a decade. It is obscenely customizable, and can be bent to suit nearly anyone's need. It integrates well with any tool that offers command line options, and these tools can be made to interact with your files via hotkeys, menus, or toolbars. It's one of those pieces of software that never stops evolving, both because of its customizability and because of the fact that it's in constant development. The developers are active on the forums every day - they are quick to sort out bugs, and they have even implemented a few of my ideas. See More

Top Pro

File Status Symbols

Directory Opus offers an extension of standard color labeling in the form of status graphics that can be shown as an additional column in the file display. Standard graphics include "Checked" and "Flagged." Users can also create and use customized status labels. See More

Henrik's Experience

Fast, stable and capable of doing everything you want. Simply more powerful than any other file manager: for example, great bulk file renaming, image sorting, manipulation and previewing; capability to play and preview audio files ultra fast. Just the best. See More

Top Pro

Supports high-DPI monitors

Directory Opus supports both 4K and 5K monitors. See More

FerventDeaTacita's Experience

It's quite responsive and, at least, doesn't hang much. See More

Top Pro

Integrated image conversion

Directory Opus includes integrated image conversion functionality, allowing users to convert images to different formats, rotate and flip images, and resize images. Functionality can be used on a single image or large batch of images. See More

Top Pro

Extensive column availability

Directory Opus includes over 150 standard columns in various groups, ranging from "Name and Path" to "Metadata." In addition, users can create custom columns using a script. See More

Top Pro

Stable & reliable when dealing with huge (100k+) file sets

This applies to both local and network drives. See More

Top Pro

Vertical folder tabs

Directory Opus users can use vertical tabs instead of horizontal tabs, if desired. See More

Top Pro

Works with Everything

Directory Opus works with the Everything search program. A custom-built script allows users to conduct searches and view results within the Directory Opus file display. See More

Top Pro

Powerful, expandable viewer

The viewer in Directory Opus supports a huge array of file extensions (more can be added as plugins). It is even able to show webpages in the viewer, when you select .url or .html files. See More

Top Pro

Good customer support

The customer support is very good. See More

Top Pro

Works with Listary

Directory Opus has native support for Listary, allowing users to move even more quickly between directories and perform searches. See More

Top Pro

Integrated dialog editor

Lets you write scripts that have their own user interface with buttons, lists, checkboxes, text fields, etc. See More

Top Pro

Searchable preferences

Directory Opus offers thousands of user preferences. To help users find the preference they want, Directory Opus offers a search function within the Preferences dialog that identifies and highlights specific preferences associated with the user's search term. See More

Top Pro

Supports TeraCopy

Directory Opus supports TeraCopy. See More

Top Pro

Flickr support

Directory Opus is able to sync your photos with Flickr. You can customize which file collections to sync, and the save location for each file collection See More

Top Pro

WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux Support)

Script functions can be written in WSL Script, DOS Batch Mode, VBScript, JScript or directly calling Opus or External applications. /mnt/c paths understood by path fields. WSL mode in Find As You Type (FAYT). Copy path names in WSL format or Windows format. See More

Top Pro

It prevents you from making gross deletion mistakes

Since it makes your folder structure rather transparent and allows to easy checks through dual tabbed layout, it helps you to not delete files wrongly. See More

Top Pro

World's best customer support

More often than not, developers reply within minutes (even seconds) on their great forum. Never seen anything like it before. See More

Top Pro

Audio preview

Ways for sound designers to play and stop audio files for fast previewing. See More

Top Pro

Gets updated often

Directory Opus gets updates all the time -- fixes, significant improvements and often new features are released multiple times a month. Improvement and feature requests by users are taken in consideration and you can often find your bug report resolved or improvement request fulfilled in one of the beta versions that follow soon. See More

"Only" the over-all best Windows search program (after a little work to become configured like we want)! ; ) See More

score 56 · Answer 3

Voidtools Everything

Top Pro

Quick file indexing

Top Con

No Dual Pane

PopularBes's Experience

Specs

Extra:https://github.com/srwi/EverythingToolbar

License:Proprietary

Top Pro

Quick searching

MethodicalNeith's Experience

Brilliant! See More

Top Pro

Real-time updating

PopularEbisu's Experience

I use it daily to manage 24TB of data across 8 drives. Excellent! See More

Top Pro

Minimal resource usage

EnthusiasticHu's Experience

I haven’t been using File Explorer to reach a file for years. Whenever I need something, I simply press Win+N, type a few letters and Everything brings it right to me. It’s like having tag navigation, but without the hassle of managing tags ; as long as you know more or less the filename/path of your files, you can find them in a few keystrokes. And the best of all ? It’s not only fast in all conceivable ways but light as it gets. See More

