BinaryNights

What BinaryNights does

BinaryNights LLC is a privately held US software company founded in 2006 that develops ForkLift, a dual-pane file manager and file transfer client for macOS. The company's sole commercial product, ForkLift 4, is a native macOS application built with support for 15+ remote connection protocols including SFTP (via its own OpenSSH implementation), FTP, FTP TLS, WebDAV, Amazon S3, Backblaze B2, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Rackspace Cloud Files, Dropbox, SMB, AFP, NFS, VNC, and iCloud. The application provides dual-pane file browsing, one-way and two-way folder synchronization, batch multi-rename with regex, tags-based organization, a built-in preview/edit panel, Git operations, and an App Deleter for complete application removal. ForkLift 4 was released in September 2023 as a complete rewrite of ForkLift 3, and the company has shipped 20+ subsequent point releases through June 2026, adding features such as OpenSSH with ProxyJump/Include support (Feb 2025), zero-config MFA for SFTP (Mar 2025), macOS Tahoe compatibility (Jun 2025), and additional localizations (Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, Czech).

BinaryNights monetizes primarily through one-time perpetual licenses with an included update window (1 or 2 years), after which users can continue using the last covered version but must repurchase for further updates. License tiers range from $19.95 (Single User, 1-year updates) to $119.95 (Small Business for up to 5 Macs, 2-year updates), with a discounted educational tier and an upgrade bonus of 100 additional free-update days for existing ForkLift 3 owners. A second revenue stream comes from Setapp, a subscription-based macOS app bundle, where ForkLift 4 is included as a third-party title. Distribution is global and self-serve: a free trial download from the company's website funnels to a FastSpring-powered storefront for one-time purchases, while Setapp serves as the recurring-subscription channel.

The company targets horizontal macOS power users — individuals, families with multiple Macs, and small business teams of up to five — who need advanced file transfer and synchronization capabilities beyond what Apple's Finder provides. The product-led growth model relies on the free trial as the primary acquisition vehicle, supported by the company blog, Twitter/X (@binarynights), YouTube, and an email newsletter. ForkLift 4 holds an average App Store rating of 4.6.4 stars across 374 reviews as of mid-2026. There are no disclosed funding rounds, acquisitions, headcount figures, or financial disclosures; the company operates as a small, bootstrapped software studio.

Name

BinaryNights

Legal name

BinaryNights LLC

Website

https://binarynights.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Short description

BinaryNights is a privately held macOS software studio that develops ForkLift, a dual-pane file manager and file transfer client supporting 15+ remote protocols (SFTP, FTP, WebDAV, Amazon S3, cloud drives). It sells one-time perpetual licenses directly and via Setapp to individual Mac users, families, and small teams.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. License Sales: One-time lifetime license purchases with 1 or 2 years of free updates included. After the update period ends, users can continue using the last covered version indefinitely, but need a new license for future updates. Upgrade bonus of 100 additional days of free updates for existing users.
2. Educational Licensing: Discounted pricing for students, teachers, and lecturers who qualify through educational email verification or digital proof of eligibility
3. Setapp Distribution: ForkLift 4 is available through Setapp, a subscription platform for macOS applications, providing an alternative revenue stream for users preferring subscription access

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

BinaryNights develops and sells ForkLift 4, a dual-pane file manager and file transfer client for macOS. The software natively supports 15+ remote connection protocols and cloud services (SFTP, FTP, FTP TLS, WebDAV, Amazon S3, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox, Backblaze B2, SMB, AFP, NFS, iCloud, VNC). It is sold directly through the company's online store as a one-time perpetual license with tiered pricing (Single User, Family, Small Business, Educational).

