CuteFTP Alternative for Seedbox Users (Free, With Multi-Part Downloads)

The best CuteFTP alternative for seedbox users is evoftp: free, open source, on Windows, macOS and Linux, and it does the one thing people bought CuteFTP for — multi-part downloads of large files — by default, over SFTP, with nothing to configure. CuteFTP still works, but it costs $59.99, runs only on Windows, and its own manual says multi-part transfers are “not recommended” over SSH, which is the only protocol a modern seedbox should be using.

CuteFTP is also a much bigger program than evoftp. If you rely on its scheduler, site-to-site (FXP) transfers, folder sync or VBScript macros, evoftp does not replace those. Below: what CuteFTP users actually liked, what evoftp has and lacks, and three other alternatives (WinSCP, FileZilla, lftp) if evoftp’s narrow focus does not fit.

Verdict

CuteFTP is now owned by Fortra (via Globalscape and HelpSystems). Version 9.4.0 shipped on 6 April 2026 — the first release since 9.3.0 in July 2018, an eight-year gap. The same day, Fortra started the wind-down of 9.3 (full support ends 6 April 2027). The Mac version has not been updated since 3.1.2 in 2014. The checkout page lists one “CuteFTP” SKU at $59.99, or $89.99 with twelve months of maintenance and support.

Its speed feature is multi-part transfers: “A multi-part transfer divides large files and sends the parts over multiple FTP sessions”, with HIGH (two parts) or MAX. The same help page says multi-part is not recommended with SSH or SSL because of the CPU cost, breaks on servers that limit connections per IP, and that a multi-part upload is only reassembled if the server supports a COMB command. It was designed for plain FTP.

evoftp is built around the same trick, for SFTP: every file over 8 MB is split into segments pulled over several SSH connections at once and written straight into place, with no merge step and no option to find. In our tests a 1.07 GB file finished in 4.9 s on a LAN-adjacent box, and a Mac in India at 250–700 ms RTT went from about 2.4 MB/s per connection to line speed. Our numbers, not a guarantee.

At a glance

Where CuteFTP is better

Long-time CuteFTP users usually name the same five things.

• The transfer queue. CuteFTP lets you drag items into a queue, transfer later, stop, resume and restart, edit an item’s destination and reorder for priority. evoftp has a transfer list with instant cancel, retry on failed rows and “Clear finished”; it is not a queue editor.
• Scheduling. CuteFTP schedules transfers with recurrence. evoftp has no scheduler.
• Site-to-site (FXP). CuteFTP moves files directly between two FTP servers. evoftp cannot; it transfers only between your machine and one SFTP server.
• The Transfer Engine. ftpte.exe runs independently of the UI, can start with Windows and is scriptable over COM from VBScript, Perl or JavaScript. evoftp has no background engine and no CLI.
• Macros. CuteFTP records and plays back VBScript macros and supports custom raw FTP commands and event triggers. evoftp has none of this.

Add folder sync, Smart Overwrite rules, bandwidth throttling and an HTML editor. CuteFTP is a file-transfer suite; evoftp is a downloader.

Where evoftp is better

• Segmented downloads over SFTP, by default. CuteFTP’s multi-part mode is an advanced menu item (File > Download Advanced > Multi-part Download) whose own documentation steers you away from SSH. evoftp segments every large file over SSH without asking.
• No merge, no server-side requirements. Segments are written straight into the destination file. No COMB command, no reassembly wait.
• Latency handling. The in-flight window is sized from the measured ping — exactly the case (a seedbox on another continent) where one SFTP stream crawls.
• Free and cross-platform. $0 on three OSes versus $59.99 on Windows alone. If you moved to a Mac, CuteFTP stopped being an option twelve years ago.
• Zero-setup seedbox connection. Download a connection file from your client area, double-click it, and you are browsing ~/downloads.
• Open source. GPL-3.0; you can read what it does with your password.

What evoftp does not do yet: no WebDAV, no sync, no speed limit, no directory comparison, no remote edit, no scheduling, no CLI. Uploads are single-stream. Builds are not code-signed or notarised, so SmartScreen and Gatekeeper each warn once.