Top Pro

Clean and simple user interface

TallImentet's Experience

One of the fastest file search programs that I have come across. See More

Top Pro

Small installation file

Top Pro

Find file very helpful

Top Pro

Search using regex

Allows you to search any file across system using regex. See More

Top Pro

Share files with others easily

Top Pro

Has SDK

Allows you to use the features of the app in your own applications/scripts. See More

Top Pro

Use Google operators to narrow down search space

This is a huge help. See More

Every window can be separately customized. You can choose between different views from 1 to 4 windows, and every window can have multiple tabs! See More

score 113 · Answer 4

Q-Dir (the Quad Explorer)

Top Pro

Highly manageable multiple windows

Top Con

Sometimes may have bugs

Dmitriy Efremov's Experience

It's super explorer. I use it about 5 years. See More

Specs

a gtreat manager can select 1 to 4 pains and transfer between them never had any trouble with it See More

Top Pro

You can view 4 windows simultaneously

Top Con

Needs modern UI design

FunnyEgeria's Experience

Top Pro

You can use tabs in every window

Top Con

No search

DaringChronos's Experience

It's simple, fast and do what is supposed to do. See More

Top Pro

Portable

Top Con

Does not work with Quicklook

CompassionateBonaDea's Experience

Saves so much time. See More

Top Pro

Free

FunnyNyyrikki's Experience

There is no search function, making the software just a gimmick without real world usability. See More

Top Pro

Does not use a lot of RAM

Q-dir with 4 windows and with 4 tabs in every window uses only 39mb of RAM on Win10x64. See More

HarmoniousPudicitia's Experience

Good product. Frequent updates See More

Top Pro

Fast and stable

DaringNidaba's Experience

This used to be my favourite file manager for years, even if it crashed sometimes. But after the update in October, the windows became messed up (files are sorted by date of creation, and it's IMPOSSIBLE to change it or customize it in any way). I contacted support, they asked for screenshots, they didn't reply. See More

Top Pro

Very customizable

top vidéos's Experience

Every window can be separately customized. You can choose between See More

Top Pro

Q-Dir allows you to save folder combinations as a favourite to open any time

Up to 64 folder combinations can be saved in a favorite, since each of the four windows is equipped with tabs (ie 4 x 16 tabs 4 x Tree View plus 4 x Address Bar). See More

PersistentAphrodite's Experience

Best file manager tool for windows See More

Supports plugins for compression, file system, and file types. See More

score 193 · Answer 5

Total Commander

Top Pro

Plugins

Top Con

Cannot display background colors for file names

While it can display different colors (even based on filters) for the text color of those file names, but not for the background color. See More

EnergeticMielikki's Experience

Using it for 2 decades now and never looked at any other file managers. Completely keyboard driven, it's the fastest tool out there. See More

Specs

Platforms:Android

Top Pro

Can replace a lot of utility tools

There are a lot of built-in utility tools and plug-ins. There's multi-file renamer, verify file checksum to ensure download content integrity, sync directory tool, etc. See More

Top Con

Very slow on loading network shares

SpiritedMahuika's Experience

Best of the best See More

Top Pro

Life-time license

Once purchased you can use it as long as you like and never have to pay again. See More

Top Con

Proprietary

Total Commander offers a free 30-day trial, after which the cost of the program is $44. See More

ModestBieggolmai's Experience

10+ usage, too many features to list (or use). See More

Top Pro

Layout increases productivity

The dual-pane layout makes normal file operations (like move & copy) easy. See More

Top Con

Classic Interface

Top Pro

Useful multiple advanced options

Show hidden files, show differences between directories, FTP connections, coding and decoding (MIME, l). See More

Top Con

Need to spend a lot of time for custom configuration

Need to spend a lot of time for custom configuration, many features of the steps are very cumbersome to reduce operating speed. See More

Top Pro

Very customizable

Total Commander is extremely flexible, with plenty of customizable options such as changing the color scheme, customizing menus, and editing shortcuts. See More

Top Pro

Works even when Windows is very unstable

Top Pro

Productive

Even if you have not learned the keys from DOS NortonCommander, learning them now will make you more productive when dealing with files. See More

Top Pro

Powerful file search

The file search has many features, like using regular expressions to find the file names or even inside the content of the files. It can filter by file size, date and others, or even find duplicate files. See More

Top Pro

Compare files and show differences

Can compare and show text file differences (diff) line-by-line, even character-by-character. Very useful for programmers. Can compare binary files, telling if files have the same content or not. See More

Top Pro

Batch-rename files and folders

Sometimes you want to rename a bunch of files for some reason. Eg: file1-useless info blah blah.mp8 file2-useless info blah blah.mp8 file3-useless info blah blah.mp8 file4-useless info blah blah.mp8 file5-useless info blah blah.mp8 At once you can remove the "-useless info blah blah" in all file names. Or you could change the "file" to "my_super_file" to all at once. The possibilities are endless. See More

