AWS Transfer for SFTP [EOL] vs GoAnywhere MFT comparison

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Fortra are both solutions in the Managed File Transfer (MFT) category. Additionally, 75% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 99% of Fortra users who would recommend it.

AWS Transfer for SFTP [EOL]

Read 3 AWS Transfer for SFTP [EOL] reviews

75% willing to recommend

GoAnywhere MFT

Read 93 GoAnywhere MFT reviews

6,154 Views
5,785 Comparison Views

99% willing to recommend

AWS Transfer for SFTP [EOL]

GoAnywhere MFT

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 8, 2025

GoAnywhere MFT and AWS Transfer for SFTP [EOL] are in the secure file transfer category. GoAnywhere MFT has an upper hand in feature flexibility and customization, while AWS Transfer for SFTP [EOL] benefits from better cloud integration and scalability.

Features: GoAnywhere MFT provides comprehensive file transfer automation, user access controls, and auditing capabilities. It supports numerous protocols, making it versatile for different scenarios. AWS Transfer for SFTP [EOL] offers strong integration with AWS services, excellent cloud-native features, and scalability options suited for organizations within the AWS ecosystem.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: AWS Transfer for SFTP [EOL] facilitates easy deployment with existing AWS infrastructures, reducing complexities due to well-aligned support resources. GoAnywhere MFT has a more intricate deployment process rooted in on-premises installations but provides extensive customer support and guidance.

Pricing and ROI: GoAnywhere MFT presents a higher upfront cost with infrastructure and maintenance investments, yet yields a solid ROI from its range of features. AWS Transfer for SFTP [EOL] applies a flexible, consumption-based pricing model in line with AWS pricing, offering potential savings for AWS-reliant businesses.

To learn more, read our detailed Managed File Transfer (MFT) Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Managed File Transfer (MFT)

March 2026

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

AWS Transfer for SFTP [EOL]

Average Rating

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

GoAnywhere MFT

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Managed File Transfer (MFT) (1st)

Featured Reviews

Kyle Titus

Chief Technology Officer at Revio

Always works, handles all types of load, and allows us to have S3 files as storage

Its cost needs improvement. In addition, there could be a universal client that works on all desktops. There could be client software that you use to connect to the server. Generally, AWS doesn't provide one for you, so you have to use either your CLI, maybe your SSH CLI, or use some kind of desktop solution. I had to find a desktop app from a third party to run this. Our clients also do the same everywhere else, so it would be nice if the SFTP Gateway solution came with a client that anyone could download on their Mac, Windows, or any other machine.

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Anuj Bhagwat

Dev Ops Engineer at a computer software company with 11-50 employees

Has enabled secure, centralized file sharing while saving significant time and resources

The best features in GoAnywhere MFT are that it's fast, reliable, and secure. First, the improvement is that we have resolved one of our security points with compliance. So that compliance point we resolved. And also it's a centralized file sharing system. All the users are able to access the file. There is no one-to-one sharing. It's improved about 80 to 85%. It saves about 80 to 90% resources. In terms of time, we can say 90 to 95% time is also saved because it avoids the one-to-one sharing and simply a user can put one centralized directory and all the users are able to access this solution and access the file. So it's 95%.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The solution has helped with collaboration in our organization."

"The most valuable feature for us is data persistence, because it basically gives you a snapshot history and the solution also offers good data recovery."

"The solution offers good data recovery."

"Being able to have the S3 files as storage is most valuable. We can use S3 as storage instead of an SFTP server or a machine."

"Compared to other vendors, GoAnywhere MFT stands out with the feature that allows you to create your own workflows. When a file is uploaded, we want some automation to be triggered, something to be done. This feature is exclusively available in GoAnywhere MFT, which I did not see in any other MFT solutions."

"It helps me keep all my sensitive data and files secure and safe. The software's user interface is friendly and intuitive, making it easy to use and navigate without any hassle."

"The feature I find most valuable about GoAnywhere MFT is that it's intuitive—it has all the things needed to build robust projects, giving you different resources, SFTP, and all the different things you might need to manipulate files."

"The most valuable features are the automatic processing of files and scheduled execution of the files."

"The most valuable feature is the Advanced Workflows."

"It was very stable compared to other solutions we have used, so I would not complain regarding this."

"Another nice feature is that you can invoke a native program from GoAnywhere. That helps you because you don't have to get fancy with agents. If a native program runs on the server that GoAnywhere is running on, like sed or perl, you can use it,"

"GoAnywhere pays for itself easily; it has saved us work and enables us to sleep through the night."

More GoAnywhere MFT pros

Cons

"Could be more automated, particularly for file transfers."

"The tool's UI should be pretty easy and straightforward. I would also like to see a simple audit report of the SFTP guest account that shows the amount of data transfers and security kind enabled."

"SFTP would be better if it was more automated, particularly for file transfers."

"Its cost needs improvement. In addition, there could be a universal client that works on all desktops."

"GoAnywhere's interface could be a little more intuitive."

"We do have to occasionally restart GoAnywhere because a job gets stuck or we are having connectivity issues."

"It would be helpful to have a way to actually have a job run without notifying the email addresses you have set up and without posting to the actual FTP... when you need to make a small change to a job that is deployed to production, and test that change, you have to go back and reset everything. It's not really a great way to test."

"I experience occasional downtime and some glitches."

"We can improve GoAnywhere MFT's API documentation and automation logs, which will make it more user-friendly and help people comprehend it much more effectively, reducing friction."