The alternatives

evoftp — segmented SFTP with zero setup

Free, GPL-3.0, Windows/macOS/Linux, SFTP, FTPS and FTP. Dual-pane, drag-and-drop uploads, new folder, rename, delete, a filter box per pane. The Balanced profile uses 4 segments per file, 3 files at a time and 8 connections; Long distance raises that to 8 segments with a 16 MB in-flight window; Custom goes up to 12 connections. Pick it if the job is “get large files off a remote SFTP or FTP server as fast as the line allows” and you do not need automation.

WinSCP — the Windows automation replacement

Free, GPL, Windows only, actively maintained (6.5.6, March 2026). SFTP, SCP, FTP, WebDAV and S3. The closest free match for CuteFTP’s automation: a winscp.com scripting console with a “Generate script” button, a .NET assembly, synchronize with a preview of changes, “keep remote directory up to date”, custom commands, a master password and portable mode. It can download one file over several connections, but only for SFTP and only after you enable “Use multiple connections for single file” under Preferences > Background, with a size threshold.

FileZilla — the broad, familiar one

Free, GPL-3.0, Windows/Linux/macOS. FTP, FTPS and SFTP; the paid FileZilla Pro adds WebDAV and cloud storage. Site Manager and transfer queue, pause/resume including files over 4 GB, speed limits, filename filters, directory comparison, remote file editing and synchronised browsing. Two caveats: until version 3.26 it stored saved passwords in plain text, and the 2013-era SourceForge download wrapper bundled unwanted offers. It runs several transfers at once but does not split a single file across connections, so a lone 40 GB file is still one stream.

lftp — the command line

Free, Linux and macOS (Windows through WSL). pget -n 8 file.mkv downloads one file in eight segments; mirror --parallel=5 --use-pget-n=8 pulls a folder with five files at once, each segmented; -c continues. This is the technique evoftp reimplements with a window around it. No GUI, but scriptable.

If you use a seedbox

Your EvoSeedbox account exposes SFTP on port 22 (the client area shows “SFTP / FTP port 22 / 21”; use SFTP), so CuteFTP’s FTP-centric multi-part mode is the wrong tool. Completed downloads live in ~/downloads, and dropping a .torrent into ~/downloads/watch adds it to rTorrent, so drag-and-drop upload doubles as a way to queue torrents.

New to SFTP? Start with the SFTP setup guide. For the wider picture — which client, which protocol, why a single stream is slow across an ocean — see how to transfer files from your seedbox.

How to switch in two steps

1. Download evoftp for your OS from https://neo.myseedbox.site/share/evoftp/ (evoftp-windows.exe is portable; evoftp-mac.zip for Apple Silicon, evoftp-mac-intel.zip for Intel; evoftp-linux.AppImage needs libfuse2). On macOS, right-click → Open the first time.
2. In the EvoSeedbox client area, find the “Desktop app” row and click “Connection file”. Double-click the downloaded .evoftp file and you are connected. Not an EvoSeedbox customer? Copy host, port, username and password from CuteFTP’s Site Manager into a new evoftp connection; there is no importer.

FAQ

Is CuteFTP still supported?

For now. Fortra released CuteFTP 9.4.0 on 6 April 2026 with TLS 1.3 and OpenSSL 3.6.1; its end-of-life date is “TBD”. Version 9.3 entered wind-down the same day, with full support ending 6 April 2027. The Mac product has been unmaintained since 2014.

Does evoftp have multi-part transfers like CuteFTP?

Yes, on by default. Every file over 8 MB is split into segments (4 in Balanced, up to 8) and downloaded over several SSH connections at once, written straight into place with no merge. CuteFTP offers HIGH (2 parts) or MAX over FTP sessions, and its manual advises against using it on SSH or SSL.

Can evoftp schedule transfers or do FXP copies?

No. evoftp has no scheduler, no site-to-site transfers, no macros and no command line. For scheduled or scripted jobs on Windows, WinSCP’s scripting and .NET assembly are the free option; on Linux or macOS, lftp in a cron job.

Is evoftp safe to install?

It is open source under GPL-3.0. The builds are not yet code-signed or notarised, so expect one SmartScreen or Gatekeeper warning. On Windows and Linux saved passwords are encrypted with your OS login; on the unsigned macOS build they are stored unencrypted, so leave the password empty there if you prefer to type it.

Ready to drop the $59.99 licence? Grab evoftp from the download page and read the full evoftp guide for seedbox users for profiles, shortcuts and troubleshooting.