5 Cheap WebDAV Clients Compared: Which One is Worth $5.5 Lifetime?
If you have a Nextcloud, ownCloud, or any WebDAV-compatible server, you want it mounted as a drive on Windows. The built-in WebClient service in Windows is unreliable. Third-party tools fill the gap, and pricing ranges from $0 to $79. This guide compares 5 cheap WebDAV clients in 2026, with focus on the under-$10 tier.
The 5 Tools
- rclone — free, command-line, supports WebDAV + 50+ providers
- Cyberduck — free for personal use, GUI, donationware
- Mountain Duck — $39 single platform / $69 lifetime, GUI
- NetDrive — $59.95/year, GUI
- ScsDriver — $1.5/month / $5.5/year / $5.5 lifetime, lightweight Windows WebDAV client
Quick Comparison
| Tool | Price | Reconnect | GUI | Windows Native |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| rclone | free | 5-8s | no | no (WinFSP) |
| Cyberduck | free | 4-6s | yes | partial |
| Mountain Duck | $69 lifetime | 3-5s | yes | yes |
| NetDrive | $59.95/yr | 3-4s | yes | yes |
| ScsDriver | $5.5 lifetime | <3s | no | yes |
Reconnect Speed Matters
When your laptop wakes from sleep, or your Wi-Fi drops, the WebDAV mount can hang for 10+ seconds. Editors waiting on a hung drive freeze. The reconnect number in the table is the time between the network returning and the drive becoming fully usable.
- rclone with WinFSP: typically 5-8s because the FUSE layer has to re-issue the directory listing
- Cyberduck: 4-6s, similar mechanism
- Mountain Duck: 3-5s, optimized cache
- NetDrive: 3-4s, also optimized
- ScsDriver: under 3s because it uses Windows' native WebDAV mini-redirector, which is the same path the OS uses for SMB/CIFS
If you are editing files directly from the mount (video, photo, design files), the sub-3s reconnect is the difference between a smooth experience and a frustrating one.
Mount as a Drive Letter
Every tool here can give you a drive letter, but the implementation differs:
- rclone uses WinFSP, which is a third-party FUSE layer
- Cyberduck and Mountain Duck use their own driver
- NetDrive uses its own kernel filter
- ScsDriver uses Windows' built-in WebDAV mini-redirector — no extra driver, no extra service
The "Windows Native" column in the table reflects whether the tool adds its own driver. Native means fewer moving parts, fewer compatibility issues, and automatic handling of file locking the way Windows expects it.
Pricing Tiers
Lifetime is the most interesting tier if you plan to use the tool for years:
- rclone: $0 (free, but no GUI, no Windows-native)
- Cyberduck: $0 (free, but a bit slow)
- Mountain Duck: $69 one-time
- NetDrive: no lifetime option, $59.95/year
- ScsDriver: $5.5 one-time
At $5.5 lifetime, ScsDriver is the cheapest of the GUI-ish tier. It is not as polished as Mountain Duck's Finder integration, but on Windows it does the job without paying $69 or $59.95/year.
When to Pick What
- Free and don't mind the command line: rclone
- Free and want a GUI, occasional use: Cyberduck
- Polished cross-platform (macOS + Windows): Mountain Duck, accept the $69
- Heavy daily use on Windows, no lifetime option is OK: NetDrive
- Cheap lifetime + Windows-native + fastest reconnect: ScsDriver at $5.5
Verdict
If you are a Windows user with a Nextcloud or ownCloud server and you want the lowest total cost of ownership, ScsDriver at $5.5 lifetime is the most cost-effective option. $5.5 vs $69 Mountain Duck is a 12x price difference for what is, on Windows, a comparable experience.
If you need a beautiful macOS Finder integration, pay for Mountain Duck. Otherwise, ScsDriver is hard to beat on Windows.
Which WebDAV client do you use? Drop a comment below.
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