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Utilities · head to head

BetterTouchTool vs Rclone

BetterTouchTool logo

BetterTouchTool

Utilities

Mac gesture, shortcut and automation customisation tool sold as a one-time licence with a lifetime tier

From
$12/one-time
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Rclone logo

Rclone

Utilities

Command line sync and mount tool for around 70 cloud storage providers

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Rclone has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: BetterTouchTool the preferences interface has hundreds of settings across many tabs, so getting one custom gesture working can take longer than with a dedicated single-purpose app.; Rclone sync deletes files at the destination to make it match the source, so one transposed argument between source and destination can wipe a backup and there is no undo.
  • They diverge on capability: BetterTouchTool covers Gesture customisation, Rclone covers Unified backend model.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which BetterTouchTool and Rclone actually diverge.

Attributes where BetterTouchTool and Rclone differ
AttributeBetterTouchToolRclone
Starting price$12/one-timeFree
Pricing modelOne-time purchaseOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsMacWindows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, Docker

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Utilities).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in BetterTouchTool

  • Gesture customisation
  • Keyboard shortcut remapping
  • Window snapping
  • Touch Bar customisation
  • Scripted actions
  • Floating menus and widgets

Only in Rclone

  • Unified backend model
  • Crypt overlay
  • FUSE mount
  • Bisync
  • Server-side transfers
  • rclone serve

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

BetterTouchTool

  • A power user who wants every trackpad gesture and shortcut on the machine remapped to a specific actionnot Rclone
  • Someone with accessibility needs who benefits from remapping input devices away from default behaviournot Rclone
  • A user who wants window snapping bundled with much broader system customisation rather than a single-purpose appnot Rclone
  • Someone already on a Setapp subscription who wants BetterTouchTool included rather than purchased separatelynot Rclone

Rclone

  • Migrating tens of terabytes between two object storage providers without staging on local disknot BetterTouchTool
  • Encrypted offsite backup to a cheap provider that you do not want reading your filenamesnot BetterTouchTool
  • Mounting an object bucket for a media server that expects a filesystem pathnot BetterTouchTool
  • Nightly one-way sync from an on-premises NAS to cloud storage as a second copynot BetterTouchTool

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

BetterTouchTool

  • The preferences interface has hundreds of settings across many tabs, so getting one custom gesture working can take longer than with a dedicated single-purpose app.
  • The Standard Licence stops receiving updates after two years unless renewed or upgraded to Lifetime, which is easy to miss and can leave a user on an outdated build.
  • It is Mac only, offering nothing for a Windows machine in a mixed household.
  • Because it can intercept almost any input, misconfiguration can make gestures or shortcuts behave unpredictably across different apps, which takes time to debug.
  • It overlaps in function with several single-purpose tools such as Rectangle for windows or Karabiner-Elements for key remapping, so a new user has to decide whether they want one broad tool or several focused ones.

Rclone

  • Sync deletes files at the destination to make it match the source, so one transposed argument between source and destination can wipe a backup and there is no undo.
  • Google Drive throttles the shared default OAuth client, so large jobs stall until you register a private API client ID, a step that is documented but easy to miss until a migration is already days behind.
  • Millions of small files hit per-provider request ceilings rather than bandwidth limits, which makes transfer time nearly impossible to estimate from data volume alone.
  • The FUSE mount is not a real filesystem; applications that expect POSIX locking, partial writes or fast directory listings will behave badly or corrupt state on network interruption.
  • Support is a community forum and a single principal maintainer, so an organisation that needs contractual response times on a data movement tool has no vendor to buy that from.

Pricing, plan by plan

BetterTouchTool

$12/one-time
  • Standard Licence$12/one-time
    • Free updates for two years
    • App keeps working on the last version after that
    • Single user licence
  • Lifetime Licence$24/one-time
    • Free updates for as long as the app exists
    • Single user licence
    • Also available bundled through Setapp

Rclone

Free
  • RcloneFree
    • MIT licence with no paid edition
    • All backends and features included
    • Single static binary, no runtime dependencies

Which should you pick?

Choose BetterTouchTool if

  • You need gesture customisation.
  • You work on Mac.
  • You also want keyboard shortcut remapping.
BetterTouchTool review

Choose Rclone if

  • You need unified backend model.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, Docker.
  • You also want crypt overlay.
Rclone review

Questions people ask

Is BetterTouchTool or Rclone better?
Neither clearly leads. BetterTouchTool starts at $12/one-time and Rclone at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, BetterTouchTool or Rclone?
Rclone has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $12/one-time for BetterTouchTool and Free for Rclone.
Does BetterTouchTool or Rclone run on more platforms?
BetterTouchTool runs on Mac. Rclone runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, Docker.
Can I use Rclone for free?
Yes. Rclone has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. BetterTouchTool starts at $12/one-time.
What is BetterTouchTool best used for?
BetterTouchTool is most often used for a power user who wants every trackpad gesture and shortcut on the machine remapped to a specific action, someone with accessibility needs who benefits from remapping input devices away from default behaviour, a user who wants window snapping bundled with much broader system customisation rather than a single-purpose app, someone already on a setapp subscription who wants bettertouchtool included rather than purchased separately. Of those, a power user who wants every trackpad gesture and shortcut on the machine remapped to a specific action and someone with accessibility needs who benefits from remapping input devices away from default behaviour are not what Rclone is typically brought in for.
What can BetterTouchTool do that Rclone cannot?
BetterTouchTool covers Gesture customisation, Keyboard shortcut remapping, Window snapping, Touch Bar customisation. Rclone covers Unified backend model, Crypt overlay, FUSE mount, Bisync.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

BetterTouchTool: Is BetterTouchTool a subscription?

No. It is a one-time purchase, either a Standard Licence with two years of updates or a Lifetime Licence with updates indefinitely.

Rclone: Does rclone cost anything at scale?

The software does not. Your storage provider bills egress and API requests, and a failed transfer that retries pays those charges twice.

BetterTouchTool: Can I get it without buying it directly?

Yes, it is included in the Setapp subscription bundle alongside other Mac utilities.

Rclone: Can I use it as a backup tool?

It copies and syncs but does not do versioned incremental backup by default. Use it under a backup tool, or use its own crypt and backup-dir options deliberately.

BetterTouchTool: Does it replace Rectangle or Karabiner-Elements?

It can cover much of what both do, since it includes window snapping and key remapping, but each of those apps is more focused on its single job.

Rclone: Why is my Google Drive transfer so slow when my link is fast?

You are almost certainly rate limited on the shared OAuth client. Create your own client ID in Google Cloud Console and configure the remote to use it.

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