Folia Files vs WhimFiles
Folia Files or WhimFiles?
WhimFiles was shown on Hacker News in July 2026 and reached 98 points: a light, fast file manager built around filters, for $24.99 once. Folia Files covers much more ground — servers, sync, search inside files, a terminal and tools that work in every app. Here is how they compare.
7 days free with every feature, no account, no card. Then $49.99 once for up to 3 Macs, every future update included — no subscription.
In short
WhimFiles is a light (about 9 MB), keyboard-friendly app for local files: live filters by type, date and size at once, fuzzy jumps to any folder or file, hover previews, two panes and tabs, batch rename and image conversion — $24.99 once, after a 30-day trial, on Apple silicon Macs. Folia Files costs $49.99 (up to three Macs) and adds more panes and scenes, servers and clouds, folder sync, search inside files, a terminal, a clipboard history, a drawer and an Open/Save assistant, in 8 languages.
Feature by feature
| Feature | Folia Files | WhimFiles |
|---|---|---|
| Folders side by side | YesAs many as you need, any layout | YesTwo, each with its own filters |
| Tabs restored at launch | YesEach tab keeps its panes | YesEach tab keeps its folders and filters |
| Filters and criteria | YesKind per pane; size, dates, tags in Advanced Search | YesType, date and size at once, live, subfolders too |
| Quick open and commands | Yes⌘P: folders, files, tabs and commands | Yes⌘G folders, ⌘P files, ⇧⌘A commands |
| Search inside files | YesBy words, in documents and images, on the Mac | Not stated |
| Previews | YesQuick Look, a Preview module, gallery view | YesImages and PDFs on hover, Quick Look |
| Batch rename | YesTemplates, photo dates, regex | YesReplace (regex), numbering, case |
| Image conversion | YesPhotos and videos: resize, crop, convert, trim | YesHEIC, WebP, AVIF to JPG or PNG |
| Archives | YesZIP and TAR opened as folders, read-only | PartlyCreates ZIP |
| Servers and clouds | YesSMB, WebDAV, FTP; SFTP, S3 and clouds through rclone | NoMounted volumes only |
| Built-in terminal | YesWebsite edition | NoOpen in Terminal (iTerm-aware) |
| Undo file operations | YesAny line of the history | YesMoves and trash |
| Checksums | YesMD5 to SHA-512, paste one to verify | YesSHA-256 in Get Info |
| Folder sizes in lists | YesLocal disks, plus Space Lens | YesOn demand or always |
| Clipboard history | Yes | NoIn WhimPop, a separate app |
| On the Mac App Store | Coming soon | NoIts website only |
| Free trial | 7 days, every feature | 30 days, no card needed |
| Price | $49.99 once, up to 3 Macs, updates included | $24.99 once, one person, updates included |
| Requirements | macOS 14 or later, Apple silicon and Intel | macOS 12 or later, Apple silicon |
| Languages | 8 | English |
What WhimFiles does well
WhimFiles started with a crowded Downloads folder, and it shows: filters by type, date and size apply together and update as you type, in one folder or in all its subfolders, with your own file categories. Fuzzy Go to Folder takes you to ~/Downloads/Wallpapers/new when you type “downwallnew”, and hovering over an image or a PDF previews it without a click.
It is small — about 9 MB — with a native AppKit interface written in C# and .NET, and it reads folders live, without an index. Batch rename, HEIC, WebP and AVIF conversion and ZIP are a right-click away. It costs $24.99 once ($19.99 at launch), every future update included, after a 30-day trial that needs no card.
What Folia Files adds
WhimFiles deliberately sticks to local files. Folia Files also reaches your servers — SMB, WebDAV, FTP, AFP, NFS, and SFTP or S3 through rclone — and mounts them like disks. It syncs and compares folders, searches inside documents, photos and screenshots, and has a terminal under each pane in the website edition.
- As many panes as you like, saved as scenes
- A clipboard history, a drawer and an Open/Save assistant in every app
- Space Lens and Mac care: what fills your disk, apps uninstalled with their leftovers
- An operations history where every line can be undone
- 28 themes, and the app in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese and Chinese
Finding files: filters or search
WhimFiles puts its filters on the folder itself: the quickest way to sort out a crowded Downloads folder. In Folia Files, each pane filters by kind, and the search (⇧⌘F) looks in names, in the text of documents and screenshots or in what photos show, adds kind, size, dates and tags, and can be saved.
Price and trial
WhimFiles: $24.99 once for one person, every future update included, after a 30-day trial without a card. Folia Files: $49.99 once for up to three Macs at a time, every future update included too, after a 7-day trial with every feature. WhimFiles costs less and gives you longer to try it.
Which one to choose
WhimFiles, if…
- You mostly tidy local folders and want filters by type, date and size at hand
- You want a very light app with fuzzy jumps everywhere
- You want the lower price and a 30-day trial
Folia Files, if…
- You work with servers, a NAS or clouds
- You want to search inside your files, sync folders or use a terminal
- You want more than two panes, and layouts you reopen
- You want a clipboard history, a drawer and help in Open and Save dialogs
- You use an Intel Mac, or want the app in your language
Website edition and Mac App Store
Everything on this page is in the website edition. In the Mac App Store edition, Apple's sandbox rules out the terminal and custom commands; SFTP, S3, folder sync and the Open/Save assistant work there with Folia Files Companion, a small free app.
Questions
Not on the folder itself: a pane filters by kind. Dates, sizes, tags and content are criteria of the search (⇧⌘F), which looks through a folder and its subfolders and can be saved.
Folia Files does: it is a universal app for macOS 14 or later. WhimFiles needs a Mac with Apple silicon, and runs from macOS 12.
Yes. WhimFiles has a 30-day trial without a card; Folia Files has a 7-day trial with every feature, and no account to create.
See for yourself, free for 7 days
Every feature, no account, no credit card. Then $49.99, once, every future update included — no subscription.
Prices and features checked on 5 October 2026, on the maker's website, its Show HN thread and its MacUpdate page.