Unfortunately, macOS cannot write to NTFS drives by default. This makes working between operating systems far more difficult, requiring either a compatible disk format like ExFAT or tools that allow macOS to write to NTFS drives. Your Mac can read NTFS drives, transferring content from the drives to another place, but it cannot write to NTFS. Mounty for NTFS This is a free software for Mac that enables the user to write on NTFS drives on Mac. Its design is rather simple for ease of mounting NTFS drives on Mac and providing the drives with write support. Because the utility is free, some highlights based on its service are provided. The software is free, and its size is less than an MB. NTFS-3G for Mac OS X brings NTFS read/write support to Mac OS X, along with additional advanced features. It is based on NTFS-3G, an open source NTFS driver that is ported into numerous platforms, but also includes other software projects to build a complete toolset for managing NTFS volumes. Mac operating systems are always trusted by users for their reliability. However, none native NTFS write support is also a feature that many users are complaining about. By default, macOS comes with read-only support for NTFS, and its disabled-by-default write support for NTFS is unstable to use. That’s to say, you’re unable to write to.
By Juno | Posted to NTFS for Mac Tips, updated on May 29, 2020
Before you are led to the introduction of free NTFS for Mac, here is some background information in case you don't know.
You can read Windows NTFS drives on Mac. But Mac can't write to NTFS drives, including create, edit, copy, paste, delete, or transfer files on NTFS drive on Mac desktops and laptops. Do you know why?
NTFS is a file system developed by Microsoft, the competitor of Apple. NTFS is used by default on Windows platform, especially for system drive. Additionally, if you use Boot Camp to create a Windows partition on your Mac, you will find you can't mount BOOTCAMP partition with read-write access either. Up to now, Mac operating systems, including macOS Catalina/Mojave/High Sierra/Sierra and Mac OS X El Capitan, only provide NTFS read support but deny NTFS write support.
You know the business, but for users, is there any way to let Mac write NTFS drives? Can you make the NTFS drive fully compatible with macOS or Mac OS X? Sure. The easiest method is to use NTFS driver for macOS software.
If you are looking for a totally free NTFS for Mac software, there are four options: Mounty for NTFS, NTFS-3G, FUSE for macOS and SL-NTFS.
Top 4 NTFS for Mac free software
Some Mac users may have upgraded to macOS Catalina and are digging around for an NTFS driver for macOS 10.15. But it's hard to find a Free NTFS for Mac that supports macOS 10.15 yet. Fortunately, iBoysoft has upgraded their software iBoysoft NTFS for Mac to be compatible with macOS Catalina.
If you are using a Mac running macOS 10.14 and earlier, you can try the NTFS for Mac below and share NTFS drives between Windows and Mac.
1. Mounty for NTFS
Mounty for NTFS is completely NTFS for Mac free software to enable write ability to NTFS drives on your Mac. It has simple design to help users mount NTFS drives with write support on Mac.
As a free utility, Mounty for NTFS does have some highlights:
- Totally free.
- Fast download and installation because it is less than 1MB.
- One-time installation and no additional driver needed.
But Mounty for NTFS dose get complaints because:
- The write speed to NTFS drive is rather slow.
- It can't mount the NTFS formatted drives in read-write mode automatically.
- It can be unstable and fails to mount NTFS drives.
- It can cause data loss problems.
- It doesn't provide tech support.
- The software is not compatible with the latest macOS Catalina or Mojave.
2. NTFS-3G
NTFS-3G is an open-source project from Tuxera, so the public can download this NTFS for Mac free software to write to Windows NTFS drives on your Mac computers
Set aside its advantage for being free, NTFS-3G is complained a lot because of its poor performance. Some main drawbacks of this free NTFS for Mac are listed below:
- Complicated installation. You have to know how to use Terminal or have already downloaded FUSE for macOS, Homebrew or Xcode.
- Poor usability. Users have to use the software by command lines in Terminal instead of an interface.
- Poor compatibility. NTFS-3G only supports macOS 10.12 or earlier. It doesn't support the latest macOS 10.15 and macOS 10.14.
- Slow write speed. The file transferring is noticeably slow.
- Tuxera stops maintaining this utility.
- No technical support. As freeware, no technical support is available when issues occur.
3. FUSE for macOS
Microsoft office for mac training. FUSE for macOS (was OSXFUSE) is another open and NTFS for Mac free software that can enable write support to NTFS drives on Mac. In fact, FUSE is a file system extension that allows user to read and write disks with the formats that are not fully supported by Apple.
FUSE for macOS is worth trying because:
- It is free of charge.
- It is compatible with Mac operating system from Mac OS X 10.6 to macOS 10.14.
