siftpComparison
How siftp 0.4.0 compares with three other file transfer servers: SFTPGo, FileZilla Server, and vsftpd. The siftp column is from this site's docs. Each other cell is taken from that project's own pages, listed under Sources. Where those pages do not say, the cell reads "not documented". That means we did not find it, not that the feature is missing. Checked on 2026-10-28; the other projects change, so check their pages before you decide.
| siftp | SFTPGo | FileZilla Server | vsftpd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Protocols | FTP, FTPS explicit and implicit, SFTP, read-only WebDAV | SFTP, SCP, FTP/S, WebDAV, HTTPS (S2); explicit or implicit FTPS not documented there | FTP and FTPS. SFTP only in the paid Pro Enterprise Server (F1); WebDAV not documented | FTP, explicit and implicit FTPS. No SFTP or WebDAV documented (V2, V3) |
| Web client for end users | Yes, the web portal | Yes, WebClient (S2, S3) | Not documented | Not documented |
| Share links | Yes: view, upload and view, upload only; password; expiry | Yes: password, expiry, source IP limit, download and upload count caps (S3) | Not documented | Not documented |
| Admin web UI | Yes, the console | Yes, WebAdmin (S2, S3) | Not documented; a GUI configuration tool is documented (F2) | Not documented |
| Admin REST API | Yes, OpenAPI 3.1 | Yes, with an OpenAPI 3 schema; JWT or API keys (S4) | Not documented | Not documented |
| MCP or LLM integration | Yes: MCP tools, OAuth for MCP clients, llms.txt | Not documented | Not documented | Not documented |
| S3 or object storage | Yes: S3 and S3-compatible | Yes: S3-compatible, Google Cloud Storage, Azure Blob (S1, S2) | Not documented | Not documented |
| Tiering to object storage | Yes, optional: local disk is a cache over S3 | "Smart Archiving" in the commercial Enterprise edition (S1); not documented for Community | Not documented | Not documented |
| Audit log | Hash-chained, verifiable with siftpd audit-verify | JSON logs of transfers, commands, and logins; no audit log or tamper evidence documented (S5) | Configurable logging; no audit log documented (F1) | Not documented |
| Admin sign-in with passkeys | Yes | Not documented; TOTP two-factor is (S3) | Not documented; 2FA is a Pro Enterprise feature (F1) | Not documented |
| Licence | MIT or Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0-only with additional terms; the bundled UI theme is proprietary; a commercial Enterprise edition exists (S1, S2) | AGPL-3.0-or-later (F3); a paid Pro edition exists (F1) | GPL-2.0 with an OpenSSL linking exception (V4) |
| Platforms | Linux x86_64 and aarch64 (.deb, apt, container); macOS for small deployments | Linux, Windows, macOS, FreeBSD (S2); Docker images (S1) | Windows, macOS, Debian Linux (F1) | Unix-like systems, including Linux (V1) |
| Implementation language | Rust | Go (S1) | C++ (F2) | C (V3) |
Where the others are ahead
- Maturity. siftp is at version 0.4.0. vsftpd and FileZilla Server have been in use for many years, and vsftpd is the default FTP server in several Linux distributions (V3).
- Storage backends. SFTPGo also supports Google Cloud Storage, Azure Blob, an encrypted local filesystem, and remote SFTP servers (S2). siftp has local disk and S3.
- Platforms. FileZilla Server and SFTPGo run on Windows. siftp builds on Windows but does not support it for deployment.
- Sign-in. SFTPGo supports TOTP two-factor and OpenID Connect (S2). siftp's console uses passkeys only.
- Automation. SFTPGo has an event manager and a Terraform provider (S2). siftp has neither.
- Databases. SFTPGo keeps its data in SQLite, MySQL, PostgreSQL, or CockroachDB (S2). siftp uses files.
- Commercial support. SFTPGo and FileZilla sell paid editions with support (S1, F1).
- GUI administration. FileZilla Server has a desktop administration tool (F2). siftp is configured through a TOML file, the API, or the browser console.
- Small and familiar. vsftpd does one job, FTP, and a lot of administrators already know its configuration.
Sources
- S1: SFTPGo README
- S2: SFTPGo documentation, "What is SFTPGo?"
- S3: SFTPGo web interfaces
- S4: SFTPGo REST API
- S5: SFTPGo logs
- F1: FileZilla Server features
- F2: FileZilla on Wikipedia
- F3: FileZilla licence page
- V1: vsftpd home page
- V2: vsftpd.conf manual
- V3: vsftpd on Wikipedia
- V4: Debian's copyright file for vsftpd 3.0.5