AWS Transfer for SFTP [EOL] vs Kiteworks comparison

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Kiteworks 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 100% of Kiteworks users who would recommend it.

AWS Transfer for SFTP [EOL]

Read 3 AWS Transfer for SFTP [EOL] reviews

75% willing to recommend

Kiteworks

Read 13 Kiteworks reviews

4,333 Views
2,210 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

AWS Transfer for SFTP [EOL]

Kiteworks

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between AWS Transfer for SFTP [EOL] and Kiteworks based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortra, BMC, IBM and others in Managed File Transfer (MFT).

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

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Managed File Transfer (MFT)

May 2026

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Helped 893,221 peers since 2012

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

Kiteworks

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Enterprise Content Management (16th), Email Security (26th), Managed File Transfer (MFT) (7th), Content Collaboration Platforms (14th), Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (9th)

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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KishoreT-Review

Associate Consultant at a tech consulting company with 10,001+ employees

Streamlined global file sharing with user-friendly interface and self-service capabilities

I'm not a network expert, however, there must be some room for improvement. Perhaps there could be a notification to users about their bandwidth or network packet loss. If users receive such notifications, they can understand any disruptions are due to issues with their network or bandwidth rather than the site or Kiteworks. Additionally, I work from offshore India, and I told my client manager to communicate with the Kiteworks forum salesman regarding one feature. I noticed the Kiteworks login UI is very basic, lacking customization. Allowing more HTML tags to add hyperlinks or user-friendly information on the home page would be very useful.

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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 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."

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

"I can identify from which region our users are uploading or downloading files."

"We can see when people are sending things. We can definitely see who is sending to whom. From the administrative logs, we can see who is sending to an outside entity, and those logs are retained for quite a while."

"The top two features are the two-factor authentication, which is pretty good. It's easily understood by the users. And their API is rather robust. We have numerous integrations that work off the API."

"We could see whether the customer with whom we shared a file had downloaded it, which was not available with GitHub."

"Kiteworks is easy to manage and maintain with a user-friendly interface and I recommend it to anyone that requires a file-sharing system that supports SFTP."

"The most valuable aspect of Kiteworks is undoubtedly the private content network. This feature is particularly beneficial for us. Furthermore, it serves as a centralized platform that enables us to track and manage our information exchange."

"The most valuable feature is the ability to send a large file of 30 GB in size and more. In Outlook and other email applications, you cannot send files that are larger than 20 MB. But with Kiteworks, 30 GB is transferable by default and, with the proper approval, a file of up to 100 GB can be sent. It makes file transfer very easy and smooth."

"The most valuable feature is the ability to allow end-users to manage their own information and data with minimal administration. That's the best feature from my perspective."

More Kiteworks pros

Cons

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

"SFTP would be better if it was 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."

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

"The one feature, which I have also requested directly to Kiteworks, is to have a scheduled upgrade function. Currently, one of my engineers logs in after hours for the upgrade. We're a hospital, and we're 24/7, but the primary users are seven to five. So, we log in the early evening just to push a button to tell it to do the update. It would be nice if that could be very easily scheduled."

"The system is extremely stable, but because it is a "COTS" system access is restricted and you must use the solution's support to make even simple changes, which increases the downtime."

"File location could be improved."

"Perhaps there could be a notification to users about their bandwidth or network packet loss."

"There is no offboarding process for end-users in Kiteworks. It's a manual process. There is no automated syncing with LDAP and checking to see if the account is still active. It's a manual process to get people out of here, which isn't the best way."

"We have experienced a few hiccups and bugs when using the admin console and from a user perspective."

"There are always issues when there are bugs or upgrades. The challenge with upgrading is getting more storage from the customer. Every time we have a new version, it requires additional storage. This means that the customer would need to procure more storage for their server, which they don't like because it means additional cost to them. So, I think my request would be that the version upgrades don't require any significant storage requirement."

