ShiftMyData vs Air Explorer
A desktop file manager that connects several clouds at once.
Weighing up Air Explorer alternatives? This page sets ShiftMyData beside Air Explorer on providers, transfer metering, self-hosting and sync modes, and says plainly where Air Explorer is the better choice.
Side by side
| ShiftMyData | Air Explorer | |
|---|---|---|
| Providers | 85 across 60 backends | 30, as counted by them |
| Transfer metering | Prepaid: 30 GB free, then 500 GB for ₹100 or 2,500 GB for ₹500, each valid a year | Not metered |
| Self-hostable | Yes — your tokens stay on your server | No |
| Runs without your machine on | Yes — transfers run on the server | No — desktop application |
Where Air Explorer falls short
Air Explorer is a desktop application, so transfers run on your computer and the bytes travel down to it and back up again.
Closing the laptop stops the transfer, and a large migration is limited by your home upload speed rather than by the providers' own links to each other.
Source: www.airexplorer.net · checked 2026-09-18
There is no server-side scheduling: automation depends on your machine being on.
A nightly backup that only runs when you remember to leave a laptop awake is not one.
Source: www.airexplorer.net · checked 2026-09-18
Where Air Explorer is the better choice
As a desktop application it is fast, cheap, and has no server in the middle holding your tokens. For browsing and moving modest amounts between clouds on one machine it does the job well.
Questions
Is ShiftMyData a drop-in replacement for Air Explorer?
For moving, syncing and backing up files between clouds, yes. Air Explorer and ShiftMyData cover the same ground, and ShiftMyData reaches 85 services. Check the list for your specific pair before you commit to either.
Do my files pass through your servers?
A transfer within one provider is carried out by that provider on its own storage and never touches us. Between two providers it is streamed from one to the other in memory and never written to our disks.
Why would I still choose Air Explorer?
As a desktop application it is fast, cheap, and has no server in the middle holding your tokens. For browsing and moving modest amounts between clouds on one machine it does the job well.
Beyond moving files
What ShiftMyData also does, each with its limits stated on its own page:
- Every cloud as a network drive
- SFTP gateway
- Email backup and archive
- Calendars and contacts
- Chat archives
- Website and database backup
- Business migration
- Teams, single sign-on and audit
- Automation
- Duplicates and clean-up across clouds
- Upload request links
Try it
Connect two clouds and move a folder between them. Nothing downloads to your machine.