Comparison of file managers

The following tables compare general and technical information for a number of notable file managers.

This table shows the operating systems that the file managers can run on, without emulation.

• Finder
• ForkLift
• Path Finder
• Xfile
• Commander One

• Demos Commander
• emelFM2
• Gentoo file manager
• Konqueror
• Krusader
• nnn
• Nautilus
• Nemo
• PCMan File Manager
• Ranger
• ROX-Filer
• Thunar
• SpaceFM
• worker

• Altap Salamander
• Directory Opus
• Explorer++
• File Manager (Windows)
• Nomad.NET
• STDU Explorer
• Total Commander
• File Explorer
• xplorer²
• XYplorer
• ZTreeWin

• Files (Apple)

• Files by Google
• Ghost Commander

Icon views represent files and folders as large icons.

Details + thumbnails views and favs-panel (bottom left)

Information about what common file manager views are implemented natively (without third-party add-ons).

Note that the "Column View" does not refer to the Miller Columns browsing / visualization technique that can be applied to tree structures / folders.

Twin-panel file managers have obligatory connected panels where action in one panel results in reaction in the second. Konqueror supports multiple panels divided horizontally, vertically or both, but these panels do not act as twin panels by default (the user has to mark the panels he wants to act as twin-panels).

Information on what networking protocols the file managers support. Note that many of these protocols might be supported, in part or in whole, by software layers below the file manager, rather than by the file manager itself; for example, the macOS Finder doesn't implement those protocols, and the Windows Explorer doesn't implement most of them, they just make ordinary file system calls to access remote files, and Konqueror either uses ordinary file system calls or KIO slave calls to access remote files. Some functions, such as browsing for servers or shares, might be implemented in the file manager even if most functions are implemented below the file manager.

Information on what basic file features the file managers support.

Information on what file searching features the file managers support. RegExp include the possibilities of nested Boolean searches, thus implicitly all file managers supporting RegExp search support also Boolean searches.

Column Definitions (D)

Entry Notes (s)

Information on which parts of the application can be extended by plugins.

• What's the best file manager for Ubuntu Gnome 14.04 Trusty? by Rich Lott, May 2014
• Softpanorama Orthodox File Managers page (Home of the OFM standard)
• Comparison of some "light" File Managers in GNU/Linux (in spanish)