# Comparison of iPod file managers

This is a list of iPod file managers, i.e. software that permits the transferring of media files. In the case of iPod file managers, this takes place between an iPod and a computer or vice versa.
iTunes is the official iPod managing software, but 3rd parties have created alternatives to work around restrictions in the program, or for those avoiding known issues with iTunes.

## General

| Manager | Creator(s) | First public release date | Latest stable version | Downloadable without paying? | Software license | Windows | Mac OS X | Linux |
| Amarok | Mark Kretschmann | 2003-06-23 | 3.1 (August 2, 2024; 2 months ago (2024-08-02)) | Yes | GPL | Yes | Experimental (leopard) | Yes |
| Banshee | Aaron Bockover | 2005-08 | 2.6.2 (February 18, 2014; 10 years ago (2014-02-18)) | Yes | MIT | Experimental | Experimental | Yes |
| Clementine | David Sansome, John Maguire | February 2010 | 1.3.1 (April 19, 2016; 8 years ago (2016-04-19)) | Yes | GPL v3 | no iPod support | Yes | Yes |
| ephPod | ephpod | ? | 2.77 (January 16, 2009) | Yes | ? | Yes (XP, NT, 2k) | No | No |
| gtkpod | Jorg Schuler | ? | 2.1.5 (Jun 2, 2015) | Yes | GPL | No | No | Yes |
| iRip | The Little App Factory | 2003-09 | 2.1 (Mac) (May 6, 2011; 13 years ago (2011-05-06)) 1.0.1.25 (Windows) (8 April 2010; 14 years ago (2010-04-08)) | No | Proprietary | Yes | Yes | No |
| iTunes | Apple Inc. | 2001-01-08 | | Yes | Proprietary | Yes | Yes | No |
| JRiver Media Center | J. River | 2003-07 | 28.0.63 (September 10, 2021; 3 years ago (2021-09-10)) | Yes (trial) | Proprietary | Yes | Yes | No |
| MediaMonkey | Ventis Media Inc. | 2003-08-25 | 5.0.4.2690 (November 23, 2022; 22 months ago (2022-11-23)) | Yes (Standard) | Proprietary | Yes | No | No |
| Rhythmbox | Colin Walters | 2004-04 | 3.4.4 (January 4, 2020; 4 years ago (2020-01-04)) | Yes | GPL | No | No | Yes |
| Senuti | FadingRed | 2006-04-26 | 1.1.7 (Oct 6, 2009) | Yes (limited trial) | Proprietary | No | Yes | No |
| Winamp native | Nullsoft | 1997-06 | 5.9.2 Build 10042 (April 26, 2023; 17 months ago (2023-04-26)) | Yes (Bundle & Full) | Proprietary | Yes | No | No |
| XPlay | Mediafour | 2002-06-24 | 3.5.0 (Dec 30, 2009) | No | Proprietary | Yes | No | No |
| Manager | Creator(s) | First public release date | Latest stable version | Downloadable without paying? | Software license | Windows | Mac OS X | Linux |

## Media organization and transfer features

| Manager | Copy Music | Copy Videos | Copy Smart Playlists | Copy Album Artwork | Extract DRM-Free Music | Extract DRM-Free Videos | Extract Playcounts | Extract Playlists | Copy Content to iPod |
| Amarok | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | No |
| Banshee | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | ? | Yes |
| Clementine | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| EphPod | Yes | ? | Yes | No | Yes | No | ? | ? | ? |
| gtkpod | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| iRip | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| iTunes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| JRiver Media Center | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
| MediaMonkey | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Rhythmbox | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Senuti | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? |
| Winamp native | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes |
| XPlay | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Manager | Copy Music | Copy Videos | Copy Smart Playlists | Copy Album Artwork | Extract DRM-Free Music | Extract DRM-Free Videos | Extract Playcounts | Extract Playlists | Copy Content to iPod |

## iPod syncing and maintenance features

| Manager | Download Podcasts | Rebuild iPod Database | Portable | 6th Gen. Firmware | 5th Gen. nano Firmware | shuffle3G Firmware | iPod Touch/ iPhone support | Photo support | Supports Gapless Metadata |
| Amarok | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | ? | No | Yes | ? | ? |
| Banshee | Yes | Yes | ? | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? |
| Clementine | Yes | No | ? | No | No | ? | Yes | ? | ? |
| EphPod | No | Yes | ? | ? | No | No | No | No | No |
| gtkpod | No | ? | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, jailbroken only | ? | Yes |
| iRip | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| iTunes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| JRiver Media Center | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| MediaMonkey | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Rhythmbox | Yes | ? | ? | ? | Yes | No | Yes | No | No |
| Senuti | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes | ? | ? |
| Winamp native | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes |
| XPlay | No | Yes | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes | ? |
| Manager | Download Podcasts | Rebuild iPod Database | Portable | 6th Gen. Firmware | 5th Gen. nano Firmware | shuffle3G Firmware | iPod Touch/iPhone support | Photo support | Supports Gapless Metadata |
* 1 2 3 4 Support arrived with libgpod >= 0.7.90 due to the use of libimobiledevice.
* ↑ gtkpod developers have found a workaround .

## iPhone & iPod Touch compatibility

| Manager | iPhoneOS up to 1.1.4 | iPhoneOS 2.x | iPhoneOS 3.0 | iPhoneOS 3.1 | iOS 4.0.2 | iOS 5.0.x |
| Amarok | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes, Read-only | Yes, Read-only |
| Banshee | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, Read-only | Yes, Read-only |
| Clementine | Yes, limited | Yes, limited | Yes, limited | Yes, limited | No | No |
| EphPod | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| gtkpod | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? |
| iRip | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, Read-only |
| iTunes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| JRiver Media Center | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| MediaMonkey | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Rhythmbox | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Senuti | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | ? |
| Winamp native | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| XPlay | Yes | Yes, Read only | Yes, Read only | Yes, Read only | Yes, Read only | Yes, Read only |
| Manager | iPhoneOS up to 1.1.4 | iPhoneOS 2.x | iPhoneOS 3.0 | iPhoneOS 3.1 | iOS 4.0.2 | iOS 5.0.x |