Top Pro

Saves time

Top Pro

Cloud plugin

Top Pro

Customizable tabs

Allows renaming tabs and setting maximum tab text length, which is very convenient. You can also lock tabs in two modes: a) change dir not allowed and b) change dir allowed (but it would return to the original path once you browse another tab). It doesn't allow assigning different colors to each tab, though. See More

Top Pro

On copy/move it can both avoid overwrite the destination file AND losing the copied file at the same time

Sometimes you need to copy/move a bunch of files to a folder that already has files. During the copy when Total Commander encounter files in the destination folder that has the same name of the copied files, it allows you to choose auto-rename the copied files or the destination files. It's beautiful. See More

Top Pro

Convenient

Top Pro

Free

Top Pro

Easy for language translation

Top Pro

Forget about the mouse

The total commander is convenient to use both with the mouse and exclusively using the keyboard. But using only the keyboard gives it a big increase in the speed of work because you do not aim at your mouse. You need some time to get used to it, but it's really worth it. See More

Windows, Mac, and Linux are supported. See More

score 168 · Answer 6

fman

Top Pro

Works on all operating systems

Top Con

No (text) file viewer

PoisedAtira's Experience

тупость See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows, Mac, Linux

Top Pro

Simple to use

Top Con

No explicit bookmark support for directories

It though remembers the visited directories and allows to search in this list in most-recently used order and by name. See More

Top Pro

Makes finding commands by name easy

Top Con

Mainly for key-board-orientated users

The interface is most naturally navigated by arrows and keystrokes. The target market is software developers. See More

Top Pro

Slick

Top Con

Has no menu bar

Hence it is not well suited for visually orientated users which find or remember commands by using a mouse and a menu. Even the fman's hero Sublime Text uses a menu bar. See More

Top Con

Requires email address to download

Doesn't say what it will do with this data. It is in contrast to the new laws in Europe where only necessary information is allowed to be collected. A download should not require an email address. See More

Top Con

Still quite buggy

So, for example, sorting only is remembered if triggered by command and not be clicking the table column header using the mouse. See More

Top Con

Settings can't be found by the GUI

You need to know which files to edit. See More

Top Con

Default dark theme

No choice between dull-dark or fresh-light. See More

Top Con

No portable bundle available

On Windows only a net-installer is available. See More

Far Manager's interface encourages keyboard operation - all actions are easily accessible with keyboard shortcuts, you can quickly record macros for any repeatable action, there are no screen redraws if it is not necessary and that makes everything faster. See More

score 76 · Answer 7

Far Manager

Top Pro

Keyboard-oriented

Top Con

Blocking operations

Operations such as copy, move, delete, etc are blocking, and you have to wait for them to complete before you can continue. Though you can cancel the operation with the escape key. See More

AwareManungal's Experience

Used it for years and years, plugins, complete customization, LUA, macros, constant updates, very fast TUI, the best experience you can get. Yes, you need to learn keys, but you have help right in the bottom, I can stop recommending it to everyone that works with files. See More

Specs

Released under BSD license. See More

Integrated Shell:Yes

Top Pro

Open source

Top Con

Only for Windows

Top Pro

Two-panel interface

Top Con

Always uses monospace font

Which makes long file names look extremely wide See More

Top Pro

Many plugins

There are may of them, and you can write them in any languages, including Python. See More

Top Con

Does not support scrolling with mouse

With plugin See More

Top Pro

Editor with syntax highlighting

Every Far feature is also true for its editor. You can setup an external editor if you like, but the included editor works really well and features syntax highlighting. See More

Top Con

Text-based interface

Far Manager does not use a GUI like most windows applications nowadays. This may prove difficult to use for people who are not familiar with text-based user interfaces. See More

Top Pro

Easily recorded macros

Hit "Ctrl-." and start recording your boring sequence. Hit "Ctrl-." again to assign it a key. You can use Lua if you need more advanced macros. See More

Top Con

Folder shortcuts not available in Alt+F1/F2 menus

Top Pro

Numeric sorting option

E.g. readme-9.txt before readme-10.txt See More

Top Pro

Extremely fast

Top Pro

Offline context help

Just press F1 when you need it. No internet connection or browser is required. See More

Top Pro

Themeable

Fully themeable, allowing you to change the colors of every part of the interface. See More

