The best FTP and FTPES servers for Windows

Nowadays, with the use of Network Attached Storage (NAS) servers by users and businesses to store all kinds of files, and although there are NAS servers to centralize all information, you may be interested in setting up an FTP and FTPES server locally on your Windows computer. Today in RedesZone we will tell you what are the best programs to create a complete FTP and FTPES server , compatible with Windows 10 and also with Windows Server.

FileZilla Server

FileZilla is the client FTP / FTPES and SFTP le most popular for Windows and Linux operating systems. However, we also have FileZilla Server available, the server version of this popular program, which is only available for Windows operating systems. This FileZilla server is completely free, open source and supports both the FTP protocol and the protocol FTPS / FTPES to ensure a confidentiality of end to end , using the TLS protocol to secure connections between clients and the server.

In case your computer processor supports the AES-NI instruction set , the read and write performance you will get on the server will be very similar to what you were using say vous were using the FTP protocol, so it is always advisable to use FTPES to protect connections with your users.

The other features of this server are that it allows data compression on the fly, so the transfer rates could be improved slightly. This FileZilla server is, without a doubt, one of the most recommended options for Windows systems. The only weak point is that it does not support the SFTP protocol , since this SFTP protocol is based on SSH.

We recommend that you visit the FileZilla Server official site where you will find all the information on this excellent program and direct access to its free download.

Free FTPd

FreeFTPd is another widely used program to mount an FTP server on our Windows computer. This program is completely free, it integrates a very simple and visual Windows XP style interface, but the most important is that it is compatible with the FTP, FTPS, FTPES protocol and is even compatible with the SFTP protocol, which is based on SSH protocol.

This program will allow us to create different virtual users, without needing to create them locally on the Windows computer. In addition, this will allow us to create different virtual directories to share only the folders or directories we want, and later associate registered users with those folders.

We recommend that you access the FreeFTPd official website where you will find all the information on this program, and direct access to its free download.

Wing FTP server

This program multiplatform (compatible with Windows, Linux and macOS) is really interesting, because it supports protocols FTP, FTPS / FTPES, SFTP and even HTTP / HTTPS to easily send files through these protocols. This program has two versions, one free and one paid, however, we can use the free version forever for non-commercial use, so at home we can use it without any problem.

Conclusion administration is done from a web browser , to greatly facilitate its administration from anywhere. It has a notification and automation system, we can store user data in XML, and even in a database and also in Windows Active Directory or LDAP. Other cool features are that we can link for direct file download without the need for username and password.

Finally, we have applications for Android and iOS systems that will greatly facilitate the connection with the servers supported by this program, although we can use any client without problems, since it uses protocols widely known and used by all applications.

We recommend that you access the Wftpserver official website where you will find all the information on this program, and direct access to its free download.

Xlight FTP server

This free program has a more modern graphical user interface than FileZilla Server, and even has additional configuration options to customize the FTP server in detail.

Some features of Xlight FTP Server are the possibility of monitor bandwidth usage for the entire server , to define the maximum number of simultaneous connected users and even to define a maximum inactivity time for users. We can also configure the welcome message on the server, configure email notifications and we can even run a certain program after a user logs in / downloads files / downloads files or deletes files.

This will also allow us to delete partially downloaded files, as they will be corrupted and of no use to us. We can also send deleted files to recycle bin without permanently deleting them, ability to create directory and file access control list, and we can even use FTPS / FTPES no problem and also SFTP .

This program is completely free for personal use, in addition, we also have the possibility to download a "portable" version so that we do not need to install it on our computer.

We recommend that you access the Xlight FTP Server official site where you will find all the information on this program, and direct access to its free download.

Full FTP

This program is completely free and compatible with the FTP protocol and also FTPS / FTPES . It has a graphical user interface where we can manage all the server settings, although we have to activate the "advanced" view to have each of the configuration options of this FTP server. Another aspect to keep in mind is that even if we make a change it is not applied in real time, we have to click on "Apply changes".

Some of the main features of this FTP server are the ability to enable or disable both FTP and FTPS , it allows anonymous connections, how many anonymous connections can be connected simultaneously, show hidden files and folders, configure passive FTP, configure failed connection attempts before banning the user and much more.

We recommend that you access the Complete FTP Server official site where you will find all the information on this program, and direct access to its free download.

Primary FTP server

This program is available in two versions, a minimalist version with the most basic configuration options and another which has all the configuration options of any FTP server. Some of its main features are the ability to use FTP / FTPS / FTPES and it also supports SFTP and HTTPS for file transfer. Depending on the version chosen, we will have a greater number of configuration options, so we recommend the full version to customize the FTP server in detail.

We recommend that you access the Core FTP Server official site where you will find all the information on this program, and direct access to its free download.

Fast and easy FTP

The last program we are going to recommend is Quick 'n Easy FTP, a program that was originally designed for Windows Vista and earlier operating systems, but is also compatible with newer versions of Windows. In case the above programs do not meet your needs, you can always resort to this program as the last option.

Despite a very old but simple interface, this FTP server is worth it for all the functions it offers us, such as:

• Easy to configure thanks to an integrated configuration wizard.
• It has a wizard for creating user accounts.
• Support for systems that are part of a network with a router and / or a firewall.
• The configuration is saved in XML format.
• Real-time server monitoring, showing each command and its response on screen.

All of these functions are built into the free version, but where we can really harness the full potential of this program is in the paid version for $ 5.

• Security options that allow you to block specific IP addresses and ranges.
• Supports virtual directories.
• Well, limit the upload and download speed per user.
• Displays the average upload and download speed of online users.
• Displays the progress of users' file download transfer.
• Users can send messages through their FTP client to the message console of the FTP server.
• It has built-in upload and download statistics.
• Possibility of remote administration.
• You can configure the disk quota per user
• Events from the FTP server can be used to trigger actions such as playing a sound or running an application.
• Directory List Format Settings
• Unlimited connections.

As we can see, the paid version brings a series of extras that make this version interesting, but we recommend that you try the free version first so that you can see how everything works.

We recommend that you access the Quick 'n Easy FTP official site where you will find all the information on this program, and direct access to its free download.

Without a doubt, the standout FTP server is FileZilla Server, a program widely used by many users. In case you need to integrate an SSH based SFTP server, you can still use FreeFTPd just for that, or take advantage and use it as an FTP / FTPS server as well although we have less configuration options than FileZilla. .