Insync vs Rclone (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Rclone grades higher than Insync: 2.8 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Insync grades higher on ease of use. Rclone grades higher on the free plan and features. They get the same grade on value for money and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Insync
Desktop sync client for Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox
Free trial · from $39.99 one-time
Which one is for you
Pick Insync if
- Fits if you use Linux and want a Google Drive client on the desktop
- Works for people who juggle several Google Drive or Dropbox accounts
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you use another cloud, as only Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox are supported
- Watch out: the licence is per cloud account, so Drive plus OneDrive on one email counts as two
- Watch out: support comes with Insync Care, free for year one and $19.99 a year after
- Not for you if you want to move licences between people, as they are non-transferable
- Too light for a phone, since only desktop and server installs are listed
Pick Rclone if
- Fits if you are comfortable in a terminal and want to move files between many providers
- Works for people who want to mount cloud storage as a drive
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a point-and-click app, as it is a command-line program
- Not for you if you need hosting, because it does not store files itself
- Too light for people wanting a polished GUI, since the web interface is labelled experimental
- Watch out: Android is only available as separate builds
- Tight if you want vendor support: it is a free open-source project
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAInsyncFair | 2.8GPARcloneGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A$39.99 one-time per cloud account, under a year of the category's $7 middle subscription. The sale price has no end date. Two accounts cost twice that, and Insync Care renewals are $19.99 a year. | AFree under the MIT licence, with no paid plans. Anyone can download and run it, and you pay only the storage providers you connect. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 7-day free trial for individuals and 15 days for Office. No free plan is listed. | AThe whole program is free with no caps. You do need an account with a provider, as it hosts nothing. |
| Features | CMultiple accounts, selective sync, one-way sync, a cloud browser and headless Linux. It handles Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox only. | BCopy, sync, bisync, mount as a drive, encryption, compression, hash checks and serving files, across 70+ providers. Nothing in the listing is missing from the job. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. You connect each cloud account and choose what syncs. | DIt is run from the command line and set up with configuration files. The web GUI is labelled experimental. |
| Platforms and integrations | CA program for computers alone: Linux, Windows and macOS. No phone app is listed. | CA program for computers: Mac, Windows and Linux, with Android only as separate builds. Many storage backends but no phone or web app of its own. |
| Best for | a desktop client for Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox | syncing and mounting cloud storage from the command line |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Insync and Rclone. How we grade
Where they differ
- Rclone is open source and end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- Insync also covers file sharing.
In commonLinuxWindowsmacOSFile syncFile management
At a glance
| Insync | Rclone | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free |
| Starts at | $39.99 one-time per cloud account (shown with $49.99 crossed out) | Free |
| Free plan | None | Free and open source under the MIT license; no paid plans. |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial for the individual license; 15 days for the Office plan | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Insync | Nick Craig-Wood and contributors |
| Price read from | insynchq.com | rclone.org |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Insync
- Support comes with Insync Care: the first year is included, and renewing it costs $19.99 per year.
- The individual license is per cloud account, so Google Drive plus OneDrive on one email counts as two.
- It supports Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox only.
- Licenses are non-transferable; the Server plan prices were not readable, so they are not listed here.
Rclone
- It is a command-line program; the web GUI is labeled experimental.
- Android is mentioned only as separate builds, not as a main download.
- It does not host storage itself: you need an account with a supported provider.
- The site points third-party developers to the command line and API for GUI and backup front ends.
Key features
Insync
- Multiple cloud accounts
- Sync several Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox accounts in one app; each added account counts as one cloud account for licensing.
- Selective and one-way sync
- Choose which folders to keep local, and sync in one direction when you do not want changes flowing back.
- Cloud browser
- Browse and manage files in your cloud accounts from the app without syncing them to disk.
- File manager integration
- Sharing and sync actions are listed inside the desktop file manager, along with docs conversion and ignore rules.
- Headless Linux
- A command-line install for Linux servers is listed separately from the desktop apps.
- External drives
- Network drives, external drives and SD cards can be synced.
Rclone
- Copy, sync and bisync
- One-way sync makes a destination match a source; bisync keeps two directories matching in both directions.
- Wide provider support
- The site says over 70 cloud storage products support it, including S3 object stores, plus SFTP, WebDAV, FTP and HTTP.
- Mount as a disk
- Mounts local, cloud or virtual filesystems as a drive on Windows, macOS, Linux and FreeBSD.
- Crypt, compress and chunk backends
- Virtual backends wrap another remote to encrypt, compress, chunk or merge it.
- Integrity checks
- Checks MD5 or SHA1 hashes and preserves timestamps, and interrupted transfers can be restarted.
- Serve and remote control
- Can serve files over HTTP, WebDAV, FTP, SFTP and DLNA; an experimental web GUI and a remote-control API are listed.
Plans
Insync
Insync (Individuals)$39.99
one-time per cloud account
Shown as a limited-period offer with $49.99 crossed out and no end date. Includes 1 year of Insync Care and unlimited machines.
Insync Office (Work)$159.99
per year, includes 1 machine
For custom domains; lists Linux integration, dual-boot support and auto-login for servers.
Rclone
Rclone$0
Free MIT-licensed software; you pay only the storage providers you connect it to.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Insync or Rclone?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Insync starts at $39.99 one-time per cloud account (shown with $49.99 crossed out), and Rclone is free.
Which has a free plan, Insync or Rclone?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Rclone has a free plan. Insync does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Insync and Rclone run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Rclone lists an Android app. Both list macOS, Windows and Linux apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.