Comparison of file sharing applications

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File sharing is a method of distributing electronically stored information such as computer programs and digital media. Below is a list of file sharing applications, most of them make use of peer-to-peer file sharing technologies.

This comparison contains next to file sharing applications also download managers that can be used as file sharing applications (using the torrent-protocol). For pure download managers see the Comparison of download managers.

Note: BitTorrent-only clients have an other comparison page (linked in section "Others comparison pages").

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Table

Name Network[1] Anonymous P2P Link system compatibility Price Platform License Programming language Spyware-adware free Latest release version Extra information
Acquisition Gnutella, BitTorrent No magnet Nagware or US$17.99 OS X GPL Objective-C, Java Yes 2010, 2.2 (v223) (November 19, 2010; 13 years ago (2010-11-19)) [±] Alternative to LimeWire for Mac users; uses Cocoa GUI
aMule eDonkey, Kad No eD2k, magnet Free GNU, OS X, Windows GPL C++ Yes 2011, 2.3.1 (November 11, 2011; 12 years ago (2011-11-11)[2]) [±]
ANts P2P ANts Yes ed2k Free GNU, OS X, Windows GPL Java Yes 2010 File sharing and HTTP publishing.
Ares Galaxy Ares, BitTorrent No arlnk Free Windows GPL Object Pascal (Delphi) Yes 2014, 2.3.8 (December 24, 2015; 8 years ago (2015-12-24)

