Best Free SyncToy Alternative for Windows 11, 10, 8, 7

What Is SyncToy?

File sync is the process of copying files from one location to another. It can bring you a big convenience for working on same files in different PCs.

SyncToy is a file sync software developed by Microsoft. It is free and it offers a graphical user interface to help users synchronize local or network files/folders. What's more, it keeps track of renames to files to ensure the changed folders can be synchronized. This free tool can save the sync data in multiple locations and devices. 

Besides, it is able to update the information of synced files and mark them as duplicated, discontinued, or spam. However, SyncToy has some shortages:

• SyncToy can’t synchronize those files not using WebDAV, such as “Windows Mobile” files or folders. If you want to synchronize removable device files or folders, then SyncToy can’t help.

• SyncToy doesn't support scheduled sync tasks. If you want to run SyncToy automatically, you should resort to Task Scheduler.

Well, you may ask, "What if I need to sync files and folders in removable devices, what can I do?", "Why is SyncToy not available on Windows 10?", "Is there any SyncToy alternative?"

Best Free SyncToy Alternative for All the Windows PCs

As we mentioned above, SyncToy is a great tool designed by Microsoft. It has strong features to synchronize files and folders to different locations and devices, but it also has shortages as listed above. Besides, its last version of SyncToy was discontinued in January of 2021 and does not support on Windows 11.

Fortunately, you can find the best free SyncToy alternative, which is more powerful than SyncToy to make up for the deficiencies and offers workarounds to SyncToy errors like SyncToy not copying all files.

Speaking of synchronization software, here we highly recommend AOMEI Backupper Standard, which has strong functions in regard to file sync.

Various sync locations: it can not only synchronize folders to local disks or devices but also other computers through network share or NAS, cloud drives, etc.

Schedule sync: it allows you to set a sync task to run automatically and periodically. You can choose from "Daily", "Weekly" or "Monthly".

Wide compatibility: it runs well on Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista/XP. For server users, try SyncToy server alternative - AOMEI Backupper Server. 

As you can see, AOMEI Backupper should be the best alternative to Microsoft SyncToy.

How to Use SyncToy Alternative Freeware to Sync Files 

AOMEI Backupper Standard's sync feature can help you synchronize files in a simple way. It is better than SyncToy not only because of the strong functions but also the easy operations. It only needs several clicks to create a sync task. Before you do, you must know:

• It is not allowed to synchronize a single file of more than 4 GB to a FAT/FAT32 drive due to the limitation of the file system.

• It is not allowed to synchronize files or folders to CD/DVD/Blue-Ray.

• The Standard edition only supports one-way file sync with Basic Sync feature. To enjoy more advanced sync modes like Mirror Sync, Two-Way Sync and Real-Time Sync, you need to upgrade to higher editions.

Download AOMEI Backupper Standard for free, install and launch it.

Step 1. Click “Sync” and select “Basic Sync” as shown in the following picture.

Step 2. After opening the “Basic Sync”, you can choose the files you would like to sync by clicking “Add Folder” at the interface and select another location as the destination path.

Step 3. To automatic sync files, click Schedule Sync and enable it, then select daily, weekly, or monthly.  Also, you can set specific sync requirements in Options, such as, comments and email notification.Then, click “Start Sync” to sync files.

Note: 
Except for daily, weekly, monthly sync, you can enjoy event triggers or USB plug in on the Professional vesion. The last one is recommended when copying files to USB drive. It will run this task automatically when you insert this USB drive. 

After the sync task is finished, you can go back to the “Home” tab and do more operations about the sync task.

• The “Restore” option can restore all the synced files to the source folder or other folders.
• “Sync Now” seems more like a manual sync. If you didn’t set up schedule sync, you can use it to make up.
• “Locate Sync” is used to check the sync folder.
• “Delete” can give up the file sync task.
• “Properties” contains all the information of the sync task.

AOMEI Backupper is the best free SyncToy alternative. If you have any questions about AOMEI Backupper, please visit AOMEI Backupper FAQs.

Summary

AOMEI Backupper Standard is the best free SynctToy alternative for all Windows PCs, with it, you can easily sync files and run it automatically in simple steps. It offers you different sync solutions and schedule settings, just select them based on your needs.

To add extra layer of your data, try the File Backup feature. It will compress all the files into an image file and requires a restore before using it. And you can enjoy all the schedule settings same as the Sync feature. Besides, it helps to minimize storage in different aspects, such as reduce backup image or its size, delete old backups automatically, etc.

If you create an AOMEI account, you are able to backup files to AOMEI Cloud. It offers you 1TB free storage for 15 days after you sign up for an AOMEI account.