Paragon NTFS for Mac Review: The Best Way to Use NTFS on Your Mac

Paragon NTFS for Mac is the first third-party solution to natively read and write to NTFS-formatted drives on a Mac. It gives you full access to files located on an external drive that uses the NTFS file system, even if it’s been previously used under Windows with Paragon's proprietary drivers.

In this review, we'll look at how Paragon NTFS for Mac performs. We'll also see if it's worth its $20 price tag or not.

Since Paragon NTFS for Mac is a paid software, it's essential to know its advantages and limitations before purchasing this product. So let's start with the advantages of this program.

Advantages:

1. Natively read and write to NTFS drives on macOS (10.9 Maverick or later);
2. Native support for Microsoft NTFS file attributes, such as Archive attribute, Encrypted attribute, and Index attribute;
3. Supported OS: macOS 10.9 Mavericks or later;
4. Compatible with Windows Vista, 7 and 8;
5. Keeps drive letter assigned to the drive;
6. Supports Drive Passcode option;
7. Direct support for macOS Sierra 10.12 and 10.13 preview release (this feature is NOT PROVIDED via download, but it is included in Paragon Universal Drive Format)
8. Can import/export data from/to a drive or transfer files between drives on any Mac or PC;
9. Supports Apple File Conduits technology;
10. Supports Drive Passcode Mode.

Now let's talk a bit about the disadvantages of Paragon NTFS for Mac.

Disadvantages:

1. No native support for Microsoft NTFS file system; (Paragon Driver for Windows supports Microsoft NTFS file system with additional purchase)
2. No support for case-sensitive file systems;
3. Price: $19.95
4. No Windows support;
5. Does not work with encrypted NTFS drives (FileVault 2 or self-encrypted drives);
6. No support for macOS Mojave (10.14). (Paragon Universal Drive Format does, but not the basic version);
7. It Does not work in combination with Paragon Hard Disk Manager for Mac (basic version). (Paragon Universal Drive Format does, but not the basic version);
8. It Does not work in combination with Paragon File System Link (basic version). (Paragon Universal Drive Format does, but not the basic version);
9. Data loss when moving file system to another drive without formatting;
10. Cannot be used with ATAPI devices (CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, and so on). (Paragon Universal Drive Format does, with additional purchase)
11. No support for EFI and GPT disk drives;
12. There is no support for encrypted NTFS drives unless you purchase Paragon Driver for Windows.

These are the disadvantages of Paragon NTFS for Mac; now, let's see what options you can use after purchasing it.

Options:

1. Supports Apple File Conduits technology; (this feature is NOT PROVIDED via download, but it is included in Paragon Universal Drive Format);
2. Can be used across multiple Macs and PCs; (Paragon Universal Drive Format does, with additional purchase)
3. Can be used to create a bootable drive from which you can install Windows without reformatting a partition; (Paragon Universal Drive Format does, with additional purchase)
4. Supports SATA and USB flash drives.

How to install?

Paragon NTFS for Mac works with any external drive that uses the NTFS file system. That means it supports systems running macOS 10.9 Mavericks (Mavericks) or later, Windows Vista and 7 (Vista) or later, and Windows 8/8.1 (Windows 8/8.1).

All you need to do to prepare for the installation of Paragon NTFS for Mac is to connect your external drive and make sure it uses the NTFS file system. Paragon NTFS for Mac can handle drives formatted with HFS+ or HFSX.

The program does not require a reboot after installation. Instead, you can launch it from Finder, Launchpad, or Command Line Interface (CLI). There is also a hidden menu option that you can access via the Apple menu >''' System Preferences >''' Startup Applications.

Paragon NTFS for Mac has built-in support for Drive Passcode, which means you can lock your drive using a password and only unlock it when you enter the correct one. This can be done in one of two ways;

1. You can configure your drive to require a password only at startup. After you've rebooted the computer, you can unplug and reconnect the drive. It will immediately grant access to all files on it, even if they're located on an unencrypted partition. If you want to unlock the drive again, you need to start Paragon NTFS for Mac manually and enter your password;
2. You can configure the program to require a password every time you connect or disconnect the drive. In this case, Paragon NTFS for Mac will ask for your password after each connection or disconnection.

Final verdict

Having all these advantages and options, we can see Paragon NTFS for Mac is a quite popular and powerful application. Being able to read and write to an external NTFS drive is priceless.