Top Pro

Scrippting support via LUA

Full search, sync files & folders, show folder sizes, robust copy, native file viewer, tabs within panes, very configurable display, command shell, bookmarks, etc. See More

score 68 · Answer 8

xplorer²

Top Pro

Comprehensive functionality

Top Con

Doesn't display UTF-8 characters correctly

Emojis and Japanese characters appear as question marks, for example. See More

BrightMarzanna's Experience

Hi !!! I have been using xplorer2, wow, perhaps for at least 10 years and I can assure you it is not only the best Explorer tool for Windows but also the fact that it is frequently updated. Not only that, the App reminds you to update it. It has probably the best documentation out there in the marketplace. The functionality of xplorer2 is so rich and powerful compared to what comes with Windows Explorer. I do have at least 2 licenses and have also purchased it to send to friends as a gift. It is very addictive. Once you start using it, you do want to continue using it forever. As of today and after 10+ years of using it, I guess I have not discovered everything it can do, but I can assure you my productivity has been significantly increased with it. TRY IT and you will LOVE IT !!!! See More

Specs

License:Per User or Per Machine

xplorer² gives users the ability to save the state, so the program will open with the same state the next time it's used. See More

Portable:Ultimate only

See All Specs

Top Pro

Ability to save state

Top Con

Stagnating rate of development

Any improvements to the software are happening at a glacial pace which is making this software more and more outdated for a long time now. Only a few minor improvements a year. User suggestions for improvements are routinely rejected or explained away. As for suggesting new features -- you'll quickly abandon all hope. Only realistic reason to visit their support forums is to read Kilmatead's posts -- for anything else prepare to be disappointed. UPDATE (and slightly offtopic): Kilmatead seems to be no longer active on the forums, so the next best thing is xplorer2 blog which seems to often feature interesting technical topics. See More

Kanae Destiny's Experience

I have only tried the free version, xplorer² Lite, and I've found that even though I enjoy its additional features that Windows File Explorer lacks, I can't switch to xplorer² on a permanent basis because I can't do without support for UTF-8 characters (e.g. emojis and non-Latin alphabets and character sets, such as Japanese), which are simply displayed as question marks. If not for this limitation, I would probably use xplorer² Lite all the time (for personal use only, per the license), and the free "Lite" version would be all I'd need. I've come back to this app a few times over several years, and it has felt refreshing each time I really test it out, until I rediscover the disappointing flaw that prevents displaying an extended character set. In addition to not being able to see these characters, you might unknowingly erase them when renaming a file, since they would look like insignificant question marks. See More

Top Pro

Free version available

There is a free version available, xplorer² Lite, for non-commercial use. See More

Top Con

Un-evolved

The interface is essentially unchanged since its Windows XP days, with very little customization possible. Organization of features is convoluted, with some simple ones, like individual icons to quickly switch views missing. The stagnant cluttered design can make even long-time users drop the program. See More

ConscientiousTyche's Experience

I use it both at home and at the office and this is by far the best file explorer out there. See More

Top Pro

Good all-purpose file manager

Top Con

Distracting prompts in the Lite version

A free version of the program is available, xplorer² lite. However it is very light on features, and will display a prompt if a feature is selected that isn't available in the Lite version. The full program is $29.95 for advanced and $49.95 for max power. See More

Jonathan Plutchok's Experience

I've been using xplorer2 happily for at least 13-14 years. I have tried many of its competitors but always came back to xplorer2. It does everything, and does it well, and I am satisfied with the interface. I recommend it highly to everyone who asks me for a Windows Explorer replacement (and anyone who doesn't even know enough to ask). xplorer2 is updated regularly, and there's no point in updating if there's no feature to add or bug to fix. See More

Top Pro

Faster than most similar applications

It's hard to find a free or low cost alternative that is as quick, and stable, especially managing NTFS volumes on a remote NAS. It still freezes and chokes, just not as often as newer applications, like XYplorer, Free Commander, etc. See More

BackEMF's Experience

I went through several file explorers before I settled on xplorer^2. It is very comprehensive--I only use a fraction of its feature set, but it's good to have the additional features available when needed. You can choose between a more modern and a classic interface, and you can save the state so that it always comes up consistent with your preferences. It works well with several different flavors of remote filesystems, and includes a snappy text viewer and editor for quick viewing or changes. You can replace Windows Explorer entirely with it, or supplement it. Developer responsiveness has always been excellent, and it gets updated on a regular basis. See More

Top Pro

250+ file attributes that can be added as columns to view more file attributes

TolerantInvidia's Experience

Great tool, responsive developer, good forum! See More

Top Pro

Execute DOS commands

ResponsibleDumuzid's Experience

Been using Xplorer2 for about 5 years flexible, powerful See More

Top Pro

Flexible search function

Search based on numerous file attributes. Search in ranges. Search inside files. Save search parameters for future use. See More

SupportiveHephaestus's Experience

I have used xplorer2 for years, and it's the first thing I install on my computers. It makes my workflow so much faster. See More

Top Pro

Browse Flat to view the contents of several subdirs as if they were stored in a single dir

Let's say you are located in a given subdir that has 5 subdirs. You can see the contents of all the files located in those subdirs as if they were stored in a single dir. Very useful when you want to locate files that you don't know exactly where they are located and searching is not an option. See More

