Midnight Commander vs Norton Commander

Struggling to choose between Midnight Commander and Norton Commander? Both products offer unique advantages, making it a tough decision.

Midnight Commander is a File Management solution with tags like file-manager, shell, unix, visual-interface.

It boasts features such as Two panel interface for easy file management, Built-in text editor and file viewer, Shell access from within the program, Navigation via keyboard shortcuts, Support for archives like tar and zip, Plugin system for extensibility, Available for Linux, BSD, and other Unix-like systems and pros including Lightweight and fast, Very efficient for power users, No mouse needed for navigation, Extensible via plugins, Cross-platform - works on many Unix systems.

On the other hand, Norton Commander is a File Management product tagged with dos, twopane-interface, file-operations.

Its standout features include Two-pane interface, Basic file operations like copy, move, delete, rename, etc., Built-in text editor, File searching, Archive support, Plugin architecture, and it shines with pros like Efficient two-pane interface, Lightweight and fast, Keyboard-driven for efficient use, Extensible via plugins, Works well even on old hardware.

Feature	Midnight Commander	Norton Commander
Overall Score	N/A	N/A
Primary Category	File Management	File Management

Product Overview

Midnight Commander

Description: Midnight Commander is a visual file manager and shell for Unix-like systems. It allows you to easily manage files and folders, copy/move files, view file contents, and run shell commands. Useful for power users who want an efficient file manager.

Norton Commander

Description: Norton Commander is a file manager program for DOS that was released in 1986. It uses a two-pane interface to allow basic file operations like copying, renaming, deleting files and launching applications.

Key Features Comparison

Midnight Commander Features

• Two panel interface for easy file management
• Built-in text editor and file viewer
• Shell access from within the program
• Navigation via keyboard shortcuts
• Support for archives like tar and zip
• Plugin system for extensibility
• Available for Linux, BSD, and other Unix-like systems

Norton Commander Features

• Two-pane interface
• Basic file operations like copy, move, delete, rename, etc.
• Built-in text editor
• File searching
• Archive support
• Plugin architecture

Pros & Cons Analysis

Midnight Commander

Pros

• Lightweight and fast
• Very efficient for power users
• No mouse needed for navigation
• Extensible via plugins
• Cross-platform - works on many Unix systems

Cons

• Steep learning curve
• Not as intuitive as GUI file managers
• Limited support for non-Unix systems

Norton Commander

Pros

• Efficient two-pane interface
• Lightweight and fast
• Keyboard-driven for efficient use
• Extensible via plugins
• Works well even on old hardware

Cons

• DOS-based so limited capabilities
• Lacks features of modern file managers
• Not being developed anymore
• No mouse support
• Steep learning curve

Pricing Comparison

Midnight Commander

• Open Source

Norton Commander

• Freeware
• Open Source