FileZilla Pro and FileZilla Pro RemoteDrive are companion tools that solve different jobs. FileZilla Pro is a transfer client built around an explicit upload/download queue. RemoteDrive mounts your remote storage as a drive in Finder or File Explorer so you can open and edit files in place — no transfer step, only the bytes you actually use.
| Criterion | FileZilla Pro | FileZilla Pro RemoteDrive |
|---|---|---|
| Workflow | Explicit transfer queue — upload/download as discrete, retryable jobs | Mounts remote storage as a drive in Finder / File Explorer; open and edit in place |
| Best for | Large batches, transfer logs, scheduled syncs, error recovery | Day-to-day editing of remote files in your usual desktop apps |
| Bandwidth pattern | Whole file is moved on transfer | On-demand streaming — only the bytes you actually open |
Verdict: use FileZilla Pro when you’re moving everything at once. Use RemoteDrive when you only need the file you’re about to open.
What is FileZilla Pro?
FileZilla Pro is a desktop file-transfer client for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It connects to FTP, FTPS, and SFTP servers and to all major cloud storage services — Amazon S3, OneDrive, Google Drive, Box, Dropbox, Azure, OpenStack Swift, and Backblaze B2 — and exposes them through a familiar two-pane interface with an explicit transfer queue at the bottom of the window. You add jobs to the queue, the client transfers them, and the queue keeps a record of what succeeded and what needs to be retried.
This model is the right fit for batch operations: nightly site uploads, photo-library migrations, backup pulls, anything where you need to move a known quantity of data and walk away.
What is FileZilla Pro RemoteDrive?
FileZilla Pro RemoteDrive takes the same set of remote backends and presents them as local drives. Once you connect a remote storage account, it appears in Finder on macOS and in File Explorer on Windows like any other volume. Double-clicking a file opens it in its default application; saving from that application writes the change back to the remote storage. There is no transfer queue and no upload step in the user-facing flow.
Behind the scenes, RemoteDrive streams only the bytes the application actually reads. Open a 4 GB video to scrub to the 30-second mark, and only the chunks needed to render those frames cross the network. The full 4 GB never lands on your disk unless you explicitly download it.
How do they compare on bandwidth and storage?
FileZilla Pro and RemoteDrive sit at opposite ends of the bandwidth/storage trade-off:
- FileZilla Pro uses the most bandwidth and the most local disk: it transfers entire files. The upside is that once a file is local, it works with no network round-trips.
- RemoteDrive uses the least bandwidth and almost no persistent local disk: it streams on demand and caches only briefly. The upside is that you can work against terabytes of remote data without filling a laptop SSD.
If you are on a metered or slow connection and want to do real work against a large remote dataset, RemoteDrive is usually the better answer. If you are about to fly somewhere with no Wi-Fi, FileZilla Pro is the better answer because the files will be local.
Can you use both?
Yes — they are designed to coexist on the same machine and they share connection profiles. A common pattern: use RemoteDrive day-to-day for the 95% case where you are editing a few files at a time, and switch to FileZilla Pro when you need to run a large batch upload, recover from a failed transfer, or schedule a sync.
Both products are licensed individually; see the FileZilla Pro pricing page for current options.
Which should you choose?
Choose FileZilla Pro if your work is transfer-shaped: you have a list of files, you want to move them, you want to confirm they all arrived, and you want a record of what happened. The queue is a feature, not a bug — it gives you control and audit trail.
Choose FileZilla Pro RemoteDrive if your work is editing-shaped: you open a remote file, change it, save it, move on. You don’t want a queue between you and the file; you want the file to behave like every other file on your computer.
If your workflow has both shapes — and most do — running both products is the right answer.
Frequently asked questions
Does RemoteDrive store files locally?
RemoteDrive streams files on demand and caches only briefly while they are open. Files are not persistently downloaded unless you explicitly copy them out of the mounted drive. This is the main difference from a sync client.
Can FileZilla Pro and RemoteDrive use the same accounts?
Yes. Both products support the same set of backends — FTP, FTPS, SFTP, and the major cloud storage services — and connection profiles can be reused.
Which one is better for backups?
FileZilla Pro is the better fit for scheduled or batch backups, because it has an explicit transfer queue, retry logic, and a transfer log. RemoteDrive is designed for live access, not for moving fixed data sets.