Product overview

BinaryNights offers a single-product focused portfolio centered on ForkLift, a dual-pane file manager and file transfer client for macOS. The current offering is ForkLift 4, a major rewrite released in September 2023 that replaced the legacy ForkLift 3. ForkLift 4 is available in several licensing tiers (Single User, Family, Small Business) through direct purchase or via the Setapp subscription platform. It integrates deeply with numerous remote protocols and cloud services including SFTP, FTP, WebDAV, Amazon S3, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox, Backblaze B2, SMB, AFP, NFS, and iCloud, positioning it as a comprehensive file management solution for power users managing both local and remote file systems.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ForkLift: A dual pane file manager and file transfer client for macOS supporting various remote connection protocols and cloud services

Products and services

• ForkLift 4 A dual-pane file manager and file transfer client for macOS that supports a wide range of remote protocols (SFTP, FTP, WebDAV, Amazon S3, Backblaze B2, Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, SMB, AFP, NFS, VNC) and cloud services. Offers synchronization, preview panel, file tagging, multi-rename, Git integration, archive management, and iCloud support for individual Mac users, families, and small office teams up to 5 Macs.

Quantifiable outcome

• 20x faster folder synchronization analysis compared to ForkLift 3
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration26 records

Feature12 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• SetappminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorForkLift 4 is available through Setapp, a subscription-based platform for macOS applications. This allows Setapp subscribers to access ForkLift as part of their monthly subscription, providing an alternative distribution channel for BinaryNights.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• FileZilla: FileZilla is the dominant open-source, cross-platform FTP/SFTP client with a large installed base. While not macOS-native, it competes for the same SFTP/FTP use case at zero cost, putting downward pressure on ForkLift's pricing.
• Panic (Transmit): Panic's Transmit is the closest direct competitor to ForkLift: a macOS-native FTP/SFTP/WebDAV/S3 client with a long-standing reputation in the same Mac power-user segment. Panic also ships other paid Mac utilities (Coda, Nova), giving it broader portfolio leverage that BinaryNights lacks.
• Cyberduck: Cyberduck is a free, cross-platform FTP/SFTP/WebDAV/Amazon S3/Google Drive/OneDrive client for macOS and Windows. It overlaps heavily with ForkLift's core value proposition — multi-protocol remote file management — and competes primarily on price (free/donation).
• Mountain Duck (Iterate AS): Mountain Duck mounts SFTP, S3, Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, and WebDAV as local volumes in macOS. It is a direct functional alternative for users whose primary need is remote/cloud file access, overlapping with ForkLift's remote-connection use cases.
• Path Finder (Cocoatech): Path Finder is a long-standing macOS file manager that replaces Finder with dual-pane navigation, tabs, and advanced file operations. It overlaps ForkLift's dual-pane file management functionality for local workflows, though it has weaker remote protocol support.
• CloudMounter (Eltima): CloudMounter is a macOS utility that mounts cloud storage and remote servers (SFTP, FTP, WebDAV, Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, Amazon S3) as local drives. It competes with ForkLift on the cloud-storage integration axis and is sold by the same vendor as Commander One.
• Commander One (Eltima): Commander One is a dual-pane macOS file manager with FTP/SFTP/WebDAV/Amazon S3/Google Drive/OneDrive support, directly mirroring ForkLift's positioning. It targets the same power-user segment at a similar price point and is one of ForkLift's closest paid competitors.

Emerging players

• Jump Desktop: Jump Desktop is a remote desktop and RDP/VNC client for macOS and iOS. ForkLift supports VNC, so Jump Desktop overlaps on the remote-access use case, though its primary focus is full remote desktop sessions rather than file transfer.
• Fork (Dan Nigre: Fork is a Git client for macOS (and Windows). It does not compete on file management but competes indirectly via the Git integration ForkLift offers inside its file manager — relevant if ForkLift's developer-tools positioning expands.

Others

• Setapp (MacPaw): Setapp is the subscription distribution platform through which BinaryNights monetizes ForkLift 4. It is not a product competitor but a critical channel partner; Setapp's bundling, pricing, and subscriber growth directly affect ForkLift's subscription-sourced revenue.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/binarynights
• YouTubeyoutube.com/binarynights
• Facebookfacebook.com/binarynights

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BinaryNights