Top Pro

Scrap Area where you can drop files located in different sub directories to allow you to access them instantly

Let's say that today you are going to update a letter located in subdir X, continue developing a spreadsheet located in subdir Y, review a presentation located in subdir Z, review a project located in subdir W, etc.. You can drag and drop all these files to the Scrap Area and open and work with them, save them, open again, continue tomorrow and the files will be updated in their respective original locations. No need to navigate and navigate and navigate. See More

Top Pro

Supports TotalCommander plugins

Top Pro

Copy/Move many simultaneous tasks

Can display the size in bytes of every folder listed in the current branch of the tree. See More

Top Pro

Can create "tabs" of the most used sub directories that you can access with a simple click

Top Pro

Mass rename capability

Top Pro

Connects to network drives and cloud storage easily

Top Pro

Lifetime license available

Pay once, get all future updates. Standard version licenses are also available. See More

Free for non commercial use. See More

score 40 · Answer 9

One Commander

Top Pro

Free

Top Con

Folders cannot be sorted by size

planet's Experience

Dual panel; clean UI; free software; batch operation; spacebar preview; only 89M See More

Specs

OS: Windows 10 version 17763.0 or higher

Top Pro

Simple and fast

Fast search and filter. See More

Top Con

Cannot access Android device connected by USB

DaringChronos's Experience

It's great. The UI is amazing. But I left it. It doesn't jave undo function. Also it doesn't see USB android devices connected. See More

Top Pro

Miller columns

Like Finder from macOS. See More

Top Con

Cannot access Android device by FTP

And can never will as this is clarified by developer that this feature will never be added. See More

InquisitiveZipacna's Experience

Simple and Fast. Fast search and filter. See More

Top Pro

Multi tab support

Top Con

It doesn't have UNDO function

Very important. When you work with valuable data files, this function can't be ommited. See More

Top Pro

Themes

Light, dark and customizable themes/colours. See More

Top Con

Navigating folders by Ctrl+Tab has considerable delay

Top Pro

Default file manager setup

Can make it the default file manager such that windows explorer stays out of the way for most of the work. See More

Top Con

Browsing Recycle Bin is very slow

Navigating away from Recycle Bin tab and coming back to it reload the Recycle Bin which is very slow as mentioned. Program has an option to open recycle bin in Windows File Explorer, which suggests that developer is aware that opening Recycle Bin is problematic. See More

Top Pro

File previews

Top Con

Confusing

Top Pro

File / folder filters

Top Con

Context menu only based on icons

No longer with Onecommander 3.6.43 See More

Top Pro

Folder views can be saved and applied

Double Commander has a feature set similar to Total Commander, except it's completely free to use. See More

score 57 · Answer 10

Double Commander

Top Pro

Free and open source

Top Con

Some parts of the GUI look old-fashioned

Especially some pages in the preferences. See More

RodJLinux's Experience

I use this on both Linux and Windows and it's just about the most configurable file manager I've ever seen. For example: you can actually have different fonts for each column in the panel if you want. I haven't seen that option anywhere else. My preference in Linux is for Krusader but that isn't available in Windows. Double Commander is a close second place for me and there are some things that it does better than any others. See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD

License:GPL-2.0-only

Technology:Free Pascal

User Interface:GUI

Top Pro

Multi-platform (Linux, Windows, MacOS X)

You can use same tool in all desktop OS enviroments. See More

Top Con

Windows version by far more polished than the Mac version

The Mac version 0.7.8 does not feel like a Mac version, often crashes showing the preferences, loses focus after showing the preferences, has to less free space around drawn text. See More

AmiableZelus's Experience

Easy to use and enough features as for me See More

Top Pro

Lynx-like motion

Cursor+Left to go to parent directory, cursor+right to got into a child directory. See More

Top Con

Hard to find options

NiceApheleia's Experience

Can't browse network or connect network drives. Can't open already connected network locations. Seems useless if it's only doing half the browsing. See More

Top Pro

Text Viewer and Editor support many encodings

Especially the UTF ones. See More

Top Con

Can't resize columns automatically depending on file name lengths

You can't make the columns automatically adjust to the width of the file name. See More

Top Pro

Excellent documenation

Find the documentation here. See More

Top Con

Apparently only one developer

Top Pro

Directory Hotlist

Save shortcuts to folders. Organize them in a treeview with submenus. Define a name and sorting for each entry. See More

Top Con

Directory bookmarks not integrated into Alt+F1/F2 popups

Like in Altap Salamander. There is a Directory Hotlist, though. See More

Top Pro

tcmd-like multi-rename tool (CTRL+M)

