Filezilla
FileZilla is a free, open-source FTP/SFTP client and server for Windows, macOS, and Linux, founded in 2001 and maintained primarily by developer Tim Kosse, with an optional paid FileZilla Pro subscription tier serving web developers, sysadmins, and IT professionals worldwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2001
- Headquarters—
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Filezilla does
FileZilla is an open-source FTP client and server project founded in 2001 and maintained primarily by a single developer, Tim Kosse, who also holds the copyright on the underlying libfilezilla C++ library. The product portfolio consists of FileZilla Client (a free, cross-platform desktop FTP/SFTP/FTPS client for Windows, macOS, and Linux), FileZilla Server (a free Windows FTP server), libfilezilla (a cross-platform modern C++ library originally extracted from FileZilla's codebase offering typesafe event systems, TCP socket communication, a TLS layer, rate-limited sockets, datetime handling, and process spawning), FileZilla Pro (a paid commercial subscription tier with enhanced protocol support and priority support), and RemoteDrive (a FileZilla Pro feature that mounts remote FTP/SFTP servers as local drives in the operating system's file explorer).
The company's business model is freemium. The core FileZilla Client and Server are distributed free of charge under the GNU General Public License, building and sustaining brand recognition, a large installed base, and an active community. The primary users are web developers, system administrators, and IT professionals who need reliable, free, cross-platform file transfer to and from remote servers; a secondary segment is general consumers with occasional file-transfer needs. Commercial revenue, if any, comes from self-serve FileZilla Pro annual subscriptions purchased through filezillapro.com, with no published pricing, no enterprise sales motion, no disclosed headcount, no external funding, and no published revenue. Marketing is community-driven: organic direct downloads from filezilla-project.org, an active forum, wiki documentation, nightly builds, and over 50 language localizations, supplemented by ethical advertising slots on the FileZilla site that promote FileZilla Pro and list external sponsors (Route4Me, Automatio AI, NDCHost, Buy.Fans, BairesDev).
Filezilla firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Filezilla
- Legal name
- FileZilla Project
- Website
- https://filezilla-project.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2001
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- FileZilla is a free, open-source FTP/SFTP client and server for Windows, macOS, and Linux, founded in 2001 and maintained primarily by developer Tim Kosse, with an optional paid FileZilla Pro subscription tier serving web developers, sysadmins, and IT professionals worldwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Filezilla industry classification
Industry- Product category
- File Transfer Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132), Software Publishers (51321)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- File Storage, Sync & Sharing (BPAMAMAE)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Developer & Open-Source Communities (MPACAJAK)
Keywords
Filezilla business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations
Revenue model
- FileZilla Core (Free/Open Source): The core FileZilla Client and Server products are distributed free of charge as open-source software under the GNU GPL. This drives adoption and maintains the project's community and ecosystem.
- FileZilla Pro Subscription: FileZilla Pro is a commercial subscription offering additional features beyond the free version, including enhanced protocol support, priority support, and exclusive features. Available at filezillapro.com.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | FileZilla Client (Free) |
| Subscription | Annual | FileZilla Pro (Paid Subscription) |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Filezilla product offering
Product offeringCore offering
FileZilla develops and distributes free, open-source FTP, SFTP, and FTPS client and server software for Windows, macOS, and Linux. The core products (FileZilla Client and FileZilla Server) are released under the GNU GPL, while a commercial subscription tier (FileZilla Pro) adds enhanced protocol support, priority support, and the RemoteDrive feature for mounting remote servers as local drives.
Product overview
FileZilla is a free, open-source FTP (File Transfer Protocol) solution offering both client and server software. The product portfolio consists of FileZilla Client (free desktop FTP client for Windows, macOS, and Linux), FileZilla Pro (paid commercial version with enhanced features like RemoteDrive for mounting remote servers as local drives), FileZilla Server (free FTP server for Windows), and libfilezilla (a C++ library providing core FileZilla functionality like TCP sockets, TLS encryption, and process handling for use in other applications).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- FileZilla Pro: Commercial version of FileZilla with additional features and support services beyond the free open-source client version
- FileZilla Server
- libfilezilla
Products and services
- FileZilla Client A free, open-source FTP client for Windows, macOS, and Linux that enables users to transfer files between local and remote servers using FTP, SFTP, and FTPS protocols. Targeted at web developers, system administrators, IT professionals, and general consumers needing reliable file transfer.
