Last updated October 23, 2026 · By the BucketWorx team. We're building BucketWorx, a desktop S3 client that isn't released yet. It's mentioned below, but it isn't ranked or scored against the apps you can use today.
How we compared them
In October 2026 we read each project's website, README, documentation and releases. A feature is marked "Yes" only if it's documented. "Not documented" means we couldn't find it, not that it's definitely missing. All five run on top of rclone, which is free and MIT-licensed; RClone Manager downloads it for you. The current rclone version is 1.75.2, from October 9, 2026.
rclone GUIs compared
rclone gui (built in)
Rclone UI
RClone Manager
RcloneView
Rclone Browser
Type
Web page served by rclone
Desktop app
Desktop app
Desktop app
Desktop app
Windows / macOS / Linux
Yes / Yes / Yes
Yes / Yes / Yes
Yes / Yes / Yes
Yes / Yes / Yes
Yes / Yes / Yes
Price
Free
Free; optional license from $7
Free
Free; Plus $19.80/yr; Lifetime $99.80 once
Free
Open source
Yes (MIT)
Yes (Apache 2.0)
Yes (GPL v3)
No
Yes (MIT)
File browser
Yes
Not documented
Yes
Yes
Yes
Mount as a drive
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Scheduled jobs
Not documented
Yes
Yes
Plus only
Not documented
Manage rclone on another machine
Not documented
Yes
Headless web mode
Yes
Not documented
Built-in MCP server
No
Separate (rclone-mcp)
No
No
No
Latest release
Ships with rclone
3.7.5 (Sep 2026)
0.3.3 (Sep 2026)
1.6.8
1.8.0 (Feb 2020)
Prices in USD as of October 23, 2026. An MCP server lets AI assistants such as Claude or ChatGPT work with your files. "Separate" means a different project from the same team, not part of the app.
The options
1. rclone gui: built in, nothing to install
Run rclone gui and rclone starts its remote-control API and a web server on localhost, then opens the GUI in your browser and logs you in. It was redone in v1.74 and now ships inside the rclone binary. There's a dashboard, an explorer for local disks and remotes, views for mounts and serves, and a settings page that edits rclone.conf directly.
The terminal has to stay open: closing it stops the GUI. rclone's docs also warn against exposing the API to your network. The older web GUI, rclone-webui-react, is archived; its last release was in June 2021.
Best for: occasional use when you already have rclone set up.
2. Rclone UI: free, open source, every platform
Rclone UI describes itself as "a light, transparent layer on top of rclone" for managing remotes and tasks. It's Apache 2.0-licensed, and its source lives in therclone organization on GitHub. It runs on Windows (x64 and Arm), macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel) and Linux (AppImage, deb and rpm, x64 and Arm), and is in Flathub, Homebrew, Scoop, Chocolatey and WinGet. There are mobile apps too.
It does scheduled jobs, mounts remotes automatically at startup, shows running copy, sync and move operations, and can control rclone on a server or in Docker. It's free, with an optional license from $7 that unlocks more features. Its site lists a file browser ("file commander") as a future feature.
Best for: running rclone jobs and mounts without memorising flags.
3. RClone Manager: open source, with a file manager
RClone Manager is GPL v3 and built with Tauri. Its built-in file manager browses, edits, moves, copies, renames and deletes remote files, with previews for images, video, PDFs, audio and text. It also handles mounts and serving (WebDAV, SFTP, HTTP, FTP), live transfer monitoring, and "visual workflows" with cron triggers and folder watchers. There's a headless mode that runs as a web server on a NAS or VPS.
It runs on Linux, Windows and macOS, with an Android beta, and downloads rclone for you if it's missing. It's still pre-1.0: the latest release is 0.3.3, from September 23, 2026.
Best for: a free, all-in-one desktop app, if you're fine with a young project.
4. RcloneView: the most polished, not open source
RcloneView is made by Bdrive. It has drag-and-drop browsing, mounting, one-to-many sync, folder comparison and client-side encryption built on rclone's crypt. It can connect to rclone running on other machines, each in its own window. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux (AppImage, deb and rpm, x86-64 and arm64), and there are mobile apps.
The free plan has no device limit. Scheduled jobs, automatic re-mounting and filtered comparison need Plus, at $19.80 a year for two devices, or a one-time $99.80 lifetime license for three. The site doesn't say whether Lifetime covers future major versions. It also says it isn't open source.
Best for: people who want a finished-feeling app and don't need open source.
5. Rclone Browser: popular, but not updated since 2020
Rclone Browser is MIT-licensed and still widely recommended in old forum threads. It browses and changes files on any remote (including encrypted ones) and mounts remotes. But its last release, 1.8.0, came out on February 17, 2020, and rclone has changed a lot since. Pick one of the actively updated apps instead.
Which should you choose?
You use rclone now and then:rclone gui. It's already installed.
You want scheduled jobs and mounts in a free desktop app: Rclone UI.
You want to browse and manage files like a file manager: RClone Manager or RcloneView.
You need open source: Rclone UI or RClone Manager.
You run rclone on a server: Rclone UI, RcloneView or RClone Manager's headless mode.
When a dedicated S3 client fits better
rclone is built for moving data between 70-plus storage services, and these GUIs are organised around remotes, jobs and mounts. If you mostly work inside S3 buckets, a dedicated S3 client puts S3-specific features in the interface: object metadata and ACLs, versions, presigned links, and provider presets for R2, B2 or Wasabi. Cyberduck, Transmit and CS Browser (formerly S3 Browser) work this way. SeeS3 Browser alternatives for a full comparison, andCyberduck for Linux if you're on Linux.
The reverse is also true: if you sync between different clouds, automate backups or need rclone's encryption, rclone and its GUIs are the better tools.
Coming soon: BucketWorx
We're building BucketWorx, a native desktop app for Amazon S3 and S3-compatible storage. It's planned for
Windows, macOS and Linux, with support for Cloudflare R2, Backblaze B2, Wasabi, DigitalOcean Spaces and
MinIO. We're working on responsive browsing of large buckets, resumable transfers, and a built-in MCP
server for AI tools that's read-only by default. It isn't released yet, so it isn't in the table. Prices
and exact OS versions haven't been announced.
One email when it launches. No newsletter, no spam.
Please check your email address and try again.
FAQ
Does rclone have a GUI?
Yes. Run rclone gui and rclone opens a web interface in your browser. It was redone and built into the rclone binary in v1.74. The terminal has to stay open while you use it.
What's the best rclone GUI?
For a free, open-source desktop app, Rclone UI or RClone Manager. RClone Manager has a built-in file manager. RcloneView is the most polished option with a free tier, but it isn't open source and scheduling needs a paid plan.
Is Rclone Browser still maintained?
Its last release, 1.8.0, came out in February 2020. It may still work with your rclone version, but the newer GUIs are actively updated.
Is Rclone UI official?
Its source code lives in the rclone organization on GitHub, but rclone's own documentation describes only the built-in rclone gui. Rclone UI is a separate app with an optional paid license.
Can AI assistants use rclone through MCP?
Not built in. A separate project, rclone-mcp from the Rclone UI team, connects AI assistants to rclone's remote-control API. It needs a running rclone daemon.
Sources
All checked October 23, 2026. Tell us at hello@bucketworx.com if anything here is out of date.