Compare the Top File Managers for Linux as of November 2025

What are File Managers for Linux?

File managers, also known as file browsers or file explorers, are software applications that enable a user to browse, search, organize, and manage the files and folders on their computer or device. Compare and read user reviews of the best File Managers for Linux currently available using the table below. This list is updated regularly.

  • 1
    fman

    fman

    fman

    Press Ctrl+P to quickly jump to a directory. fman remembers which folders you visit most often and suggests them first. This is so much quicker than manually navigating through directory hierarchies. Tailor fman to your needs via its powerful plugin system. Install plugins created by others, or write your own and share them with the community. fman is an alternative to file managers such as Explorer on Windows or Finder on macOS. You use it to browse directories, copy or move files, mount external drives, etc. It lets you perform these tasks much more efficiently than other file managers. This makes it extremely easy to copy or move files. You just open the directory you want to copy from on one side and the destination on the other. A simple keyboard shortcut then performs the copy. Unlike other file managers, you don't have to deal with multiple windows, drag files, or copy/paste in separate steps. File-related tasks can be carried out much more quickly that way.
    Starting Price: €39 one-time payment
  • 2
    Vifm

    Vifm

    Vifm

    Vifm is a file manager with a curses interface, which provides a Vim-like environment for managing objects within file systems, extended with some useful ideas from mutt. If you use vi, Vifm gives you complete keyboard control over your files without having to learn a new set of commands. Vim-like user mappings. Vim-like command-line mode with ranges and abbreviations. Vim-like marks and registers. Directory tree comparison. Operation undoing/redoing/backgrounding. FUSE file systems support. Color schemes can also be applied to specific sub-trees. File decorations are customizable according to their type and/or name. Named bookmarks (tags) Less-like preview mode with customizable viewers. Advanced file filtering and renaming capabilities. One or two pane views within tabs. Shell-like and external command-line editing. Table/grid/tree/miller views of files. Built-in integration with GNU Screen and tmux. Multi-block selection. Cross-platform (GNU/Linux, BSD, Solaris, Windows, Mac OS)
    Starting Price: Free
  • 3
    FileBrowser Professional
    All the professional features you need from a document management app for your iPad/iPhone. Connect to computers, Windows, Mac, servers, cloud storage, and USB drives. Edit documents in place and create automatic file backup and sync tasks. Rename files and folders in bulk, and so much more. One clean, consistent UI allows you to manage your files and folders by creating, deleting, and renaming, and providing the ability to copy, move, download, and upload. FileBrowser Professional's connections are so seamless it feels like everything is on one server. On an iPad use split-screen mode to drag and drop from a local USB flash drive to your web server's FTP site. Copy and paste files from Dropbox to Google Drive, or from any storage to any other. FileBrowser Professional is the only app you need to organize and access your storage. Easily copy and move documents and folders from one computer to another or to your cloud storage with our FileBrowser Professional iPad/iPhone app.
    Starting Price: $14.99 one-time payment
  • 4
    Thunar
    Thunar is a modern file manager for the Xfce Desktop Environment. Thunar has been designed from the ground up to be fast and easy to use. Its user interface is clean and intuitive and does not include any confusing or useless options by default. Thunar starts up quickly and navigating through files and folders is fast and responsive. Thunar plugins can be installed as separate, additional packages in order to extend the functionality of Thunar. Most Thunar plugins offer additional options on files in the context menu or via shortcut. The interface which is used by thunar plugins is the thunar API.
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