- FileZilla Pro
Companies that use Filezilla
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Filezilla technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Filezilla partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor.
- Route4Me, Inc.minorRoute4Me is listed as a sponsor on the FileZilla website. Route4Me is a route optimization software company.
- Automatio AIminorAutomatio AI is listed as a sponsor on the FileZilla website.
- NDCHostminorNDCHost is a hosting and datacenter provider listed as a sponsor on the FileZilla website.
- Buy.FansminorBuy.Fans is listed as a sponsor on the FileZilla website.
- BairesDevminorBairesDev is a software development company listed as a sponsor on the FileZilla website.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Filezilla competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Termius: Cross-platform SSH, SFTP, and infrastructure-access client with a free tier and paid subscription. Comparable to FileZilla Pro as a modern, multi-platform file-transfer and remote-access tool targeting developers and DevOps teams.
Direct peers
- Bitvise SSH Client: Windows SSH/SFTP client with free personal-use and paid commercial editions. Comparable to FileZilla as a developer/IT-pro file-transfer and remote-access tool with a freemium pricing model.
- Core FTP: Windows FTP/SFTP client with free Lite and paid Pro versions. Comparable freemium positioning to FileZilla, targeting the same IT-pro and web-developer base.
- ForkLift: macOS file manager and FTP/SFTP/S3/WebDAV client (paid). Comparable to FileZilla Pro as a multi-protocol file-transfer and remote-mount tool for Mac users, especially developers.
- Transmit: Commercial macOS FTP/SFTP/WebDAV/S3 client from Panic. Closely comparable to FileZilla Pro as a paid, multi-protocol file-transfer client aimed at developers and designers, with a polished paid-only model.
- WinSCP: Open-source SFTP/FTP/SCP/WebDAV client for Windows. Directly comparable to FileZilla Client as a free, developer-focused file-transfer tool with a large user base.
- SmartFTP: Windows FTP/SFTP client with free and paid tiers. Direct competitor to FileZilla Client/Pro in the Windows file-transfer client category, with a similar protocol set and SMB/professional audience.
- Cyberduck: Open-source FTP/SFTP/WebDAV/cloud-storage client for macOS and Windows. Comparable to FileZilla Pro, with a free base and paid Duck Plus subscription, covering similar protocols and target users.
Broad incumbents
- PuTTY (with PSFTP/PSCP): Iconic open-source SSH/SFTP client suite for Windows. Comparable to FileZilla in the developer/IT-pro remote-access space, with bundled PSFTP/PSCP command-line file transfer covering overlapping use cases.
- WS_FTP (Ipswitch/MOVEit): Long-standing commercial FTP/managed file-transfer product from Progress/Ipswitch. Comparable to FileZilla in the FTP category but positioned as a broader enterprise managed file-transfer suite with compliance, security, and integration features.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Filezilla social profiles
Digital presenceFilezilla financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Filezilla leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Filezilla subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Filezilla funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Filezilla M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Filezilla
What does Filezilla do?
FileZilla develops and distributes free, open-source FTP, SFTP, and FTPS client and server software for Windows, macOS, and Linux. The core products (FileZilla Client and FileZilla Server) are released under the GNU GPL, while a commercial subscription tier (FileZilla Pro) adds enhanced protocol support, priority support, and the RemoteDrive feature for mounting remote servers as local drives.
Is Filezilla a public or private company?
Filezilla is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Filezilla founded?
Filezilla was founded in 2001.
How does Filezilla make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. FileZilla Core (Free/Open Source) is the primary driver. The others are fileZilla Pro Subscription.
Who are Filezilla's main competitors?
Termius is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Bitvise SSH Client, Core FTP, ForkLift, Transmit, WinSCP, SmartFTP and Cyberduck. Broad incumbents are PuTTY (with PSFTP/PSCP) and WS_FTP (Ipswitch/MOVEit).
Does Filezilla have an API?
No public API is recorded for Filezilla.
What industry is Filezilla in?
Filezilla's product category is File Transfer Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMAMAE, File Storage, Sync & Sharing, with a secondary code of MPACAJAK, Developer & Open-Source Communities. Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 7372.