- Multiple languages are available.
As a free NTFS for Mac, FUSE for macOS has some obvious limitations:
- It can be unreliable sometimes such as file size being reported as 0 bytes.
- It has no technical support when issues occur.
4. SL-NTFS
SL-NTFS means Snow Leopard NTFS. As a matter of fact, writing to NTFS drive on Apple is possible since Mac OS 10.6 without any third-party NTFS driver, but the NTFS writing support is disabled by default. Therefore, SL-NTFS is used as an interface on the Apple NTFS driver to enable writing to NTFS drives on Mac.
As a NTFS for Mac free app, SL-NTFS has some pros as followings:
- It is free.
- It is simple to install.
However, SL-NTFS has some cons to prevent people from using it.
- It has limited access to a large number of files and a large volume of data.
- It can't enable NTFS write on some NTFS external hard drives.
- It can cause conflicts if you have another NTFS enabler installed.
- It has no technical support.
Generally speaking, despite of being free, those NTFS for Mac free software have various flaws, making them very risky to use.
If you are afraid of using a risky free NTFS utility for Mac, there are two cost-effective alternatives for you. Even though they are not completely free, they can provide a lot of merits that NTFS for Mac free software on't have.
Best NTFS for Mac software
NTFS for Mac free software can be troublemakers because of their low write speed, poor compatibility, no technical support, etc. Unarchiver mac os x 10 6 8. Nevertheless, you don't have to pay a fortune to get enough reliability, stability and simplicity from a cost-effective NTFS for Mac - iBoysoft NTFS for Mac or iBoysoft Drive Manager.
1. iBoysoft NTFS for Mac
iBoysoft NTFS for Mac is an ultimate NTFS for Mac solution in macOS and Mac OS X that can easily help you mount NTFS volumes on Mac desktops and laptops as regular drives in read-write mode.
iBoysoft NTFS for Mac has quite a few advantages you can take into account:
- It can mount NTFS volumes in read-write mode automatically.
- It can unmount and eject NTFS volumes with one click.
- It can repair NTFS file system errors.
- It can erase NTFS volumes for data cleanup.
- It can reformat other file system (except APFS) into NTFS.
- It is fully compatible with macOS 10.15/10.14/10.13/10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11/10.10/10.9/10.8.
- It is easy to install and use.
- Free technical support is provided.
2. iBoysoft Drive Manager
Another great alternative to NTFS for Mac free software is iBoysoft Drive Manager. It is a handy Mac tool that can enable full read-write access to NTFS drives on Mac and help manage multiple external drives/network drives with one click.
iBoysoft Drive Manager is a great replacement of a free NTFS for Mac because:
- It is extremely affordable and offers 7-day free trial.
- It is fully compatible with macOS 10.15/10.14/10.13/10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11/10.10/10.9/10.8.
- It is fast to write to NTFS drives and transfer files between NTFS drives and Mac.
- It is easy to install and use.
- It provides lifetime free upgrades.
- Free technical support is provided.
- Besides powerful NTFS writing support, it can manage external drives and map network drives as local drives in the Finder.
If you want to know any disadvantages that iBoysoft Drive Manager might have, I would say the only one should be - it is not free. But it is really cheap compared with other commercial NTFS for Mac programs, such as Paragon and Tuxera.
We also provide a table to help you find the most preferable NTFS driver:
NTFS for macOS | iBoysoft Drive Manager | iBoysoft NTFS for Mac | Mounty for Mac | NTFS-3G | FUSE for macOS | SL-NTFS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NTFS writing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Auto-mount NTFS in read-write mode | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
Speed | Fast | Fast | Slow | Slow | Slow | Slow |
Supported Mac OS | macOS 10.15/10.14/10.13/10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11 to 10.8. | macOS 10.15/10.14/10.13/10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11 to 10.8. | macOS 10.13/10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11 to 10.6. | macOS 10.13/10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11 to 10.6. | macOS 10.14/10.13/10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11 to 10.6. | macOS 10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11 to 10.6. |
Supported devices | USB drives, SD cards, HDDs, etc. | USB drives, SD cards, HDDs, etc. | USB drives, SD cards, HDDs, etc. (not all) | USB drives, SD cards, HDDs, etc. | USB drives, SD cards, HDDs, etc. | USB drives, SD cards, HDDs, etc. (not all) |
Supported file system | NTFS, APFS, FAT32, exFAT, etc. | NTFS, APFS, FAT32, exFAT, etc. | NTFS | NTFS | NTFS, APFS, FAT32, exFAT, etc. | NTFS |
Tech support | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Simple installation | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
Ease of use | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
Other | 1.Manage external storage media with one click. 2.Map network drive as local drives. | 1. Repair NTFS. 2.Erase NTFS volumes. 3.Reformat other file systems into NTFS. | N/A | N/A | Multiple languages are available. | N/A |
Price | $29.95 | $19.95 | Free | Free | Free | Free |
Free download | Download | Download | Download | Download | Download | Download |
Now, you have a few options in your hands. If you don't care the risks and want to try out the free NTFS for Mac programs, generally speaking, Mounty for NTFS and FUSE for macOS are better ones. However, if you care about the reliability, technical support and NTFS write speed a lot, or you are specifically looking for an NTFS driver for macOS Catalina, Mojave or High Sierra, iBoysoft NTFS for Mac is your best choice.
