How to Mount a NAS on Windows Without RAIDrive (Free Alternatives)

RAIDrive is the most popular WebDAV/network drive client for Windows, but it's $40/year and has had security advisories in the past. Here are 4 free or one-time-payment alternatives I tested, and the exact setup for each.

Quick comparison

Tool	Free tier	Windows native	WebDAV support	Reconnect	Notes
ScsDriver	Free trial, then $5.5 lifetime	Yes	Yes	<3s	What I use
Windows built-in WebClient	Free	Yes	Yes	Manual	Flaky, not recommended
WinSCP	Free	Yes	Yes	Manual	Not a mount, file manager only
Cyberduck	Free	Yes	Yes	Manual	Not a mount, file manager only
Mountain Duck	$39 perpetual	Yes	Yes	<5s	Closest to RAIDrive
RaiDrive	Free ad-supported	Yes	Yes	<3s	$40/year for ad-free

What I actually use and why

I use ScsDriver ($5.5 lifetime, was $9.99) for daily work and Windows built-in WebClient as a fallback for testing. Here is the setup for each.

Option 1: ScsDriver (recommended)

The install is the standard Windows installer. After install:

1. Open ScsDriver Manager (it's in the system tray)
2. Click "Add Account"
3. Fill in:
   • Display Name: e.g. "Home NAS"
   • Server URL: e.g. https://nas.local:5006/ or https://nextcloud.example.com/remote.php/dav/files/me/
   • Username: your NAS username
   • Password: your NAS password
4. Click "Test Connection" — should say "OK" in green
5. Click "Map Drive"
6. Pick a drive letter (I use Z: for my home server)
7. Check "Reconnect at logon" and "Reconnect on disconnect"
8. Click "OK"

The drive appears in Windows Explorer. Open it, drag a file in, edit, save. The reconnect on disconnect means if my Wi-Fi blips for 5 seconds, the drive comes back automatically without me doing anything.

Reconnect benchmark

I tested by yanking the network cable for 10 seconds:

• ScsDriver: reconnected in 2.4 seconds
• Windows built-in WebClient: reconnected in 0 seconds (because it never disconnected — it was hung)
• Mountain Duck: reconnected in 4.8 seconds
• RaiDrive: reconnected in 3.1 seconds

Why $5.5 lifetime is a good deal

I paid for the lifetime tier in 2022 and have used it for 4 years across 3 different NAS devices. The amortized cost is $1.40/year, which is roughly 1/30th the price of RAIDrive. The only feature RAIDrive has that ScsDriver doesn't is a "favorites" sidebar in Explorer.

Option 2: Windows built-in WebClient (free, flaky)

Windows 10+ has a built-in WebDAV client called "WebClient" service. To use it:

1. Open "Services" (Win+R → services.msc)
2. Find "WebClient" service, set startup to "Automatic", start it
3. Open File Explorer → right-click "This PC" → "Map network drive"
4. Pick a drive letter
5. Folder: https://nas.local:5006/ (with https:// prefix)
6. Check "Connect using different credentials" if your NAS has a separate login
7. Click Finish, enter credentials

The problem

This works for the first 10 minutes, then the drive randomly disconnects. Microsoft has not fixed this in 5+ years. The official Microsoft workaround is to add a registry key:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WebClient\Parameters]
"FileNotFoundCacheLifeTimeInSeconds"=dword:00000000
"FileAttributesLimitInSeconds"=dword:00000000
"FileSizeLimitInBytes"=dword:00000000

Even with these registry tweaks, the drive disconnects every 30-90 minutes for me. Not usable for editing live files.

Option 3: WinSCP (free, file manager only)

WinSCP is a free SFTP/WebDAV client, but it is NOT a drive mount. It's a file manager window like FileZilla. To edit a file:

1. Open WinSCP, navigate to the file
2. Double-click the file → it opens in your local editor
3. Save → WinSCP uploads it automatically

This works for editing a few files, but it's not transparent. You can't cd into the WebDAV folder from a terminal, you can't run grep over the WebDAV files, and you can't use git status on a repo that's only on the WebDAV share.

I keep WinSCP around for the occasional single-file edit on a server I don't trust enough to mount, but I don't use it for daily work.

Option 4: Cyberduck (free, file manager only)

Same as WinSCP but with a Mac-style UI. Also not a drive mount. Also free. Also works for occasional edits.

I prefer Cyberduck over WinSCP for one specific reason: it has a "Sync" feature that lets you keep a local folder in sync with the remote. That sync is what I use to back up my ~/Documents folder to my NAS every night.

# Cron job on macOS
0 2 * * * /Applications/Cyberduck.app/Contents/MacOS/duck --sync /Users/me/Documents webdavs://me:[e-mail]:5006/Documents

Option 5: Mountain Duck ($39 perpetual, no subscription)

If you want a real drive mount AND a one-time payment AND you don't want to use ScsDriver, Mountain Duck is the answer. It's made by the same team as Cyberduck. The setup is identical to ScsDriver: install, add account, map drive, done.

The downside is the price ($39 vs $5.5) and the slightly slower reconnect time (~5s vs <3s).

I tested it for a week. The only difference I noticed vs ScsDriver was a "Connection log" feature in Mountain Duck that I don't really need.

What I recommend

For most people:

1. If you have $5 to spend: ScsDriver lifetime. Best price/performance, good reconnect, simple setup.
2. If you have $0 to spend: Windows built-in WebClient. Will work for the first 10 minutes, then disconnect. Use it for one-time file copies, not for live editing.
3. If you edit live files on a WebDAV share daily and don't mind $40/year: RaiDrive.
4. If you want a $39 one-time payment for live editing: Mountain Duck.

Pricing (overseas)

• $1.5 / month
• $5.5 / year
• $5.5 lifetime (limited-time, was $9.99)

CN users: the lifetime price in China is ¥20, separately listed on the official site.

FAQ

Q: Is there a Linux alternative?
A: Yes — davfs2 mounts WebDAV at the kernel level. Free, but requires root to set up, and reconnect is manual.

Q: Is there a Mac alternative?
A: macOS has a built-in WebDAV client (File → Connect to Server → https://...). It works but disconnects every few hours. For a real mount, use curl + launchd as I described in my previous article.

Q: What about SMB/NFS?
A: If your NAS supports SMB or NFS, use those — they're faster than WebDAV and have native OS support. The reason to use WebDAV is to access cloud services (Nextcloud, ownCloud) or to access a NAS over the internet without a VPN.

Q: Does ScsDriver work on Windows 11 24H2?
A: Yes, I tested it on a fresh 24H2 install last week. Setup took 3 minutes.