FTP clients play a big role in many tasks for your WordPress website. Whether you are moving your site from one host to another or just uploading files, you will likely use an FTP client at some point. There are plenty of choices you can use free of charge, but they are not all the same. Here are some of the best FTP clients to choose from for WordPress Users.

Defining FTP

Before we get into the best choices for your FTP client, it’s important to know what FTP is all about. It stands for File Transfer Protocol, which is a special internet protocol for downloading and uploading files from or to your web hosting server.

When you choose an FTP client, you are choosing a specific software, which provides a user interface for the transfer.

Best FTP Clients for Windows

Some FTP clients don’t work with Windows, while others do. If you are running Windows on your computer, you will need a free or paid FTP software compatible with your operating system. Here are three excellent choices.

FileZilla (https://filezilla-project.org/)

Known as one of the most popular FTP clients for windows, FileZilla provides a free choice for your specific needs. It’s a very user-friendly option, but does have one annoyance. When you go through the FileZilla downloads there are adware and spyware packages in the downloads. However, you can opt-out of these when you download the software.

FileZilla can easily be installed from their official website. Once it’s installed, you will be able to easily upload and download files.

WinSCP (http://winscp.net/eng/index.php)

A very powerful FTP client for Windows Users, WinSCP provides an easy-to-use program without much of a learning curve. You can easily find the files from your computer and your server once they are connected through the FTP client.

If you are an advanced user, this FTP client provides even more with support for SSH and SFTP.

FireFTP (http://fireftp.net/)

For those using Mozilla Firefox, FireFTP is a free add-on you can install. It provides a flawless experience because it works with the web browser. This FTP client can be used for Windows, MAC or Linux operating systems.

Best FTP Clients for MAC

With more and more people switching to MAC it’s important to list the top FTP clients for MAC computers. Both FIleZilla and FireFTP above will work for MAC users, but they may not be the best choice. Here are a few better choices for those using a MAC computer.

CyberDuck (https://cyberduck.io/)

CyberDuck provides a free option for both MAC and Windows users. It’s an open source FTP client with easy integration for MAC users. The features you enjoy from MAC are all supported by CyberDuck and it may be the best option for you.

Transmit (https://panic.com/transmit/)

Transmit is a very popular FTP choice for MAC. It’s well-known among web developers and provides plenty of features. You get very high speeds with this FTP client, but you will spend about $34 for a single license.

Best FTP Client for Linux

When it comes to Linux, there are several choices above that will work. However, the best FTP client for Linux is gFTP.

gFTP (http://gftp.seul.org/)

This FTP client is very easy to use and it’s an open source choice perfect for Linux users. It has a very clean interface and supports FTPS, HTTP, SSH, FSP, HTTPS and FTP.

These are the top choice for your FTP client needs if you are using WordPress. Whether you use Windows, MAC or Linux you can choose an FTP client from this list and easily upload and download files quickly.