# Cerberus FTP Server review (2026): is it worth $1,599 a year?

> Windows file transfer server for FTP, FTPS, SFTP and HTTPS

Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA.

Cerberus FTP Server is software you install on Windows Server to receive and send files over FTP, FTPS, SFTP, SCP and HTTPS. It manages users and groups, can connect to Active Directory or LDAP, and logs transfers. Higher editions add a browser client, event automation and single sign-on.

- **Category:** File Storage & Sync
- **Made by:** Cerberus, a Redwood Software product
- **Website:** https://www.cerberusftp.com
- **Runs on:** Windows, Web
- **Who should skip it:** Pricey if you just need basic FTP, at $1,599 a year on Professional.
- **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026

## Pricing

As of Nov 13, 2026, Cerberus FTP Server is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $1,599 per year, billed annually.

- **Pricing model:** Free trial
- **Free plan:** None.
- **Free trial:** 25-day free trial, no credit card required.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Professional | $1,599 per year, billed annually | FTP, SFTP and FTPS, unlimited users and connections, 9-5 email and phone support. The page also shows $1,999. |
| Enterprise | $3,499 per year, billed annually | Adds a browser client, ad hoc sharing links, file retention rules, SAML SSO and event automation. The page also shows $4,374. |
| Enterprise Plus | Custom | Quote only. Adds 24/7 severity 1 support, one non-production license and rogue-transfer detection. |

Read from https://www.cerberusftp.com/pricing/ on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Cerberus FTP Server before buying.

## Ways to pay less

- **Half-price non-production license** (Other savings): Professional and Enterprise customers can add a disaster-recovery, test or development license at a 50% discount at checkout. Source: https://www.cerberusftp.com/pricing/

## Key features

- **Many transfer protocols:** Serves FTP, FTPS, SFTP, SCP and HTTP/S, and the vendor lists FIPS 140-3 validated cryptography for SSL and SSH.
- **No per-user charge:** Every edition allows unlimited user accounts and connections; users come from a built-in manager, Active Directory or LDAP.
- **Cloud storage backends:** Virtual directories can point at Amazon S3 or Azure Blob Storage instead of a local disk.
- **Automation and retention:** Enterprise adds event-driven transfers and a Folder Monitor that deletes files by age.
- **Audit logs:** Logs track client, file and administrator activity; Enterprise adds searchable audit reports by user and date.

## Good for

- IT teams running an on-premises file transfer server on Windows
- Organizations replacing a basic FTP server with encrypted protocols
- Buyers who prefer one flat license over per-user pricing

## Worth knowing

- The server application is built for Windows; there is no Linux or Mac server.
- The browser client, ad hoc sharing, SSO and automation need Enterprise or above.
- Enterprise Plus has no published price and is bought through a quote.
- A non-production license for testing or disaster recovery is 50% off on Professional and Enterprise.

## ToolGPA grades

**GPA: 1.4 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. Cerberus FTP Server is a Windows server for FTP, FTPS, SFTP and HTTPS with unlimited users under one flat license. It starts at $1,599 a year, and the browser client, sharing links and SSO need the $3,499 Enterprise tier.

- **Value for money: D.** $1,599 a year works out near $133 a month, far above the category's dearest-tenth line of $29.99. Unlimited users is the reason it is flat, and that is all the listing offers for it.
- **Free plan and trial: C.** 25-day free trial and no card is needed. Nothing stays free.
- **Features: C.** Several transfer protocols, cloud storage backends, automation and audit logs. The browser client, ad hoc sharing, SAML SSO and automation need Enterprise, so the entry tier is plain.
- **Ease of use: D.** You install and configure a server, with users, certificates and storage to set up. No store rating is on record.
- **Platforms and integrations: D.** The server runs on Windows only, with a browser client on Enterprise. No Linux or Mac server.

These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Cerberus, a Redwood Software product's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.

## Where it stands among file storage and sync services

- Cerberus FTP Server's GPA of 1.4 is higher than 0 of the 91 other file storage and sync services we grade.
- It stands best on free plan and trial (C, above 18 of 91) and worst on value for money (D, above 0).
- Its paid plans start at $133.25 a month when paid by the year, against a middle price of $6.64 for the category: 59 of the 60 others that charge start lower.
- On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 1.3 out of 4. 64 tools score higher and cost less.

The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/file-storage

## Keep it, or make your own?

**Keep it.** To replace Cerberus FTP Server you would be making connections to other products, each kept working as those products change. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 91 of the 91 other file storage and sync services grade higher. It costs $1,599 a year.

- You could make: Reports: an app builder makes this well.
- You could not: Connections to other products, each kept working as those products change.
- You could not: Storing and serving files for other people.
- You could not: A real app for Windows. Something home-made would be a web page.
- You could not: What a company asks for before it lets staff use something: single sign-on and audit logs.

A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it.

## Works with

Amazon S3, Azure Blob Storage, Microsoft Entra ID, Active Directory, LDAP, Microsoft Hyper-V, VMware ESX

**Tags:** File sharing, Workflow automation, Reports, Self-hostable

## Alternatives

- [JSCAPE](https://toolgpa.com/tools/jscape): Managed file transfer platform with automation, by Redwood. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/cerberus-ftp-server-vs-jscape)
- [Files.com](https://toolgpa.com/tools/files-com): Cloud SFTP, managed file transfer and automation platform. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/cerberus-ftp-server-vs-files-com)
- [FileCloud](https://toolgpa.com/tools/filecloud): Business file sharing and sync you host yourself or buy as SaaS. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/cerberus-ftp-server-vs-filecloud)
- [Kiteworks](https://toolgpa.com/tools/kiteworks): Compliance-focused secure file sharing, email and file transfer. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/cerberus-ftp-server-vs-kiteworks)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026:

- https://www.cerberusftp.com
- https://www.cerberusftp.com/pricing/

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/cerberus-ftp-server
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).