A hidden and free NTFS write support on MacOS. I’ve blogged quite a few times on the topic of getting full NTFS support on the Mac OS before. In all of them, I have recommended using Paragon NTFS for Mac. While it costs $19.95 for a single seat license, it is the most robust solution that I’ve found thus far. NTFS Assistant is the best Mac NTFS solution that gives your Mac the ability to write to NTFS drives, and makes files transferring and file management possible and hassle-free between Macs and PCs. Specifically, it enables you to write, edit, delete, copy, and move files on NTFS drives, and also to mount, unmount NTFS drives through one-click.
This post compares 8 NTFS for Mac software, including freeware and paid app.
Install NTFS-3g from Homebrew to enable Mac NTFS Write for Free Be noticed: if you are doing under Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan, the System Integrity Protection needs to be disabled. Restart the Mac, then hold Command+R until seeing the recovery mode screen. ‘iBoysoft NTFS for Mac’ has a 7-day free trial. To use it now: Simply go to iBoysoft’s official page and download and install it on your Mac. Before you can start using it, make sure to restart your Mac first. After restarting, plug your NTFS hard drive. Go to Finder and you will see your NTFS-formatted drive there.
They will help you read NTFS drive on Mac and write to NTFS files on Mac, solving your Mac external hard drive read only problem.
- Best free NTFS for Mac:
- 1. iBoysoft NTFS for Mac
- 2. iBoysoft DiskGeeker
- 3. Mounty for NTFS
- 4. NTFS-3G
- 5. FUSE for macOS
- 6. SL-NTFS
- 7. Paragon NTFS for Mac
- 8. Tuxera NTFS for Mac
1. iBoysoft NTFS for Mac
iBoysoft NTFS for Mac is the ultimate NTFS for Mac solution to mount NTFS drives in read-write mode on your Mac.
#7-day free trial#NTFS for M1 Mac#NTFS for Mac Big Sur#NTFS for Mac Monterey- Pros:
- 7-day free trial
- Support macOS from High Sierra to Monterey Beta
- Compatible with Apple Silicon M1 Mac
- Repair NTFS file system errors
- Erase NTFS volumes for data cleanup
- Format drive to NTFS
How to use iBoysoft NTFS for Mac for free
- 1. Free download iBoysoft NTFS for Mac, install, and launch it on your Mac.
- 2. Connect the read-only NTFS drive to your Mac.
- 3. iBoysoft NTFS for Mac will automatically mount NTFS drive in read-write mode. Then you can write, copy, delete, and modify files on the NTFS drive smoothly.
Overall experience
Compared with other NTFS for Mac free software, iBoysoft NTFS for Mac tops the list. After free downloading this app and installing, it plugs and plays once NTFS drives are connected to your Mac.
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This small menu bar utility uses an intuitive interface, showing a list of detected NTFS volumes, a disk management tool, and some customizable options. iBoysoft NTFS for Mac makes it simple, fast, and efficient to write to NTFS drives on Mac.
With a 7-day free trial period, uses can copy and modify files on NTFS drives for free.
Additional features: iBoysoft NTFS for Mac is highlighted with simple disk management, including one-click to open volumes, clean NTFS volumes, repair NTFS file system corruption, unmount NTFS volumes, erase other disks to NTFS file system, etc.
Sum-up: User-friendly, plug-and-play, free trial version, and technical support make iBoysoft NTFS for Mac the best NTFS driver.
2. iBoysoft DiskGeeker
iBoysoft DiskGeeker is a handy Mac disk management tool, which not only enables NTFS read-write support on Mac, but also helps read/write BitLocker encrypted drive, manage external drives and network drives on Mac.
#7-day free trial#NTFS for Mac Monterey#BitLocker for Mac#Manage network drives#Manage external drives- Pros:
- 7-day free trial
- Support macOS from High Sierra to Monterey Beta
- Compatible with Apple Silicon M1 Mac
- Read/Write BitLocker encrypted drive on Mac
- Map network drives
- Free technical support
How to use iBoysoft DiskGeeker?
- 1. Download, install and launch iBoysoft DiskGeeker on your Mac.
- 2. All connected NTFS external drives will be automatically mounted in read-write mode.
- 3. Copy-paste, transfer, modify, and write to NTFS drives.
Overall experience
iBoysoft DiskGeeker is handy tool for people whose NTFS external drives are read-only on Mac. With this software, mounting NTFS drives with write access lifts a disk insertion, simple and intuitive. It works with a wide range of storage types like USB flash drives, SD cards, and memory sticks.
