# Bucketeer and Cyberduck compared

> Cyberduck and Bucketeer side by side: S3, Azure Blob Storage, other protocols, Finder drives, sync, editing, encryption and pricing model, from official sources.

Cyberduck by iterate GmbH is an open-source file browser for Mac and Windows that connects to S3, Azure Blob Storage and many other protocols, from SFTP to Google Drive. Mounting in Finder is a separate product, Mountain Duck. Bucketeer is a Mac-only app for object storage that browses, transfers, mounts and syncs in one app.

As of November 2026. https://getbucketeer.app/compare/cyberduck/

## The short answer

- **Choose Cyberduck** if you also need FTP, SFTP, WebDAV or consumer clouds such as Dropbox and Google Drive, work on Windows too, or want a command-line tool.
- **Choose Bucketeer** if you work with S3 and Azure buckets on a Mac and want Finder drives, scheduled sync jobs and watch folders in the same app.
- Both connect to Amazon S3, S3-compatible services and Azure Blob Storage, both edit files in other apps and both offer client-side encryption.

## Bucketeer and Cyberduck side by side

As of November 2026. Cyberduck from its vendor's official pages (see sources), Bucketeer from its documentation. Not documented means the vendor's pages do not say, not that the feature is missing.

|  | Bucketeer | Cyberduck |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Type of product | Native Mac app for object storage: browser, transfers, Finder drives and sync in one app | Open-source (GPL) file browser for servers and cloud storage |
| Platforms | Mac only, macOS 14 or later (Mount as Drive needs macOS 14.1) | macOS 10.13 or later and Windows; the duck command-line tool also runs on Linux |
| Where to get it | Mac App Store only | Direct download, Mac App Store and Windows Store |
| Pricing model | App from the Mac App Store; Bucketeer Pro is a one-time in-app purchase, no subscription | Open source under the GPL with an optional donation key; the Mac App Store version is a paid app |
| Amazon S3 and S3-compatible storage | Amazon S3, presets for Cloudflare R2, Backblaze B2, Wasabi, DigitalOcean Spaces, Storj and Civo, plus any S3 endpoint such as MinIO | Amazon S3 and S3-compatible storage through connection profiles, with documentation for Wasabi, Cloudflare R2, DigitalOcean Spaces and MinIO; Backblaze B2 as its own protocol |
| Azure Blob Storage | Yes, with its own Azure backend | Yes, with account key or SAS; Azure Files is not supported |
| FTP, SFTP, WebDAV and other services | No, object storage only | Yes, among them FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, SMB, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Box and Google Cloud Storage |
| Storage in Finder | Yes, Mount as Drive through the File Provider extension (Bucketeer Pro); not for encrypted buckets | Not in Cyberduck; iterate points to its separate app Mountain Duck |
| Sync | Sync jobs that copy, move or mirror bucket to bucket across providers or folder to bucket; by hand, at launch, on a schedule or on folder change; watch folders (Bucketeer Pro) | Manual folder synchronisation as mirror, download only or upload only; no built-in schedule, the docs suggest the CLI with cron |
| Editing in other apps | Open and Open With; every save is uploaded, a conflict copy is made if the server version changed | Files open in an external editor and are uploaded on every save |
| Client-side encryption | AES-256-GCM per bucket on the Mac, key in the macOS Keychain | Yes, Cryptomator vaults |
| Share links | S3 presigned URLs and Azure SAS links | S3 pre-signed URLs, Azure SAS URLs and share links for several other providers |
| Object versions | List, restore and delete object versions | Yes, revert and delete previous versions in versioned S3 buckets |
| Metadata and headers | HTTP headers, user metadata and tags; storage class shown; auto-tagging rules | HTTP headers and metadata, S3 ACLs and storage class editable in the Info window |
| Automation | Shortcuts and Siri actions, bucketeer:// deep links, Spotlight for object names | Command-line tool duck for macOS, Windows and Linux |

## Where Cyberduck is ahead

- **Many protocols in one app,** from FTP and SFTP to WebDAV, SMB, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive and Box.
- **Windows and Linux:** the app runs on Windows, the duck command-line tool also on Linux.
- **ACL editing** for S3 and Google Cloud Storage in the Info window.
- **Open source** under the GPL.

## Where Bucketeer is ahead

- **Finder drives in the same app:** Mount as Drive shows a bucket in Finder, while Cyberduck leaves mounting to Mountain Duck.
- **Scheduled sync and watch folders:** sync jobs run at launch, on a schedule or when a folder changes, without cron.
- **Bucket dashboard, activity log and trash** with a local copy of deleted objects.
- **Shortcuts and Siri actions** and bucketeer:// deep links.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is Bucketeer a Cyberduck alternative on the Mac?

For object storage, yes. Bucketeer connects to S3, S3-compatible services and Azure Blob Storage like Cyberduck and adds Finder drives and scheduled sync. If you also need FTP, SFTP, WebDAV or Dropbox, Cyberduck covers those and Bucketeer does not.

### Can Cyberduck mount a bucket in Finder?

Not Cyberduck itself. Its vendor iterate offers the separate app Mountain Duck for that. Bucketeer has Mount as Drive built in, as part of Bucketeer Pro.

### Do both apps support Azure Blob Storage?

Yes. Cyberduck connects to Azure Blob Storage with an account key or SAS, Bucketeer with the storage account name and key.

## Sources

- [Cyberduck, product page (cyberduck.io)](https://cyberduck.io/)
- [Cyberduck, download and system requirements](https://cyberduck.io/download/)
- [Cyberduck in the Mac App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id409222199)
- [Cyberduck FAQ](https://docs.cyberduck.io/cyberduck/faq/)
- [Cyberduck docs, Amazon S3](https://docs.cyberduck.io/protocols/s3/)
- [Cyberduck docs, S3-compatible providers](https://docs.cyberduck.io/protocols/s3/providers/)
- [Cyberduck docs, Azure Blob Storage](https://docs.cyberduck.io/protocols/azure/)
- [Cyberduck docs, synchronize folders](https://docs.cyberduck.io/cyberduck/sync/)
- [Cyberduck docs, edit files](https://docs.cyberduck.io/cyberduck/edit/)
- [Cyberduck docs, file transfers](https://docs.cyberduck.io/cyberduck/transfer/)
- [Cyberduck docs, Info window (versions, metadata, ACL)](https://docs.cyberduck.io/cyberduck/info/)
- [Cyberduck docs, share files](https://docs.cyberduck.io/cyberduck/share/)
- [Cyberduck docs, command line interface](https://docs.cyberduck.io/cli/)

Cyberduck is a trademark of its owner and is offered by iterate GmbH. The name is used here only to identify the product. Bucketeer and DigitalFreedom Global LLC are not affiliated with iterate GmbH, and iterate GmbH has not reviewed or endorsed this page.