Top Pro

It's compatible with most Total Commander plugins

Double commander uses the same plugin API as Total Commander, so their plugins are compatible, e.g. SFTP plugin. See More

Top Pro

Directory Hotlist (bookmark) can also set sorting

Which allows, e.g., to switch to reverse sorting by time when switching to my download directory. See More

Top Pro

Can open self-extracting archives to see its content

Top Pro

All shortcuts can be edited

This way, you can customize them to the shortcuts you already knew from your previous file manager. Commands/menu items even can be triggered by multiple shortcuts. See More

Top Pro

Optional flat file view

Showing all files from the current directory and subdirectories, too, in one view. See More

Top Pro

Has horizontal or vertical orientation for the 2 directory panels

Top Pro

Portable package available

There's a portable version available that can be used without installation. See More

Top Pro

Has a tree view panel for navigating the currently selected directory

Top Pro

Built-in text editor with syntax coloring

Of course, customizable with respect to colors. See More

Top Pro

Has Favorites - save groups of open tabs and switch between them

Very helpful for having different groups of tabs for different working contexts and can easily switch between them. See More

Top Pro

DC uses TCmd plugin API

so you can use documentation from Total Commander for writing plugins. WCX (packer), WDX (content), WFX (file system), WLX (lister) See More

Top Pro

Powerful tcmd-like search tool (alt+F7)

Top Pro

Configurable

Lots of options allow you to configure DC the way it suits you best: Tools, Fonts, Colors, Hotkeys, Mouse, Fileviews, Plugins, Layout, Toolbars, Tabs, Icons etc. See More

Top Pro

Closely follows TotalCommander UX

For instance, the 'Settings | Layout' pane is quasi-identical to TCs. See More

Top Pro

Very many options to configure

The first impression might be a little bit ugly, but by changing some options it can be turned into quite good looking. See More

Top Pro

Source Code written in (Object) PASCAL

It's all a matter of perspective. I'm not for an argument about IDE's, frameworks etc, but to me that's a big plus. I think it should be a tie, it's either a pro or a con or should that be neither a pro nor a con. It just depends on context. See More

Platforms:Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD

score 1 · Answer 11

muCommander

Top Pro

Available on Linux, Mac, and Windows

Specs

score 1 · Answer 12

Midnight Commander

Top Pro

Cross-Platform

Windows, Mac, Linux. See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows, Mac, Linux

Technology:C

score 44 · Answer 13

Altap Salamander

Top Pro

Looks very polished and consistent

Top Con

Slow development

Rarely updates. See More

DecisiveArtemis's Experience

Just the best file manager for Windows! See More

Specs

Tried to use many alternatives but returned to Altap Salamander in the end. See More

Price:€24.95

Top Pro

Very feature-rich

Top Con

Text Viewer does not support UTF-8

SpiritedIxtlilton's Experience

Top Pro

Very stable, even preview versions

Top Con

Winscp not available for x64 version

Winscp plugin is available only for x86 version and missing @x64. See More

Top Pro

Intuitive two-pane interface

The program features a dual-pane interface that allows you to easily move files between views. See More

Top Con

Hard-coded shortcuts

Shortcuts are hard-coded and therefore can't be changed by the user. See More

Top Pro

As of July 2019 now freeware

Top Con

Image viewer is basic

Top Pro

Very fast

No delay is noticable in the user interface. See More

Top Con

No tabs in dual panes

There are no tabs available in the dual panes view, which can be a time-saver for some users. See More

Top Pro

License is good on multiple machines

Can be used at home and work. See More

Top Con

No Unicode support

Unicode was promised many years ago, but due to slow development, still nothing. See More

Top Pro

Extensive keyboard shortcut support

Top Con

Is only available for Windows

There is no full replacement for Linux or OS X. See More

Top Pro

Built-in FTP and SFTP

The program has built in support for a variety of common network protocols (such as FTP, FTPS, SCP and SFTP) for file transferring over the internet. See More

Top Pro

Powerful bookmark support

Easy bookmark usage, e.g., Shift+1 selects the first directory. The bookmarked directories are also available in the usual popups to switch the left/right drive (Alt+F1/F2). See More

Top Pro

Built-in archive support (zip, rar, etc)

Top Pro

Customizable colors

Different colors can be assigned to compressed files or files with a certain name pattern. See More

Top Pro

Customizable with own external tools

Top Pro

Copy and move operations can work in background

Top Pro

Automation plugin

Enables user to automate repetitious actions via JScript and VBScript (via windows script engines already installed). There is also support for Perl, PHP, Python and Ruby (Arton's ruby must be installed to have the Action script support) See More