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This NTFS for Mac app will stay in the menu bar silently until detecting newly plugged hard disks. From its drop-down box, you can open, mount, unmount, and disconnect all NTFS volumes with a simple click. Then, you'll have full access to NTFS disks as you use APFS and HFS+ on Mac.
Other Highlights: Besides being an NTFS driver, iBoysoft DiskGeeker also can manage and map network drives. It means your network volumes will be mounted as local drives so that you can access it directly in the Finder.
Sum-up: You can enjoy this NTFS for Mac software for free within 7 days, and then you'll know iBoysoft DiskGeeker can definitely satisfy your needs of an NTFS driver on Mac.
3. Mounty for NTFS
Mounty is a NTFS for Mac free software to make NTFS drive write support on your Mac.
#Freeware#NTFS for Mac Big Sur- Pros:
- 100% Free
- Compatible with Apple Silicon M1 Mac
- Support macOS from Mavericks to Big Sur
- Fast and free download for full version
- Cons:
- Rather slow write speed
- Unstable and>Supported macOS Auto-mountTransfer SpeedPriceModern InterfaceOthers highlightsiBoysoft NTFS for MacmacOS 12 Beta - macOS 10.13YesFastFree trialYes1. Support M1 Mac
2. Clean NTFS volumes
3. Format to NTFS iBoysoft DiskGeekermacOS 12 Beta - macOS 10.13YesFastFree trialYesMap network drives in FinderMounty for MacmacOS 11 - OS X 10.9NoSlowFreeYesN/ANTFS-3GmacOS 10.10 - OS X 10.6NoSlowFreeNoN/AFUSE for macOSmacOS 10.15 - OS X 10.6YesSlowFreeNoN/ASL-NTFSmacOS 10.12 - OS X 10.6NoSlowFreeYesN/AParagon NTFS for MacmacOS 11 - 10.12YesFastFree trialYes1. Format to NTFS
2. Support M1 Mac Tuxera NTFS for MacmacOS 11 - OS X 10.4YesRelatively slowFree trialYesCheck NTFS drives
Conclusion:
All NTFS for Mac free software has obvious flaws or shortcomings (like low write speed, poor compatibility, and no technical support). Some disadvantages can even put your data at risk. If you don't care about the risks and want to try out the free NTFS for Mac programs, generally speaking, Mounty for NTFS and FUSE for macOS are better free ones.
Most free NTFS drivers are for macOS Mojave edition, macOS High Sierra, and earlier, and few are compatible with the latest macOS Big Sur.
But you have a better choice, cost-effective NTFS for Mac alternatives like iBoysoft NTFS for Mac, so that you can get enough reliability, stability, compatibility, and simplicity from that app. Though they are not completely free, they can provide a lot of merits that NTFS for Mac free software doesn't do.
Why do you need free NTFS for Mac driver?
NTFS is a file system developed by Microsoft, the competitor of Apple. It's for Windows platform, especially used in the system drive. That's why you use Boot Camp to run Windows on Mac but find you can't mount BOOTCAMP partition in read-write mode.
Up to now, Mac operating systems, including macOS Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave, High Sierra, Sierra and Mac OS X El Capitan, only provide NTFS read support but no NTFS write support.
Business is business, but for users, you need Mac to write to NTFS drives. Users want Windows NTFS file system to be fully compatible with macOS or Mac OS X. Sure. That it. You need NTFS for Mac free software to share NTFS drives between Windows and Mac.
People Also Ask
Q: Is NTFS for Mac free?
A: NTFS drivers generally cost $20 around, but there are four completely free NTFS for Mac software:
Free Ntfs Mac El Capitan
- 1. Mounty for NTFS
- 2. NTFS-3G
- 3. FUSE for macOS
- 4. SL-NTFS
Q: How can Mac read NTFS for free?
A: Mac can read NTFS drives for free by default. All you need to do is to mount the disk in Disk Utility by:
- 1. Connect the NTFS drive to your Mac for automatically mounting.
- 2. Open Disk Utility if the NTFS drive is not mounted.
- 3. Select the NTFS drive and click on Mount.
- 4. Mac reads the NTFS drive for free then.
Q: What is the best NTFS for Mac?
A: There are three best NTFS for Mac software:
- 1. iBoysoft NTFS for Mac
- 2. Paragon NTFS for Mac
- 3. Tuxera NTFS for Mac
Q: I lost the data from NTFS drive, how to recover?
