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Utilities · head to head

Magnet vs Rclone

Magnet logo

Magnet

Utilities

Mac App Store window manager sold as a one-time paid app, with no free tier

From
$4.99/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: Magnet there is no free tier at all, so a user cannot try before buying beyond the Mac App Store return window.; 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: Magnet covers Keyboard shortcuts, Rclone covers Unified backend model.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Magnet and Rclone actually diverge.

Attributes where Magnet and Rclone differ
AttributeMagnetRclone
Starting price$4.99/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 Magnet

  • Keyboard shortcuts
  • Drag to snap
  • Multi-display support
  • Mac App Store distribution
  • Menu bar access
  • Third display layouts

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.

Magnet

  • A user who wants the App Store handling licensing, family sharing and updates automaticallynot Rclone
  • Someone who prefers paying a small one-time fee up front over evaluating a free tool firstnot Rclone
  • A less technical user who does not want to install from GitHub or Homebrewnot Rclone
  • A family sharing one Apple ID that wants one purchase to cover multiple Macs in the householdnot Rclone

Rclone

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

Where each one falls short

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

Magnet

  • There is no free tier at all, so a user cannot try before buying beyond the Mac App Store return window.
  • It offers fewer customisation options than Rectangle, such as fewer configurable snap zones and less granular per-app behaviour.
  • Update cadence has historically been slower than the actively developed open source Rectangle project.
  • It is Mac only and App Store only, so it cannot be scripted, redistributed internally by a company, or installed outside Apple normal channels.
  • Being a small independent app, support depends on the developer responding to App Store reviews or email rather than a dedicated support team.

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

Magnet

$4.99/one-time
  • Magnet$4.99/one-time
    • Full app unlocked immediately, no trial gating
    • Mac App Store purchase and family sharing
    • Free updates through the App Store

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 Magnet if

  • You need keyboard shortcuts.
  • You work on Mac.
  • You also want drag to snap.
Magnet 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 Magnet or Rclone better?
Neither clearly leads. Magnet starts at $4.99/one-time and Rclone at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Magnet or Rclone?
Rclone has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $4.99/one-time for Magnet and Free for Rclone.
Does Magnet or Rclone run on more platforms?
Magnet 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. Magnet starts at $4.99/one-time.
What is Magnet best used for?
Magnet is most often used for a user who wants the app store handling licensing, family sharing and updates automatically, someone who prefers paying a small one-time fee up front over evaluating a free tool first, a less technical user who does not want to install from github or homebrew, a family sharing one apple id that wants one purchase to cover multiple macs in the household. Of those, a user who wants the app store handling licensing, family sharing and updates automatically and someone who prefers paying a small one-time fee up front over evaluating a free tool first are not what Rclone is typically brought in for.
What can Magnet do that Rclone cannot?
Magnet covers Keyboard shortcuts, Drag to snap, Multi-display support, Mac App Store distribution. Rclone covers Unified backend model, Crypt overlay, FUSE mount, Bisync.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Magnet: Does Magnet have a free version?

No. It has always been a paid Mac App Store purchase with no free tier.

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.

Magnet: Can I share one purchase across my family Macs?

Yes, through Apple Family Sharing on the Mac App Store, the same as any other App Store app.

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.

Magnet: How is it different from Rectangle?

Magnet is a paid App Store app from the start; Rectangle is free and open source, with paid Pro features sold as a separate app.

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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