"One area for improvement in GoAnywhere MFT is that they don't have a real debugger. You have to manually walk through your projects."

"There is a function referred to as write CSV, to write a general text file. In this scenario of creating a simple text file, I ran into a situation where, if the product saw a quote or a double-quote in the data, it started wrapping all the text fields in double-quotes."

"Sometimes, during the transfer of multiple files, some files may get lost, and we have no clear way of identifying which have moved successfully since the log feature does not provide this information clearly."

More GoAnywhere MFT cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's $249 per month per instance. It's not great; it's pretty pricey. We've got multiple users on that one instance. If we had to build it by hand, we would win on cost there, but obviously, there is effort and time. In terms of the additional costs, they do have some specific pricing, but for our use case, we don't end up going over $249. They do specify in their pricing what they're charging for."

"The cost of GoAnywhere versus the value it brings to our data transfer operations is reasonable... The cost is relatively expensive but, back to the car analogy, that's to be expected with a Ferrari."

"The pricing of GoAnywhere MFT is affordable compared to other similar products. It's not expensive, according to me. What influenced my purchase decision was the fact that the product was quite affordable."

"The cost is fine. It is probably the best software that I've had for the money that we spend for it. I am not aware of any costs in addition to the standard licensing fees. I don't pay for it. IT pays for it."

"Its pricing is fair. It is not the most expensive, and it is not the cheapest. For what we get in our environment, the pricing model works pretty well."

"To have a solution like this for the price we're paying makes it cheap. Considering the time that it has saved us, and considering the development that we don't need to do, such as connectors and handling servers, the price is really affordable."

"I find it to be very fair. It is very good."

"For what we pay to GoAnywhere every year, we are getting a fantastic deal. From a dollar perspective, it provides very good value."

"It is moderately priced. If I compare it with other products that we have been using, its price is moderate. There are approximately 30% to 40% savings."

More GoAnywhere MFT pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Financial Services Firm

12%

Outsourcing Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	72
Midsize Enterprise	23
Large Enterprise	44

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about Fortra's GoAnywhere MFT?

GoDrive eliminates the need to use the exchange server for file sharing.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortra's GoAnywhere MFT?

Though I was not involved in the pricing and license cost, it is fairly industry standard.

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What needs improvement with Fortra's GoAnywhere MFT?

It takes a little time to understand all of the workflow, and it has a bit of a learning curve, even with the easy interface. When we were trying to set up the software at the start, it took us a f...

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Comparisons

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Compared 47% of the time

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MOVEit vs AWS Transfer for SFTP [EOL]

Compared 5% of the time

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JSCAPE by Redwood vs GoAnywhere MFT

Compared 11% of the time

MOVEit vs GoAnywhere MFT

Compared 8% of the time

IBM Sterling File Gateway vs GoAnywhere MFT

Compared 8% of the time

Control-M vs GoAnywhere MFT

Compared 7% of the time

Kiteworks vs GoAnywhere MFT

Compared 6% of the time

More GoAnywhere MFT Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Managed File Transfer (MFT)

March 2026

Download AWS Transfer for SFTP [EOL] product report

Buyer's Guide

GoAnywhere MFT

April 2026

Download GoAnywhere MFT product report

Also Known As

No data available

HelpSystems GoAnywhere MFT, GoAnywhere MFT, GoAnywhere Managed File Transfer,

Overview

AWS Transfer for SFTP is a fully managed service that enables the transfer of files directly into and out of Amazon S3 using the Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP)—also known as Secure Shell (SSH) File Transfer Protocol.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

GoAnywhere MFT offers an intuitive interface with advanced workflows, robust security, and seamless integration across platforms. It automates file transfers, supports multiple protocols, and ensures strong encryption and centralized management for secure and efficient data exchange.

GoAnywhere MFT provides automation for secure file transfers using SFTP, FTPS, and HTTPS protocols. It supports comprehensive logging, auditing, and threat protection. The platform's encryption and scalability enhance data exchange and operational efficiency in sectors like finance and healthcare. Users appreciate its integration capabilities with AWS, Azure, and Salesforce, reducing manual tasks and maintaining security with robust encryption through connectors.

What are GoAnywhere MFT's most important features?

Intuitive Interface: Easy navigation, facilitating better user experience
Advanced Workflows: Streamlines processes to save time
Robust Security: Strong encryption and threat protection
Seamless Integration: Connects with platforms like AWS, Azure, and Salesforce
Automation Capabilities: Reduces manual tasks, improving efficiency
Multiple Protocol Support: Utilizes SFTP, HTTPS, and FTPS for secure transfers

What benefits should users expect in reviews?

Enhanced Efficiency: Automation reduces manual processes
Data Security: Features strong encryption and comprehensive threat protection
Scalability: Supports large data volumes efficiently
Compliance Support: Meets industry-specific data regulations

GoAnywhere MFT is widely implemented in industries like finance and healthcare for secure data transfers and workflow management. It simplifies internal processes and enhances communication between systems, integrating seamlessly with platforms such as AWS and Salesforce, thus ensuring speed and security.

Fortra

Sample Customers

Myriota, FINRA, Celgene, Kontor New Media, Belong, ThinkCX, BluTV

McKesson City of Modesto, California Kwik Trip Northwestern University Charter Communications

Buyer's Guide

Managed File Transfer (MFT)

March 2026

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