People also ask
Q: Is NTFS for Mac free
A: There are four NTFS for Mac free software:
- Mounty for NTFS
- NTFS-3G
- FUSE for macOS
- SL-NTFS
Q: How can Mac read NTFS for free?
A: By default, macOS Disk Utility can mount NTFS drive in read-only mode.
Rar file opener for mac free download. Q: What is the best NTFS for Mac?
A: There are three best NTFS for Mac software:
- iBoysoft NTFS for Mac
- Paragon NTFS for Mac
- Tuxera NTFS for Mac
If you have an external hard drive or USB flash drive that you’d like to use on both Macs and Windows PCs, choosing the right file system to format the drive can be confusing. Learn a few ways to make your drive Mac and PC friendly.
Need to access or transfer files between Mac and PC? As simple as this task sounds, it’s not very straightforward for inexperienced users. Since Mac OS X and Windows use totally different file systems, the way a drive is formatted can determine what type of computer it will work with. In fact, there are four ways you can format an external or USB flash drive to achieve varying degrees of compatibility between Macs and PCs. Let’s take a look at them:
HFS+
Mac OS X’s native file system is HFS+ (also known as Mac OS Extended), and it’s the only one that works with Time Machine. But while HFS+ is the best way to format drives for use on Macs, Windows does not support it. If you’re only going to be using your external or USB flash drive with certain PCs – such as at home or the office – you might be interested in a program called MacDrive. When you install MacDrive on a Windows PC, it will be able to seamlessly read & write to HFS+ drives. This isn’t a good solution if you need your drive to work on any PC without installing software, though.
NTFS
The native Windows file system is NTFS, which is only partially compatible with Mac OS X. Macs can read files on NTFS drives, but it cannot write to them. So if you need to get files from a PC to your Mac, NTFS is a decent option. However, you won’t be able to move files in the other direction, from Mac to PC.
FAT32
The most universally supported way to format your drive is with the FAT32 file system. It works with all versions of Mac OS X and Windows. Case closed, right? Well, not so fast. Unfortunately, FAT32 is a very old file system and has some technical limitations. For example, you cannot save files that are larger than 4GB on a FAT32-formatted drive. This is a deal-breaker if you work with huge files. The other limitation is the total size of the partition. If you format your FAT32 drive in Windows, the drive partition cannot be larger than 32GB. If you format it from a Mac running 10.7 Lion, the drive partition can be up to 2TB. Much better, except for that pesky 4GB limit.
Will Ntfs Work On A Mac
exFAT
The exFAT file system eliminates the two major deficiencies of FAT32: the largest partition and file sizes it supports are virtually unlimited by today’s standards. Awesome, it’s perfect! Almost… since exFAT is fairly new, it isn’t compatible with older Macs and PCs. Any Mac running 10.6.5 (Snow Leopard) or 10.7 (Lion) supports exFAT, while PCs running Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista SP1, and Windows 7 are compatible. If you know you’ll be using computers running updated versions of these operating systems, exFAT is the clear best choice.
Format a drive using Disk Utility on a Mac
- Launch Disk Utility (Applications > Utilities).
- Select your external hard drive or USB flash drive from the list on the left.
- Click on the Erase tab. Select the format – Mac OS Extended (HFS+), MS-DOS (FAT32), or exFAT – then name the drive.
- Click the Erase button and the drive will start formatting. Be aware that formatting a drive deletes all of the files on it, so back up anything important before completing this step.
Ntfs Format Work On Mac
Format a drive using Windows
Ntfs Work On Mac
- Go to Computer (or My Computer in Windows XP).
- Select your drive from the list and right-click on it. Choose Format from the contextual menu.
- A window will pop up where you can choose the format – NTFS, FAT32, or exFAT. Make sure the allocation unit size is set to default and type in a volume label.
- Click Start to format the drive.