Paragon NTFS vs Tuxera vs iBoysoft vs Mounty: Best NTFS for Mac App in 2026

Plug a Windows-formatted external drive into a Mac and you can open every file on it, but you can't save, rename, or delete anything. macOS reads Microsoft NTFS volumes and stops there. If you share drives with Windows PCs, edit footage from a client's disk, or dual-boot through Boot Camp on an older Intel Mac, you need an NTFS driver.

The best-known paid options are Microsoft NTFS for Mac by Paragon Software, Microsoft NTFS for Mac by Tuxera, and iBoysoft NTFS for Mac. Mounty is the popular free route. This guide compares them on setup, Apple Silicon security, features, and price, and covers when you don't need any of them.

Quick Verdict

Choose Paragon NTFS for Mac if you want the most established commercial driver, with automatic mounting, a polished disk manager, and support for the newest macOS releases.

Choose Tuxera NTFS for Mac if you want a one-time personal license that covers several of your own Macs, with a 15-day trial and free updates.

Choose iBoysoft NTFS for Mac if you have an Apple Silicon Mac and want to avoid lowering your Mac's security settings, since its FSKit-based Extension mode works without a kernel extension on macOS 26 and later.

Choose Mounty if you only write to NTFS drives occasionally, are comfortable installing macFUSE and ntfs-3g, and don't want to pay.

Feature Comparison

Paragon's store showed euro prices for our region; prices differ by country, so check the store in your own region.

Paragon NTFS for Mac

Paragon's driver is the one many drive makers have bundled with their disks, and it behaves like a native part of macOS once installed. NTFS volumes mount automatically at startup and show up in Finder with full read and write access, so you create, edit, rename, and delete files as on any Mac drive. Paragon says it supports every NTFS version from Windows NT 3.1 to Windows 11, including compressed and sparse files.

Beyond the driver, you get a menu bar app and a full app modeled on Disk Utility for mounting, unmounting, verifying, repairing, and formatting NTFS volumes. Mount options let you open a sensitive drive read-only or stop a volume from mounting automatically. Paragon also lists compatibility with Boot Camp, VMware Fusion, Parallels Desktop, and TrueCrypt-style encryption tools, and it claims its driver is up to six times faster than competitors in its own benchmark.

The trade-off on Apple Silicon is setup. Like other kernel drivers, Paragon has to be approved as a system extension, which on M-series Macs means restarting into Recovery and lowering the security policy once. Paragon publishes step-by-step guides for this.

There is a 10-day free trial. At our EU checkout, the Home edition cost €29.95 including VAT and the Business edition €49.95 before VAT. A license can be revoked and reactivated on another Mac through Paragon's Licensing Center (up to four times before you need support). If you also need HFS+ and APFS access from Windows, the Paragon Mac ToolBox bundle is listed at $54.99.

Choose Paragon if you want a driver you install once and forget, with the strongest track record.

Tuxera NTFS for Mac

Tuxera's driver is Paragon's longtime rival and works in a similar way: install it, approve the kernel extension, and NTFS drives mount in Finder with read and write access. It adds smart caching for speed, supports NTFS extended attributes, and works alongside Boot Camp and virtual machines.

Tuxera Disk Manager is included for formatting drives as NTFS, creating NTFS disk images, and checking and repairing volumes. Compatibility is unusually wide: Tuxera lists everything from Mac OS X 10.4 through macOS 27, on PowerPC, Intel, and Apple Silicon Macs, which is handy if you keep an older Mac running.

On Apple Silicon, setup is the same hurdle as Paragon. Tuxera's support site walks you through starting in Recovery, choosing Reduced Security, and allowing user management of kernel extensions from identified developers.

Pricing is simple. The personal license is $28.95 one-time, with free updates and support, and Tuxera says it can be installed on up to five home computers. Volume pricing for businesses starts at $25 per license and drops with quantity. There is a 15-day free trial with no subscription.

