SmartFTP for Windows

These guys have been releasing an update a month for over 20 years it seems. They also have the best FTP client around. You get what you pay for. Many seem to be upset that the perpetual license doesn't include updates after 1 year and that maintenance must be purchased but it is a LOT of work keeping good software like this properly working with every new major release of Windows, hence the version checks and lockouts when a new version of Windows is released. With constantly updated, complex software like this it's important to remember that it WILL have a recurring cost. The perpetual version doesn't expire like they say, but without updates it will eventually be broken by future versions of Windows and it takes them a lot of effort to maintain compatibility with all of the undocumented API changes Microsoft makes.I've interacted with support a few times about these recurring costs and their explanations were fair and they responded to me quickly and professionally. I will continue to use and pay for this software. It constantly maxes out my gigabit line and looks beautiful on Windows 11.To those who have left negative reviews I hope this helps explain things. When I asked the developers why old versions of SmartFTP don't work on newer versions of Windows they said:"We do have hundreds of version checks and workarounds for specific builds of Windows. One reason is that Microsoft has pretty much stopped documenting the Win32 API, so we have to spend a lot of resources reverse engineering the undocumented API. Since the API is undocumented, it changes frequently, sometimes even between different Windows builds. E.g. it works with the beta build of Windows, but breaks with the Windows canary build."These guys are honest and need to eat and I felt like I needed to leave an honest review to support them.-David Brustein

Stay away from those scammers. I payed 400$ for Enterprise edition + 500$ for the logger option. I had a proper support for bugs-bugs-bugs and features that an Enterprise version should have for a couple of months, then they just stoped answering. There is no manual and no website instructions for pretty much anything more than an average user could find by himself. For more advanced topics you should pay 250$ in order them to demonstrate to you anything. I asked a simple thing "I set email notifications for file downloads/uploads, I want to be informed if a file fails to transfer to/from my server, I cannot find how to do it in your documentation and I cannot figure out how to do it by myself" (20 yrs of experience in IT) and their answer was "It can be done! Please pay us 250$ for a technician in order to connect to your server and demonstrate the procedure". That should show to you the type of company you are dealing with.

Like other people have mentioned, they disabled your ability to reinstall this software. I received a notification about a new version, and I upgraded. Then I was told I did not have a license for the new version, so I uninstalled it and tried to reinstall my old version. Nope. Product Version Not Supported. It was working fine a few minutes ago! Try and contact support? no response. Try and go to forums? Sorry you don't have a valid license.I have supported them for years, having bought several paid versions. Give your money to someone who deserves it, not these scammers.

Scammy. You can't reinstall their software ( even on same machine ) and no support response whatsoever. Need to look at forum? You can't, it's empty. Contact support? sorry no current license, pay us $150.

SmartFTP is a subscription service. . . PERIOD! . SmartFTP is a subscription service. . . PERIOD! Don't be conned into thinking you have a perpetual license. Don't ever trust a company that will not provide a phone and address on there website. They only do that so they can better ignore you. SmartFTP claims to sell you a perpetual license, but as soon as your maintenance plan expires and a new version comes out, your license will stop working and the only response you get will be--download the latest version. The catch is, the latest version will not run without a new maintenance plan.

SmartFTP Review. This software does the job. Pity about the annoying nag screen. It connects easily and automatically which is a plus feature.