[3]) [±]
BearShare
(pre v6.0)		 Gnutella No ed2k, magnet Free or US$3.29 monthly Windows Proprietary C++ No 2013, 10.0.0.131462 (January 29, 2013; 11 years ago (2013-01-29)) [±]
Since version 6: clone of the commercial iMesh software; does not connect to Gnutella and restricts downloads to media formats
BitComet BitTorrent, eDonkey, Kad;[4] HTTP/FTP download No ed2k,[4] magnet Free Windows Proprietary C++ Yes 2015, 1.40 (September 6, 2015; 8 years ago (2015-09-06)) [±][5] Exploits SuperSeeding and thus is often banned by trackers and peers. Compatible with e2DK links through an eMule plugin which gives access to eDonkey and Kad networks and cross-network sharing abilities with BitTorrent network.
broolz[6] Direct Connect No No Free or US$59.95 Windows, OS X, GNU Proprietary Java Yes 2011 Internal p2p protocols that allow only secondary users authorised by primary user to share.
Cabos Gnutella No magnet Free OS X, Windows GPL Java, REALbasic Yes 2010, 0.8.2 (February 9, 2010; 14 years ago (2010-02-09)) [±]
Calypso MUTE Yes No Donation GNU, Windows GPL C++, Qt Yes 2010 Prior name: Kommute
Datawire P2P Private Networking (chat supported) Yes No Free Windows, GNU, OS X Proprietary Java Yes 2011
DC++ Direct Connect No magnet Free Windows GPL C++ Yes 2015, 0.851 April 6, 2015; 9 years ago (2015-04-06) Many modifications exist, for example LinuxDC++
eDonkey2000 eDonkey, Overnet No ed2k Free or US$19.95 GNU, OS X, Windows Proprietary C++ Yes 2005 Discontinued
eMule eDonkey, Kad No ed2k Free Windows GPL C++ Yes 2010, 0.50a (April 7, 2010; 14 years ago (2010-04-07)[7]) [±] Supports protocol obfuscation
ExoSee  ? No No Free Windows Proprietary  ? Yes 2007 ExoSee appears to have no business model.
Filetopia Filetopia No (except when using a bouncer) No Free Windows Proprietary Delphi No 2002
Flashget BitTorrent, eDonkey; HTTP/FTP download ? ? ? Windows GPL ? ? 2012
Free Download Manager BitTorrent; HTTP/FTP download No metalink Free Windows GPL C++ Yes 2015, 3.9.6 (build 1614) (June 26, 2015; 9 years ago (2015-06-26)) [±][8]
Freenet's FProxy Freenet Yes No Free GNU, OS X, Windows GPL Java Yes 2014, Template:Latest stable software release/Freenet
Frost Freenet Yes No Free GNU, OS X, Windows GPL Java Yes 2011
FrostWire BitTorrent No magnet Free GNU, OS X, Windows GPL Java Yes 2015, 6.1.7 (November 24, 2015; 8 years ago (2015-11-24)) [±] Fork of LimeWire, with no copyrighted-material blocker planned.
GetRight BitTorrent; HTTP/FTP download ? ? ? Windows ? ? ? 2011
giFT OpenFT and, with plugins, Ares, Gnutella, FastTrack No No Free GNU, OS X, Windows GPL C Yes 2004, 0.11.8.1 (2004-11-27) [±]
Gnucleus Gnutella, Gnutella2 No No Free Windows GPL C++ Yes 2005, 2.2.0.0 (June 17, 2005; 19 years ago (2005-06-17)) [±]
GNUnet GNUnet Yes ECRS Free GNU, OS X, Windows GPL C Yes 2014, 0.10.1 (April 8, 2014; 10 years ago (2014-04-08)[9]) [±]
gtk-gnutella Gnutella No magnet Free GNU, Windows GPL C Yes 2015, 1.1.9 (March 6, 2016; 8 years ago (2016-03-06)) [±]
iMesh
(pre v6.0)		 FastTrack, Gnutella, Gnutella2 No No Free Windows Proprietary C++ Yes 2008
I2Phex I2P (protocol Gnutella) Yes magnet Free GNU, OS X, Windows GPL Java Yes 2011 Need I2P to run.
I2PSnark[10] I2P (protocol BitTorrent) Yes magnet Free GNU, OS X, Windows GPL Java Yes 2014 Integrated into I2P distribution.
iMule I2P (protocol Kad network) Yes ed2k, magnet Free GNU, OS X, Windows GPL C++ Yes 2013, 2.3.3.2 (May 1, 2016 (2016-05-01)) [±] needs I2P to run
Infinit Infinit No No Free OS X, Windows Proprietary C++ Yes 2014 Unlimited and encrypted peer to peer file sharing application with pause and resume.
Jumpshare Jumpshare No No Free or US$9.99/month Windows, OS X Proprietary Various Yes 2015 Real-time file sharing with built-in utilities for screenshots, screencasts, notes, and voice clips
Kazaa FastTrack No No Free Windows Proprietary C++ adware & spyware 2006 Illegal in Australia.
Kazaa Lite FastTrack No No Free Windows Proprietary  ? Yes 2007 Adware-disabled version of Kazaa (fake versions in circulation)
KCeasy Ares, Gnutella, FastTrack, OpenFT No No Free Windows GPL C++, Object Pascal (Delphi) Yes 2008 Uses integrated giFT file sharing daemon as back-end.
KGet BitTorrent; HTTP/FTP download ? ? Free part of KDE on Windows GPL ? ? 2012 ?
LimeWire Gnutella, BitTorrent No magnet Free or US$18.88 GNU, OS X, Windows GPL Java No 2010 Shutdown permanently due to injunction from MGM v. Grokster in which Limewire was ordered to disable all functionality of the software.[11]
Manolito MP2P No MP2P Free or US$19.95 Windows Proprietary  ? No 2008
MLDonkey BitTorrent, eDonkey, FastTrack, (Gnutella, Gnutella2), Kad; HTTP/FTP download No ed2k, magnet, sig2dat Free GNU, OS X, Windows GPL OCaml Yes 2014, 3.1.5 (March 22, 2014; 10 years ago (2014-03-22)[12]) [±] P2P application, telnet / web-interface / GUI interface, complete and complex remote usage. Sancho GUI makes automatic SSH tunnels.
Morpheus NEOnet, Gnutella, Gnutella2, BitTorrent No No Free or US$19.95 Windows Proprietary  ? Yes 2007, 5.55.1 (November 15, 2007; 16 years ago (2007-11-15)) [±]
