# Fyle vs rclone

rclone is a free, open-source tool that mounts many storage backends, including your own buckets, as a local drive. Our research found no versioning or agent layer of its own. Fyle plans to add what sits on top of storage: versions with attribution, agent sessions and review.

Last checked: October 2026. Fyle is in development. Built so far: accounts, organisations with roles, two-factor sign-in, organisation security policies, and device sign-in for the desktop app and CLI. The drive, agent sessions and review are planned and not available yet.

## At a glance

| | rclone | Fyle |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Desktop drive for ordinary apps | Yes. Mounts many backends as a local drive. [1] | Mounts as an ordinary folder in Finder (macOS), File Explorer (Windows) and a FUSE mount (Linux). Files download when opened and are cached. (Planned: desktop launch) |
| Agent access | None. [1] | Agents work in the mounted folder like any program. `fyle agent claude` (or any other command) runs one in its own session folder. A CLI and an MCP server cover remote agents, under the same permissions as people. (Planned: agent layer) |
| Conflicting edits | Not covered by our research | A save based on an older version becomes a branch. Nothing is overwritten, dropped or turned into a conflicted copy. (Planned: desktop launch) |
| Human review of agent changes | No versioning or agent layer of its own. [1] | A named reviewer keeps the current version, takes the branch or keeps both. Rules decide who reviews which folders. (Planned: review) |
| Windows | Not covered by our research | Windows is a launch platform, alongside macOS and Linux. (Planned: desktop launch) |
| Bring your own storage | Yes. Works with storage you already have. [1] | Bring your own S3-compatible bucket: AWS S3, Google Cloud Storage, Cloudflare R2, MinIO or Ceph. (Planned: Enterprise) |
| UK data residency | Wherever your own storage is. [1] | UK-only workspaces: your UK bucket plus a UK-hosted coordinator and database. (Planned: Enterprise) |
| Version history | No versioning layer of its own. [1] | Every version records the person, device and agent session behind it, and any version can be restored. Retention per plan is not final. (Planned: desktop launch) |
| Published price | Free and open source. [1] | Personal, Team and Enterprise plans, priced per person with storage included; no free tier or trial. [See pricing](https://fyle.sh/pricing) (Draft, not on sale) |

## Where rclone is stronger

- Free and open source. [1]
- Mounts a wide range of storage backends, including buckets you already own. [1]
- Your data stays wherever your storage is, so residency is your choice. [1]

## Where Fyle differs

- Fyle plans a coordinator that keeps versions, records who or which agent made each one, and never overwrites a newer version silently.
- Fyle plans agent sessions, an MCP server and review, which a plain mount doesn’t provide.
- Fyle plans bring-your-own S3-compatible storage for Enterprise customers.

## Which to choose

### Choose rclone if

- You want a free, scriptable mount for storage you already run.
- You don’t need shared versions, attribution or review.
- You are comfortable running and supporting open-source tooling yourself.

### Choose Fyle if

- Several people and agents write to the same files and you need versions and review.
- You want a managed product with an admin dashboard, roles and policies.
- You need to know which agent changed which file.

## Questions

### Can rclone mount storage I already have?

Yes. rclone mounts many storage backends as a local drive, including buckets you already own. It is free and open source.

### Why use Fyle instead of rclone mount?

A mount gives you access to files. Fyle plans to add the layer on top: immutable versions with attribution, agent sessions, branch-on-conflict and review, plus organisations, roles and policies. If you only need a mount, rclone is free and available today.

### Is Fyle available now?

Fyle is in development. Built so far: accounts, organisations with roles, two-factor sign-in, organisation security policies, and device sign-in for the desktop app and CLI. The drive, agent sessions and review are planned and not available yet.

### Where do these facts come from?

Competitor facts come from our October 2026 review of 50 products, and each one links to the page it was taken from. Prices are as published, in the vendor’s currency. We recheck these pages and correct anything that has changed.

## Sources

Last checked: October 2026.

1. [rclone mount documentation](https://rclone.org/commands/rclone_mount/)