A: Free download the professional data recovery software: iBoysoft Data Recovery and have a try.
Does NTFS Work on Mac M1
The Newest Mac computer with an M1 chip has been released since Nov. 2020. We all knew that Mac can only enable read access to NTFS drive. However, even worse, some users discussed on the forum that the new M1-based computer cannot see the files or folders. All was blank as the below case shows:
'Just got a new Mac Mini M1, pretty impressed until I connected my old external NTFS USB drive. It's mounted, can see it in Finder, Disk Utility etc but no files or folders are visible, just blank space, connected to Windows PC all the files are there, it worked fine on my old Mini, only read but that's expected......Any ideas???'
To fix such an issue, you need an NTFS for Mac M1 free software which can let you edit or transfer files normally. More than that, two manual methods also read and write to NTFS drive.
How Can I Use NTFS on A Mac for Free
Here are three methods, compatible with M1-chip Mac, enable read-write on NTFS external hard drive.
Option 1. Run Third-party Software - EaseUS NTFS for Mac
If you search Mac NTFS driver, it will show several results that can help you. But not all software can work with an M1-based computer.
EaseUS NTFS for Mac is a reliable NTFS for Mac software that allows M1 mac to read and write external storage devices, like a USB drive. Once it running, you can easily read, write, delete, add, transfer files. It is so convenient that you don't need to fiddle with complex command lines and wait for the result. When you finish software activation, this software will reside in the Mac status bar that can automatically mount the NTFS drive. If you want to eject the drive, the software allows you to safely eject the device without any data loss.
Download EaseUS NTFS for Mac (Available to macOS Big Sur 11 ~ macOS Sierra 10.12):
How to Use EaseUS NTFS for Mac:
Step 1. Launch and activate EaseUS NTFS for Mac. Click 'I already have a license' to unlock this software.
Step 2. Connect an NTFS drive to Mac, EaseUS NTFS for Mac will automatically detect the device. Select your drive and you'll see it's now marked as 'Read-only'. Click 'Enable Writable' to add read and write rights to the drive.
Step 3. When the state of NTFS drives turns into 'Writable', click 'Open'. NTFS for Mac will open the NTFS drive on Mac.
Step 4. Now, you can check, read, write, and even modify saved data on the NTFS device.
How Much Does NTFS for Mac Cost
$0 order for 7 days. The paid version costs $14.95 for a month. But you can attend a free sale for now. Even though it is not free for a lifetime than other manual methods, this software is more stable than the Terminal and Format options.
Related articles:
All useful solutions are included in this article, explaining each step about how to write to NTFS on Mac.
Option 2. Get Write Access with Terminal
The terminal is a free solution to enable read and write on NTFS drive. You can use it on an M1 mac.
In-depth tutorial to write NTFS drive:
Step 1. Click on the Finder icon > Choose the Application > Locate and click Utilities > Find and open Terminal.
Ntfs Mac Free Download
Step 2. When the Terminal window pop up, type the command: sudo nano /etc/fstab
Ntfs Mac Free Big Sur
Then teh /etc/fstab file will be listed below.
Step 3. Type command line: LABEL=NAME none ntfs rw,auto,nobrowse (Change the NAME with your drive name.)
Step 4. Press Ctrl+O and press Enter to save the file.
When it has been done, you can choose to see files or folders and editing data on them.
Option 3. Format NTFS Drive in Disk Utility
If third-party tools and terminals are not your first choice, you can choose to reformat the NTFS drive to FAT32 or HFS+ file system. Remember to copy or clone all data from your NTFS drive. Formatting will delete all data.
Step 1. Click on the Finder icon, find Application from the left panel, scroll down to find Utilities, and double-click on Disk Utility.
Step 2. Under the External heading, click on the NTFS external drive.
Step 3. Go to the top section of Disk Utility and click on the Erase button.
Step 4. When the Erase window shows up, rename the NTFS drive and set the new Volume Type.
- Work with Windows and Mac - MS-DOS (FAT), exFAT
- Compatible with macOS - APFS.
After the formatting, you can try to add files to NTFS external devices and see files without worry.
Concluding Thoughts
Do these NTFS for Mac M1 free solutions work for you? As we tested, the Terminal does not always work as users complain about 'Terminal do nothing......'. So if you want to get quick access and saw files and folders. We recommend option 1 - EaseUS NTFS for Mac. For beginners, it is definitely easy to run.
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