MUTE MUTE Yes No Donation GNU, OS X, Windows GPL C++ Yes 2007
Nachtblitz[13] I2P (protocol Kad network) Yes ed2k, magnet Free Windows, GNU with Wine GPL .NET Framework Yes 2015 needs I2P to run
Net Transport[14] BitTorrent, eMule; HTTP/FTP download ? ? US$29,95 Windows, OS X Proprietary ? ? 2015 ?
Nodezilla Private Yes No Free GNU, Windows core proprietary, GUI GPL Java Yes 2010 Most is proprietary, GUI is GPL.
Opera BitTorrent; HTTP/FTP download No No Free GNU, OS X, Windows Proprietary C++ Yes 2015, 34.0.2036.47 (January 12, 2016; 8 years ago (2016-01-12)[15]) [±]
Perfect Dark Perfect Dark Yes No Free Windows Proprietary  ? Yes 2014 Boards. Auto update.
Piolet[16] MP2P No MP2P Free or US$19.95 Windows Proprietary  ? No 2008
Retroshare Retroshare Yes Own format Free Windows, GNU, Mac OS GPL C++ Yes 2015, 0.6.0 beta Uses PGP for friend authentication. Decentralized F2F network type.
RShare RShare Yes No Free Windows GPL C# Yes 2007 eMule-like usability
Robert I2P (protocol BitTorrent) Yes magnet Free GNU, OS X, Windows GPL Python Yes 2012 needs I2P to run
Share Share Yes No Free Windows Proprietary Object Pascal (Delphi) Yes 2006 Anonymous developer; tries to be Winny successor
Shareaza eDonkey, BitTorrent, Gnutella, Gnutella2, Direct Connect; HTTP/FTP download No ed2k, magnet, Piolet/MP2P, gnutella Free Windows GPL C++ Yes 2015, 2.7.9.0 (October 6, 2015; 8 years ago (2015-10-06)[17]) [±] Uses a powerful files library; maintained by volunteer group
Sharing Max Sharing Max No Yes Free Windows Proprietary Visual Basic No 2012[18]
SoMud[19] BitTorrent No magnet uri, meta link Free Windows, OS X Proprietary C++ Yes 2013 Search and download P2P and web video networks such as YouTube and Yahoovideo etc.
StealthNet RShare Yes No Free GNU, OS X, Windows GPL C# Yes 2011 Evolution of the RShare client with many functions.
Soulseek Soulseek No No Free, donations for privileges Windows Proprietary  ? Yes 2015, SoulseekQt build 2015.2.21 (February 21, 2015; 9 years ago (2015-02-21)) [±] Folder downloads, browse users with folder trees, no multi-source downloads
Thaw Freenet Yes No Free GNU, OS X, Windows GPL Java Yes 2008
Tribler BitTorrent and its own Yes magnet Free Windows, GNU, OS X GNU LGPL v2.1+[20] Python, C++ Yes 2015, 6.5.1 (March 15, 2016; 8 years ago (2016-03-15)) [±][21] Unlike most other torrent clients, Tribler is decentralized (as well as anonymous) and does not rely on any trackers or any other indexing service to discover content.[22] Also features a built-in video streamer.
TrustyFiles[23] eDonkey, Overnet, Gnutella, Gnutella2, FastTrack, BitTorrent No ed2k Free or US$29 Windows Proprietary  ? adware & spyware 2007[24] Has code stolen from Gnucleus, giFT, and avlib[citation needed];[25] GNU version announced, but never released; takeover similar to the Shareaza.com and Lphant issues is likely to have happened
uGet BitTorrent; HTTP/FTP download ? magnet, metalink Free GNU, Windows, Android LGPL C, GTK+ Yes 2014 uGet 2.0 is currently in Beta Development (as of 9 September 2014) and available for testing via uGetdm.com
Vuze
(formerly Azureus)		 BitTorrent and I2P No (except when using I2P) magnet Free GNU, OS X, Windows GPL Java No 2015, 5.7.0.0 (November 13, 2015; 8 years ago (2015-11-13)) [±][26]
Warez P2P iP2P DHT No No Free or US$19.99 Windows Proprietary  ? Yes 2007 Developer claims Warez v3.0 beta is malware-free
WinMX WinMX Peer Network (independent, now user-operated), OpenNAP, chatrooms supported No No Free Windows Proprietary C++ Yes 2004 Official development has ceased due to RIAA coercion. Versions 3.53, 3.54 beta 4 and older are available from 3rd parties.
Winny Winny Yes No Free Windows Proprietary C++ Yes 2003
Wuala Wuala No No Free GNU, OS X, Windows Proprietary Java Yes 2009
YobiDrive FLOWS YobiDrive No No Free GNU, OS X, Windows Proprietary Java Yes 2013
Name Network Anonymous P2P Link system compatibility Price Platform License Programming language Spyware or adware free Last release year Extra information
  • Note that several applications had adware or spyware tied in in the past and may have it again in the future. The same goes for forks of open source apps, e.g. eMule. This list attempts to display the current status only.

Others comparison pages

File sharing web applications

A web application, unlike a software, does not need to be installed on the computer.

Name License Programming language Latest release version Extra Information
FileZ GPL PHP 2012 https://github.com/FileZ/FileZ
QuickBase Proprietary Java 2000 https://quickbase.intuit.com
ZendTo free PHP 2013 http://zend.to/

See also

Notes

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Compatibility with eDonkey and Kad networks is done via a modded eMule plugin also developed by the Comet team
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ http://echelon.i2p/nachtblitz
  14. ↑ http://www.xi-soft.com/default.htm
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ whatIsTribler/2
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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