Comparison

Files vs File Manager & Documents

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Files

Manage files from your device, cloud storage, or external drives in one place. Organize with tags, search, and access recent documents easily. Share files and connect to network drives.

Highlights
  • Access files from device, cloud, and external drives
  • Recents view with high-resolution thumbnails
  • Organize files with tags
  • Search and navigate folders
  • Connect to cloud services (Dropbox, OneDrive, etc.)
  • Connect to file servers (SMB)
  • Pin favorite folders
Read full description

Access and organize your files no matter where they’re located — on your device, in the cloud, on an external drive or file server— with Files. The Recents view displays the files you’ve been working on lately in high-resolution thumbnails. Use the powerful Browse view to navigate folders, organize your files with tags, move files between folders, and search. Files also makes it easy to access iCloud Drive and third-party cloud storage services such as Dropbox, Box, and OneDrive. Features • Press the Files icon in the Dock or Home screen to quickly open a file from anywhere • Connect an external drive or SD card to your device to access the files • Connect to a file server at work or a home PC using SMB from Files • Use tags to organize files stored with different cloud providers and across different apps. • Pin your favorite folders in Browse view for quick access to the ones you use most. • Give people access to any file stored in iCloud Drive by sharing a link from the Files app • Drag and drop to select files and organize them into folders

About

File Manager & Documents

Organize and manage your downloaded files and documents conveniently on your iPhone or iPad. Create folders, store files in the cloud to save space, and use the built-in browser for direct downloads. Sort files by various criteria for easy access.

Highlights
  • Manage downloads
  • Create folders
  • Cloud storage
  • Built-in browser
  • Direct downloads
  • Sort files
Features
Read full description

Manage your downloads conveniently from your iPhone or iPad, Download, browse and organize your files like you would on a PC. Don’t worry about loosing space on your internal memory. - Get all your files stored directly on one convenient location. - Create folders to organize all your date on an intuitive way. - Store your files on the cloud and save valuable internal memory. - Download images or video with special search options to get focused results. - Specialize build in browser so you can do direct downloads while using the app. - Sort your files by name, date, size or type. Download Manager Subscription options:

 1. Title of publication or service: Download Manager. 2. Length of subscription & Price of subscription, and price per unit if appropriate: - Weekly (First 3 day free trial) 3. Price of subscription: - 3 day free trial then $2.99 per week - 3 days free trial then $9.99 per month - 3 days free trial then $49.99 per year 4. Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase 
 5. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. You can turn of the auto-renew subscription from iPhone setting
 6. Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal 7. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase.
 8. Privacy Policy: https://giantbrainsllc.wordpress.com/privacy-policy/ 9. Terms of use: https://giantbrainsllc.wordpress.com/terms-of-use/ 10. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication where applicable 
11. Download Manager adds new features above and are available through an auto-renewing subscription. Subscriptions will be charged to your credit card through your iTunes account. Your subscription will automatically renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of your current subscription, and you can cancel anytime a subscription during the active period. You can manage your subscription, either by viewing your account in iTunes from your Mac or PC, or Account Settings on your device after purchase.

Screenshots

Files4 screens
File Manager & Documents4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: File Manager & Documents at 4.4 against Files's 2.9. File Manager & Documents also leads on review sentiment (53% vs 14%) and update cadence (every 4 weeks vs every 6 months). Files's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. File Manager & Documents sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Files asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

File Manager & Documents holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 2.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7.6K and 4.8K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 14% of Files's written reviews are positive against 53% of File Manager & Documents's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Files ships an update every 6 months, File Manager & Documents every 4 weeks. Both last shipped on October 25, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Files versus File Manager & Documents: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFilesFile Manager & Documents
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.9 (7.6K ratings)4.4 (4.8K ratings) — better
Positive reviews14.0% of reviews52.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings7.6K — better4.8K
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 4 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS11.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB88 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperApple Inc.Giant Brains

Customer experience

Files

All ratings7,538 ratings
Positive41.8%
Neutral9.0%
Negative49.2%
Written reviews2,548 reviews
Positive14.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative75.9%

File Manager & Documents

All ratings4,751 ratings
Positive85.6%
Neutral4.0%
Negative10.4%
Written reviews205 reviews
Positive52.7%
Neutral5.4%
Negative42.0%

User reviews

Files

From 7.6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Smooth performance
  • 💡 Useful for storing and organizing files
  • 🔒 Secure file storage

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes
  • 🐛 Files disappearing or not saving properly
  • 🐛 Unreliable sync with cloud services
  • 🐛 Limited functionality compared to desktop file managers
  • 🐛 Buggy PDF annotation and editing

File Manager & Documents

From 4.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 User-friendly
  • 🚀 Fast and efficient
  • 💡 Innovative features

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes
  • 🔒 Security and privacy concerns
  • 💰 Expensive subscription model

Bugs and requests

Files

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Files app not showing any files after iOS 15 update
  • Inability to delete downloaded files
  • Keyboard glitches when editing documents
  • Inconsistent behavior when transferring files to external storage

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to view file extensions
  • Improve search functionality
  • Allow more customization of the interface
  • Integrate better with other Apple apps and services
  • Add support for more cloud storage providers

File Manager & Documents

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Login screen freezes
  • Incompatible with newer iOS versions
  • Download issues

Requested features

3 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Improved file management capabilities
  • Better integration with other apps

In-app purchases

None

Files

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

File Manager & Documents

Subscriptions4
  • Weekly Subscription3 Days trial$4.997 Days
  • Monthly Subscription1 Month trial$9.991 Month
  • Yearly3 Days trial$29.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Yearly Subscription3 Days trial$49.991 Year

Questions

Is Files free?
Files is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is File Manager & Documents free?
File Manager & Documents is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Files or File Manager & Documents?
File Manager & Documents is rated higher. Files averages 2.9 out of 5 from 7.6K ratings, while File Manager & Documents averages 4.4 from 4.8K ratings.
Do Files or File Manager & Documents have ads?
Neither Files nor File Manager & Documents shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Files or File Manager & Documents?
Files ships an update every 6 months, and File Manager & Documents every 4 weeks. Most recently, Files was updated on October 25, 2026 and File Manager & Documents on October 25, 2026.

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