FTP vs HTTP - File Transfer Protocol and Hyper Text Transfer Protocol

HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) and FTP (File Transfer Protocol) are both network protocols for file transfer and we have already discussed them in detail in our last blogs.

Here in this blog, we are going to understand the difference between the two i.e. FTP vs HTTP.

HTTP and FTP, both use TCP Protocol for communication.

Comparison Table: FTP vs HTTP

Below table explains FTP and HTTP protocol difference and their applicability in real world –

PARAMETER	FTP	HTTP
Full Form	File Transfer Protocol	Hyper Text Transfer Protocol
Port Number	TCP port no 20 and 21	TCP port no 80 and 8080
RFC	RFC959, RFC765, RFC1738	RFC2616, RFC7230 and RFC7231
Philosophy	Used to transfer files from remote computer after connection is established	Used to transfer web pages from remote server after internet connection is established.
Communication	2-way communication system where upload and download of files from client to server can occur.	1-way communication system where content including pictures and texts can be transferred from server to client.
Speed of download	FTP is slower than HTTP	HTTP is faster than FTP when downloading one big file. HTTP can use parallel chunk download which makes it 6x times faster than FTP
Applicability	Used to access and transfer files.	HTTP is used to view websites.
Client	FTP can be accessed via the command line or a GUI	The common HTTP client is the browser
Usage	Used by fewer people	Most widely used
Authentication	Requires username and password for authentication	Does not requires username and password for authentication