Comparison, November 2026
Bucketeer and Mountain Duck compared
Mountain Duck by iterate GmbH mounts server and cloud storage as a disk in Finder and in Windows File Explorer, with offline files and background upload. It supports S3, Azure Blob Storage and many other protocols. Bucketeer combines a browser window for S3 and Azure with Finder drives, sync jobs and watch folders on the Mac.
. Written by Marcel R. G. Berger. Sources
The short answer
- Choose Mountain Duck if Finder is where you want to work, across many protocols and on Windows too, with offline files.
- Choose Bucketeer if you want a browser window for S3 and Azure with dashboards, metadata and an activity log, plus Finder drives and scheduled sync jobs.
- Both use the File Provider system of macOS for Finder integration and both make a conflict copy when a file changed on both sides.
Bucketeer and Mountain Duck side by side
| Bucketeer | Mountain Duck | |
|---|---|---|
| Type of product | Native Mac app for object storage: browser, transfers, Finder drives and sync in one app | App that mounts server and cloud storage as a disk in Finder and Windows File Explorer |
| Platforms | Mac only, macOS 14 or later (Mount as Drive needs macOS 14.1) | macOS 13 or later according to the vendor (the Mac App Store listing names macOS 15.0 or later) and Windows |
| 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 | Licence per user for one major version, with a trial; in the Mac App Store an in-app purchase |
| 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; Backblaze B2 as its own protocol |
| Azure Blob Storage | Yes, with its own Azure backend | Yes |
| FTP, SFTP, WebDAV and other services | No, object storage only | Yes, among them FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, SMB, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive and Box |
| Storage in Finder | Yes, Mount as Drive through the File Provider extension (Bucketeer Pro); not for encrypted buckets | Yes, the core of the product; Integrated mode uses File Provider on macOS |
| 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) | Smart Synchronization with offline files and background upload; no scheduled folder sync |
| Editing in other apps | Open and Open With; every save is uploaded, a conflict copy is made if the server version changed | Files open from the mounted volume in any app; changes are uploaded |
| 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 | Signed and expiring links for S3, Azure, Backblaze B2 and others |
| Object versions | List, restore and delete object versions | Yes, revert previous versions in versioned S3 buckets |
| Metadata and headers | HTTP headers, user metadata and tags; storage class shown; auto-tagging rules | Info window for permissions, ACLs and metadata |
| Automation | Shortcuts and Siri actions, bucketeer:// deep links, Spotlight for object names | Mount from the command line by opening a bookmark file |
Where Mountain Duck is ahead
- Many protocols in Finder, from SFTP and WebDAV to Dropbox and Google Drive.
- Windows support with the same licence model.
- Offline files you can keep on the Mac and sync back later.
- Cryptomator vaults, also readable by other Cryptomator apps.
Where Bucketeer is ahead
- A full browser window for S3 and Azure with Quick Look, search and drag and drop.
- Sync jobs and watch folders that run on a schedule or when a folder changes.
- Bucket dashboard, auto-tagging rules, activity log and trash.
- Shortcuts and Siri actions and bucketeer:// deep links.
Frequently asked questions
Is Bucketeer a Mountain Duck alternative?
For S3 and Azure Blob Storage on the Mac, yes, if you also want a browser window and sync jobs. Mountain Duck covers more protocols and runs on Windows.
How do both apps handle edit conflicts?
Mountain Duck creates a duplicate with the time in its name. Bucketeer saves your version next to the original as a conflict copy named with the date. Neither overwrites the newer server version.
Do both apps use the File Provider of macOS?
Mountain Duck uses it in its Integrated mode. Bucketeer uses the File Provider extension for Mount as Drive, which needs macOS 14.1 or later.
Sources
Statements about Mountain Duck come from the vendor's own pages listed here, read in November 2026. Statements about Bucketeer come from the app's documentation.
- Mountain Duck, product page (mountainduck.io)
- Mountain Duck in the Mac App Store
- Mountain Duck docs, installation
- Mountain Duck docs, licensing
- Mountain Duck docs, Integrated connect mode
- Mountain Duck docs, Online connect mode
- Mountain Duck docs, Smart Synchronization
- Mountain Duck docs, user interface
- Mountain Duck docs, protocols
- Bucketeer features on this site
Mountain Duck 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.
If a statement here is out of date, write to hello@digitalfreedom.co.za and we will check it and correct the page.