"It would be nice if Kiteworks could provide a free version of the platform so that it could be used for a certain number of file transfers. We could be charged a fee if we exceeded the number of allotted file transfers."

More Kiteworks 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."

"It is not really expensive. I mean, to me it's obviously expensive, but it's worth it."

"The price of Kiteworks is reasonable."

"I believe it's a little costly, but given the faith that we put into it from a security perspective to maintain the integrity of our patient information that is being transferred through this system, that's a small price to pay. So, on the surface, it might look like a lot of money, but depending on the need for security, which is where we feel it shines, it's okay price-wise."

"The license management is changing and confusing. If I could make one change to it, it would be better license management through the API."

"They changed it midstream. We were being charged a certain flat rate for SFTP traffic. For whatever reason, at the beginning of the year, our pricing changed, and we are now being charged more for using a feature of the product than we were when we first bought it. That has been our experience with billing. It turned out to be more expensive than when we started with it."

"The solution is very expensive because we are buying with Malaysian Ringgit and it's sold in US dollars."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Financial Services Firm

13%

Government

12%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Large Enterprise	11

Questions from the Community

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What is Kiteworks?

Kiteworks is a secured file sharing platform that enables users to collaborate with different parties across a robust offering of secured protected channels. Users have the option of virtual privat...

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What needs improvement with Kiteworks?

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What advice do you have for others considering Kiteworks?

Scalability is impressive. It can be highly available, resilient, and scalable infrastructure. I can confidently give it a nine. It suits any level of organization, whether a small setup with two a...

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Comparisons

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Compared 6% of the time

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Compared 5% of the time

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Compared 7% of the time

GoAnywhere MFT vs Kiteworks

Compared 7% of the time

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Compared 7% of the time

Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct vs Kiteworks

Compared 5% of the time

Varonis Platform vs Kiteworks

Compared 5% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Managed File Transfer (MFT)

May 2026

Download AWS Transfer for SFTP [EOL] product report

Buyer's Guide

Kiteworks

April 2026

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Also Known As

No data available

Accellion

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)

Kiteworks provides secure enterprise file sharing with mobile access and collaboration tools, supporting up to 100 GB transfers. It ensures data safety with encryption and offers a smooth interface for independent data management.

Kiteworks is tailored for effective large-scale data transfers using SFTP, email, and web. It supports two-factor authentication, antivirus scanning, and seamless integration with SSO to minimize administrative tasks. Users benefit from a centralized platform that offers visibility and control over data exchanges, receiving activity notifications and managing encryption keys independently. Despite its strengths, technical support and interface stability need improvement, along with the introduction of automated LDAP syncing and expanded knowledge resources.

What features make Kiteworks stand out?

Mobile Access: Facilitates secure data handling on-the-go.
Enterprise File Sharing: Enables large file transfers with up to 100 GB limit.
Collaboration Tools: Streamlines team efforts and file sharing.
Enhanced Security: Includes two-factor authentication and antivirus scanning.
SSO Integration: Reduces administrative tasks for efficient user management.

What ROI benefits should users seek in reviews?

Data Security: High level of encryption ensures sensitive data protection.
Efficient Management: Independent data handling and activity alerts improve workflow.
Administrative Ease: SSO and centralized logs simplify oversight and reduce complexity.

Organizations in sectors like healthcare and finance utilize Kiteworks to securely share and transfer sensitive data, from medical records to credit card information, ensuring compliance and data integrity. Industries benefit from its automated data transfer and secure communication capabilities, critical for operations ranging from air quality monitoring to banking transactions.

Kiteworks

Sample Customers

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

United States Securities and Exchange Commission, National Health Service, Husch Blackwell LLP, NYC Health + Hospitals, Viatris, MITRE Corporation, Chubb, Kraft Heinz, KPMG, Kohler, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Purdue Pharma, AVL

Buyer's Guide

Managed File Transfer (MFT)

May 2026

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