How To Increase WinSCP Transfer Speed

If you’re experiencing slow upload or download speeds with WinSCP, there are a couple of key settings you can tweak to significantly improve performance.

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Increase the Number of Transfer Connections

WinSCP supports multiple concurrent transfer sessions, which can dramatically boost throughput when transferring many files or folders.

1. Open WinSCP

2. Go to Options > Preferences.

3. In the left panel, click Background under the Transfer tab.

4. Set Maximal number of transfers at the same time from the default 2 to 9.

5. Click OK to save changes.

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Disable Optimize Connection Buffer Size

This option, enabled by default in each site’s settings, can slow performance on some servers.

1. In WinSCP, click New Tab (or select an existing site in the Site Manager).

2. Enter your hostname, port, username, and protocol if you’re starting fresh. Before clicking Login, click the Advanced… button.

Note: If you aren’t sure how to connect, we have a guide you can follow here. (Method 2)

3. In the Advanced Site Settings window, select Connection from the left sidebar.

4. Uncheck Optimize connection buffer size.

5. Click OK, then click Save (if you’re saving the site), and finally Login.

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If you have any issues, contact us via live chat or the ticket system.