A big deviation between Android and iOS is that Android grants every user the freedom to access their device's file system. File transfers between a computer and smartphone or tablet are as simple as plugging in a USB cable and arousing up your desktop file manager.

But what do you apply when you need to handle your files on the go? Enter the Android file manager, a vital piece of software that, curiously enough, isn't even admitted as standard on some phones or tablets. Check out our list of the best Android file managers.

File, File Manager, Storage, Phone



Android file managers manage to be quite similar, but it’s the exact extra features that make the difference between a good file manager and a great one. File manager applications are among the most necessary applications on your gadget. With them, you can scan your document, discover your downloads, deal with your storage space, move things around, and an a great deal more. Not everybody is extremely solid on document organization since it can be really exhausting, yet everybody still needs a File manager. 

Here are the best file explorer apps, file browser apps, and file manager apps for Android

Best file explorer apps | file browser apps | and file manager apps for Android


1) Mixplorer







Download Mixplorer

Sometimes, a mere file explorer doesn't cut it for the enterprising Android user. For some, it takes a whole mix of file explorers, the best of each one melded into a powerhouse of a file manager. Such is the concept of MiXplorer, and frankly, we have a lot of good things to say about it. First off, it was created by an independent developer in their spare time. No big ol' company or ambitious developer teams or whatever messing about with profit strategies, monetization, ads, and other necessary evils. MiXplorer is a free, non ad-supported project that's yours for the taking! It looks Material, but it runs on Android 2.0+ devices (if you still have one around). And among it's many features, you'll find the following bits of functionality:

  • Customization options that let you select any color.
  • Unlimited Tabbed browsing and Dual panel in landscape mode with Drag and Drop between panels functionality.
  • Create Tasks with Copy, Move, Paste operations.
  • Various View Modes and Sorting Options for each folder.
  • Customizable bookmarks drawer with essential file types already categorized.
  • Advanced search functions.
  • Export/Import all preferences, bookmarks, and customized skins.
  • Opening zip files in network storage.
  • View thumbnails inside archives.
  • Integrated with 19 cloud storage providers, in addition to clouds with webdav support like Yandex.ru, OwnCloud, 4Shared, MyDrive.ch, DriveHQ, CloudMe, CloudSafe.
  • Root access for advanced operations.
  • User and System app management with data backup ability for rooted devices.
  • EncFS volumes supported for all storages.
  • File encryption and decryption using Aescrypt file format.
  • Built-in FTP/HTTP Server.
  • MP3 Tag Editor.
  • Built-in Image Viewer (with GIF animation support).
  • Powerful Text Editor.
  • SAMBA, FTP, SFTP, WEBDAV, BLUETOOTH supported as well.

2) Solid Explorer








It has fully fluid material design and many features like MIXplorer, including root explorer. You can try all features in 14 days for free, or buy the full version in the app.

Solid Explorer, paid app. But it’s cheap.. I mean.. really cheap. Simple and straight forward. Root and Non-Root, give all you need to browse your phone files. No cleaner, no backup things or anything else, it’s just file browser and management. Cut, paste, select, sort, search switch 2 windows and change file owner or permission can do it with no hassle.

Major feature list:

• Files management - main storage, SD card, USB OTG
• Cloud storage - easily connect and manage files on Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, Box, Owncloud, SugarSync, MediaFire, Yandex, Mega*
• NAS - support for major network protocols FTP, SFTP, SMB (Samba), WebDav
• File encryption - password and fingerprint protection
• Archives - support for ZIP, 7ZIP, RAR and TAR files
• Root explorer - browse system files if your device is rooted
• Indexed search - quickly find files on your device
• Analyze storage - manage files taking too much space on your device
• Organized collections - files categorized in Downloads, Recent,Photos, Videos, Music, Documents and Apps
• Internal image viewer, music player and text editor - for easier browsing on remote storages
• Batch rename - with support for naming patterns
• FTP Server - for accessing your local files from PC
• Themes and icon sets - rich customization options

3) X-Plorer File Manager








X-plore allows you to see inside of your Android device. And also outside.

This is a dual-pane explorer, there are two folders shown at same time, and common operation such as copying files are done from one pane to another.
And X-plore shows folder hierarchy in a tree view for clear orientation and fast switching to other location.

You may explore internals of the device, and if you're power user and have your device rooted, you can make changes to system data - backup files, remove unwanted applications, etc.

If you're standard user, you may choose to hide internal memory from view and be sure not to mess with system.
You can comfortably see contents of mass memories on your device, or possibly attached USB memory stick.

Simple app manager allows to see, run, copy, share, uninstall and further explore installed applications.

WiFi file sharing
Access files on your Android device from other Android devices over WiFi.

Access from a PC web browser
Manage files on your Android device from your PC.

Access to FTP and FTPS (secure FTP) servers is supported.
Multiple servers may be configured.

X-plore can display shared folders on other computers in LAN.

X-plore can access various web storage "Cloud" servers, and access their files.
You need to have account in supported web service, then you can access your files stored online through X-plore.

Supported is also SSH File Transfer (SFTP) and Terminal shell emulator.

X-plore contains music player that can play music tracks from any available location.

With Vault function, you can encrypt sensitive files, even by your fingerprint.

Main operations are related to managing files and folders - viewing, copying, moving, deleting, compressing to Zip, extracting, renaming, sharing, and more.

SQLite database viewer
X-plore can show SQLite database files (those with .db extension) as expandable list of tables, each table containing list of rows and columns with database entries.

Main interaction is done by touch screen, clicking on folders or files to open files, or long-click to open context menu which contains options which can be done on particular clicked item, or multiple selected items.
Multi-selection allows to do operation on more files at once.

Opening file may mean to use one of built-in viewer for most popular file types: images, audio, video and text.
Or you may configure X-plore to use system application for opening files, in which case system-predefined application that can open particular file is launched.

Archives (currently supported are Zip, Rar and 7zip) are displayed as other folders.


Hope you like the best file explorer apps, file browser apps, and file manager apps for Android.