Top Pro

Encrypt files

Top Pro

Built-in undelete plugin

simple and doesn't cause problems. Just adds tabs to explorer. See More

score 13 · Answer 14

QTTabBar

Top Pro

Lag-free and supports high DPI

DeterminedAngelia's Experience

Top Pro

Preview popup buttons

EnthusiasticDerzelas's Experience

the best addon for windows explorer See More

Top Pro

Good drag and drop options

AwareIusaaset's Experience

Works with Windows 10 File Explorer seamlessly. Has tabs, command buttons on the toolbar, and dual pane. This is the way Windows File Explorer should be in the first place. See More

Top Pro

Plugin support

The program can be enhanced further by plugins for a variety of purposes. See More

Top Pro

Ctrl+arrow keys for navigation between different tabs

Top Pro

Middle click/Ctrl+click to open new tab

Top Pro

Ctrl+tab to go from tab to tab

Top Pro

Allows you to simply add tabs to File Explorer which suit the design

Top Pro

Double click on an empty space to go one folder back

Makes normal file operations (like move & copy) easy. See More

score 48 · Answer 15

FreeCommander

Top Pro

2 Pane Layout

Top Con

It's easy to delete important stuff by accident

When you want to delete something, it will often highlight both a file and its folder. The whole folder is then removed if you don't de-select the folder manually. See More

chan's Experience

IMHO the name of the program is misleading, because to get the 64 bit version you must donate. Furthermore the source code is NOT available, so it isn't true free software. I use Windows and Linux machines, so I prefer software that runs natively on both platforms (e.g. like DoubleCommander). See More

Specs

Top Pro

Quick Navigation

Commonly used folders can be added and accessed using the favorites list -- in addition, physical and network drives can be switched to with a single click. See More

Top Con

Only the 32-bit version is free

You have to make a donation to be able to download the 64-bit version. See More

DependableTaygete's Experience

Both simple to use, but has robust configuration options, including linking to other programs. You can specify which programs you use to compare PDF files, image files, etc. See More

Top Pro

Very powerful Multirename tool

Top Con

Cluttered and dated UI

The user interface has an outdated look, with a lot of button and menu options that can be overwhelming. See More

ProfessionalBeaivi's Experience

Free, works on every PC, blows away Windows Explorer See More

Top Pro

Has a portable version

Because it's portable, you can easily move the folder with all your files to other devices. See More

Top Con

Unable to replace default file explorer

InquisitiveDiyanMasalanta's Experience

Good app. Have to "donate" for 64 bit version. See More

Top Pro

Powerful search feature

FreeCommander provides a search functionality that allows you to filter out results. See More

Top Con

Buggy

Good facilities overall, but there's a bug that makes menus freeze and get stuck on the page. See More

Top Pro

Very powerful set of file copying options

FreeCommander has a very powerful set of file copying options. See More

Top Pro

Very usable and reliable Sync tool

Top Pro

Shows folder file size

In Details mode you can turn on Folder Data file size. See More

Top Pro

Keyboard shortcuts

Has a good set of keyboard shortcuts enabled by default See More

Top Pro

Interface highly customizable, native Dark Mode, stable, very accessible primary functionality, very frequent updates

Simple 1-click buttons to toggle views, enable or disable visual filter, etc. Very simple instant filtering. The folder syncing is as good as "GoodSync". See More

Top Pro

Excellent file manager with lots of hotkeys

Also file search, filter and multi file rename functionalities. See More

To get to a favorite directory is two strokes or to mark new favorite is also two strokes. See More

score 20 · Answer 16

Ranger

Top Pro

Saves time

Top Con

at your web page: cannot find download page or button or link

Top Pro

Uses vim keybindings

Uses Vim keystrokes saves time by not being dependent on using the Mouse See More

Top Con

Must use Windows 10 Linux bash

You can't use this without using the Windows 10 Linux bash. See More

Top Pro

Great built-in tools

Use Vim to bulk rename files marked for processing. Very quick and convenient for Vim users. See More

Top Con

Vim user/developer focused

Vim shortcuts are not usually non-developer friendly. See More

Top Pro

Minimalist and efficient

There is no need for icons of files if headings are used. Previews of text documents and a simple design creates and efficient workflow. See More

Top Con

Steep learning curve

The learning curve is fairly steep if you are not use to Vim and Command Line Tools See More

Top Pro

Bookmark system

Makes it easy to jump to any specific folder locations you work with. See More

Top Pro

Can be used in terminal

Which makes for a good choice of file explorer for those that use machines without a GUI. See More

Top Pro

Image preview support

Ranger can use w3m to preview images in terminal through framebuffer. See More

Top Pro

Easily used with SSH

Top Pro

Extensible, scriptable

Ranger allows the use of various scripts for calling on individual or multiple files, for file previews, or for other operations. This allows for in-terminal full colour previews of images and videos. You can even call external scripts or chain shell commands from the primary interface. See More

Top Pro

File preview

Unlike other terminal file managers, Ranger can preview many files, including text files, archives, etc. See More

