FreeFileSync 9.1

As its name clearly suggests, FreeFileSync is a software utility whose main aim is synchronizing the files between two locations for free. The program offers several predefined methods of achieving that, but you can also define your own file-syncing rules for different situations. Besides, you can select the destination of the removed files and schedule automatic backup/synchronization jobs.

The program's user interface remains virtually unchanged from its previous versions. It includes two panels, one for each location to be synchronized, and a third panel to display/change the action to be performed for each individual file that is found to be different between the locations. There's also an additional panel that allows you to save your current job, reopen it or save it as a batch job which, in turn, is required for task scheduling. By the way, this needs to be done manually using Windows' "Task Scheduler" utility, as the program itself is not capable of executing the sync jobs automatically.

To use the program effectively, you should start by defining both locations and pressing the "Compare" button. This action will display the files that are different between the locations and the action to be executed by default for each one, according to your selected synchronization method. The selected locations are not limited to local folders, as the program also supports synchronizing network folders and even remote directories that you can access through FTP or SFTP protocols. Unfortunately, cloud drives are not still supported by FreeFileSync, though this is already a common feature among other file-syncing tools. The comparison process, on the other hand, also supports three methods: by file time and size, by file content (much slower) and by file size. Finally, you can also create filters to define the files that will be included in or excluded from the synchronization process based on their file names, extensions, locations, time span and/or sizes.

To sum it all up, FreeFileSync is a robust tool that offers different methods for comparing, synchronizing and backing up the contents of two local or remote locations, all for free. If those features are enough for you, I would highly recommend you trying this tool, as surely you won't get disappointed.