Choose Tuxera if you have several Macs at home and want one inexpensive license that covers them.

iBoysoft NTFS for Mac

iBoysoft NTFS for Mac takes a different approach on recent macOS. It offers three mounting modes:

• Extension mode (macOS 26 and later) uses Apple's FSKit framework to run iBoysoft's NTFS file system in user space, with no kernel extension and no restart.
• Advanced mode uses iBoysoft's kernel driver for automatic mounting, and on Apple Silicon it needs the system extension enabled, like Paragon and Tuxera.
• Simple mode works without a driver but asks you to mount NTFS drives manually each time.

That Extension mode is the main reason to pick iBoysoft today. If you're on macOS Tahoe or later and don't want to lower your Mac's security policy, it's the only paid option here that avoids the Recovery-mode step. Version 9.0, released in September 2026, lists support from macOS 10.13 through macOS 27 on Intel and Apple Silicon Macs. It also formats and repairs NTFS drives, mounts Boot Camp partitions with write access, and works from the menu bar.

iBoysoft is also the only one sold through the Mac App Store, as "NTFS Read&Write - iBoysoft NTFS": a free download with a 3-day trial, then $19.99/year or $49.99 for a lifetime license. Some App Store reviewers say setup involved more steps than the listing suggests, so use the trial to confirm it works with your drives before paying.

Choose iBoysoft if you want NTFS write access on a modern Apple Silicon Mac without kernel extensions.

Mounty

Mounty is a free, donation-supported utility. On older versions of macOS it switched Apple's own hidden NTFS write support on; since macOS Ventura, version 2 acts as a simple interface for the free, open-source ntfs-3g driver running on macFUSE. It's a universal app that runs natively on Apple Silicon, and the developer lists support up to macOS 26 Tahoe.

The free price comes with limits. You install macFUSE and ntfs-3g yourself (Mounty's site explains how), approve macFUSE's security prompts, and remount drives through Mounty each time. It can't mount Windows system partitions that were left hibernated by Fast Startup, it doesn't format or repair NTFS volumes, and its disclaimer offers no warranty against data loss. FUSE-based write speeds are also typically slower than a commercial driver.

Choose Mounty if you need to copy files onto an NTFS drive now and then and don't mind a few manual steps.

You Might Not Need an NTFS Driver

If the drive only moves files between your Mac and Windows PCs, and doesn't need to stay NTFS, reformat it as exFAT. Both macOS and Windows read and write exFAT natively, with no extra software. Back up the drive first, then erase it in Disk Utility and pick exFAT (Apple's guide to file system formats explains the options). NTFS drivers make the most sense when you can't reformat: a client's drive, a Boot Camp partition, a NAS disk, or a large archive you'd rather not move.

Which NTFS App Should You Use?

Use Paragon if you work with NTFS drives every day and want the most polished, established driver.

Use Tuxera if you want a one-time license for several home Macs, or need support for a very old Mac.

Use iBoysoft if you're on macOS 26 or later with an Apple Silicon Mac and want to keep full security settings.

Use Mounty if you only write to NTFS occasionally and prefer free, open-source tools.

Use exFAT instead of any of them if you're free to reformat the drive.

Final Verdict

Paragon NTFS for Mac is the best choice for heavy NTFS users. It mounts drives automatically, includes the most complete disk tools, already supports macOS 27, and has the longest track record.

Tuxera NTFS for Mac is the best value for multi-Mac households, with a $28.95 one-time license that covers up to five home computers and a generous 15-day trial.

iBoysoft NTFS for Mac is the best choice for modern Apple Silicon Macs, because its FSKit-based Extension mode avoids kernel extensions and Recovery-mode security changes on macOS 26 and later.

Mounty is the best free option for occasional use, if you accept manual remounting and a few setup steps.

My practical recommendation: try the trials on the drives you actually use. If you're on Apple Silicon and the Recovery-mode step bothers you, start with iBoysoft's Extension mode; if you don't mind it, Paragon and Tuxera are the steadier long-term drivers.

Catch these apps on sale: many paid Mac apps, including disk and utility apps, run discounts at least once a year, most often around Black Friday. Subscribe to the Apps.Deals newsletter to hear when the deals arrive.

Note: Features and prices are current as of October 2026. Paragon's prices vary by region and tax, and all four apps change features and supported macOS versions over time. Verify current pricing and compatibility on each developer's official site before buying, and back up important data before writing to any NTFS drive.