I'm using it for about a year. Can't work without it. The most the most significant advantages are customizability, coloring filters and scripting system. Scripts can easily replace many cmd/vbs scripts and some tools. The only disadvantage for me was it's a bit complicated when customizing, but this is warranted by its power. See More

score 34 · Answer 17

Multi Commander

Top Con

Slow Right Click Response

Top Pro

Separate tree for each panel

Cors Newl's Experience

Specs

Windows Requirements:Windows 10 / 8.x / 7 / Vista / 2003 / XP / Server 2012 (R2) / Server 2008 (R2)

32 or 64 bit:both

Top Con

Settings are a bit complicated

Top Pro

Both 32 bit and 64 bit versions available

EagerPhaenna's Experience

IT free and it works where others don't. It uses its own code to manage files not just a new GUI on top of the Windows file system. Works great for me. See More

Top Con

Tree cannot be displayed on the right side

Top Pro

Free

Top Pro

File coloring based on filters

Including optional background coloring. Limitation of this pro: text and background color cannot be taken from 2 different filters and thus combined but on the positive side: it provides coloring profiles, which can be switched (supposedly easily). See More

Top Pro

Full of features

A hundred different options: multi-rename, convert line break of files (CR, LF, CRLF), double panel, folder tree, tabbed interface, colourized tabs, etc. See More

Top Pro

Portable version available

Top Pro

Heavily customizable

Besides many customizable on-board options and features, one can also write his/her own scripts and even full plug-ins. See More

Top Pro

Written in C++

The program launches fast. See More

Top Pro

Support for FTP, Registry, and OneDrive

Top Pro

Powerful scripting system

You can easily write powerful scripts even without knowledge of programming. See More

Often completely misses loads of files that you know are there. See More

score 18 · Answer 18

Explorer++

Top Pro

Free and open source

Top Con

Useless for searching

ProfessionalCoatlicue's Experience

works and has the look and feel of Windows Xp-era See More

Top Pro

Optimized with fast loading speed

Compare to other file explorer I have used its have really fast loading speed. See More

Top Con

Limited search functionality

No file content search. See More

MotivatedHonos's Experience

Seemless See More

Top Pro

Tab system

Top Con

Folder view settings does not save individually

want to just set download folder item to group by date? nope! every folder applies this view settings. See More

Top Pro

Active development

Active community development as of 2021. See More

Top Con

Abandoned

Seemingly abandoned. Hasn't been updated in a few years. See More

Top Con

Crashes semi frequently

Crashes quite a bit. Sometimes random sometimes during network folder access. Loses current state and reverts to the state of the last graceful exit. See More

Windows, Mac, Linux. See More

score 1 · Answer 19

VioletGiraffe File Commander

Top Pro

Cross-Platform

Specs

Platforms:Windows, Mac, Linux

score 18 · Answer 20

FileVoyager

Top Pro

Free

Top Con

Cluttered UI

TolerantKamrusepa's Experience

Always looking for a new file manager. Loved this one ... mostly. See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10

Top Pro

Modern look & feel

Top Con

Windows only

Top Pro

Highly customizable

Top Con

only 32bit

Top Pro

various display modes

Browsing in various display modes (like report or thumbnail modes) See More

Top Pro

A lot of out-of-the-box features

FileVoyager offers a (nearly) universal file viewer, a (nearly) universal archive format support (integrated 7-zip), a (nearly) universal image and video support, a hash tool, a file and folder comparison. See More

Top Pro

Actively maintained

Top Pro

Quick preview

Render multimedia files (including M3U, PLS, ASX, WPL, MPCPL and XSPF playlist formats) View ebooks and comicbooks including PDF, EPUB, MOBI, FB2, DJVU, CBR, CBZ, XPS, … (Powered by SumatraPDF) Syntax highlighting for virtually any source code language/format (Powered by Scintilla) Render final view for formats supported by Preview Handlers (like Office files, PDF, pictures, …) Support many character encodings (SBCS including various ANSI implementations, UTF-8, UTF-16, EBCDIC) Display in flat or hexadecimal for any format See More

Top Pro

Synchronize folders

Compare files or folders. See More

Top Pro

Play virtually any Audio or Video formats

FileVoyager relies at once on installed codecs, on WMP and on VLC See More

Top Pro

7-zip integrations

Pack and unpack ZIP, 7Zip, GZip, BZip2, XZ, Tar and WIM formats ARJ, CAB, XAR, Z, RAR, LZH, LZMA, ISO, WIM and many others See More

Top Pro

file operations containers

Usual file operations (rename, copy, move, link, delete, recycle) in the containers listed above and even between them See More

Top Pro

Easy browsing

Browse disks, folders (real or virtual), shares, archives and FTP/FTPS in one unified way See More

Top Pro

Portable