Android and Windows compared
Both apps run the same rclone core, support the same backends with the same
options, and read and write the same rclone.conf. They differ in how the
operating system lets them present your drives, and in how far along each app
is. Android is available on Google Play, and Windows from the Microsoft Store;
see Install CloudMount.
How your drives appear
Section titled “How your drives appear”| Android | Windows | |
|---|---|---|
| System integration | Storage Access Framework document provider | Cloud Files API sync roots, as OneDrive uses |
| Where drives appear | Files app and every app’s Open and Save dialogs | A folder per drive in %USERPROFILE%\CloudMount, in Explorer’s navigation pane and every app |
| Apps that can use them | Apps that use Android’s file picker | All apps, as ordinary files |
| Model | On demand: each request goes to the drive, with a cache | Sync: opened files become real local files that sync both ways |
| Changes made elsewhere | Seen when a folder is reopened after 30 seconds | Change notifications or background polling |
| Streaming large files | Yes, with seeking | No: files download fully on open while Defender scans them |
| Offline | Pro: offline files | Opened files stay; Pro: always keep on this device |
| Status icons | No | Yes, Explorer’s sync states plus Couldn’t sync and Conflict |
| Thumbnails | Images, videos, CBZ comics | Images and videos |
| Search | Files app search (limited), in-app search across drives | In-app search across drives; Windows Search, for folders you’ve opened |
| Google Docs, Sheets and Slides | Exported as PDF or Office files when opened | Not settled yet |
| Name conflicts | file (1).txt |
file (conflict 2026-10-11 093000).txt |
See Caching and uploads for more on the two models.
Adding drives
Section titled “Adding drives”| Android | Windows | |
|---|---|---|
| Every rclone backend | Yes | Yes |
| Browser sign-in for OAuth services | Yes | Yes |
| Paste a token instead | Yes | Yes |
| Test connection before saving | Yes | Yes |
| Drive picker for wrapping drives | Yes | Yes |
| Password generator for encrypted drives | Yes | Yes |
| Find servers on your network | Yes | Yes |
Import rclone.conf |
Plain or encrypted | Plain or encrypted |
Export rclone.conf |
Plain | Plain |
| Move to a new device with a code | Yes | No |
Features
Section titled “Features”| Android | Windows | |
|---|---|---|
| Background uploads that survive restarts | Yes | Yes |
| Pause | Pause uploads, also automatically by Wi-Fi, charging, battery saver and quiet hours | Pause syncing, for 2, 8 or 24 hours or until resumed |
| Speed limits | Uploads | Uploads and downloads |
| Copy and move between drives | Yes, through the phone (Pro); copies within one drive run on the server | Yes, from Explorer’s menu or the app, without saving the files on the PC (Pro); within one drive on the server where the backend can. Dragging between folders goes through the PC |
| Save a link to a drive | Yes, from the share sheet | Yes, from the app or the share sheet |
| Public links | Yes | Yes, from Explorer or the app’s file browser |
| In-app file browser | Yes | Yes, for any drive, next to File Explorer; folder favorites |
| In-app viewers, player and editor | Yes | No; files open in your apps |
| Sync folders and backup | Yes (Pro): sync folders, photo and video backup | Yes (Pro): sync tasks, and backup of any folder, such as Pictures |
| Vaults | Yes (Pro to create and add files), in the Files app; restore by scanning the kit’s QR code | Yes (Pro to create and add files), in File Explorer; restore from a photo or screenshot of the kit |
| Trash for deletions | Yes, per drive | The Recycle Bin |
| Storage insights | Quota, trend, largest folders and files, duplicates | Quota, trend, largest folders and files, duplicates, on the drive’s page |
| App lock | Yes | No |
| Configuration encryption | Tied to App lock | Password, remembered with DPAPI |
| Widgets, Quick Settings tile | Yes | No |
| Automation | Intents for Tasker and similar apps: pause and resume uploads, run backup and sync | The cloudmount command: status, pause and resume, refresh, free up space, run sync tasks |
Pro is bought separately on each platform, through Google Play or the Microsoft Store; there are no accounts to carry a purchase across. See CloudMount Pro.
Requirements
Section titled “Requirements”| Android | Windows | |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Android 12 or later | Windows 11 |
| Hardware | 64-bit ARM or x86 | x64 or ARM64 |
| Store | Google Play | Microsoft Store |