FrostWire Vs. LimeWire
A casual user may see both FrostWire and LimeWire offered for download and wonder what the difference is. The confusion between these two peer-to-peer file-sharing programs is understandable. Not only are the names similar, they both use the same network, have similar user interfaces and are actually based on the same code. The biggest difference is philosophical: LimeWire attempts to get users to pay for its professional version, while FrostWire is committed to being entirely free.
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History
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LimeWire was created shortly after file-sharing pioneer Napster was shut down by court order in 2001. Based on the Gnutella network, LimeWire is an open-source program offered as a basic free download, but a professional version with more features is available for a price.
FrostWire is a fork of LimeWire created by users of LimeWire in 2005, when the company behind LimeWire threatened to include filters to protect copyrighted content. Because LimeWire's code is open source, FrostWire is a perfectly legal modification.
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Network
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LimeWire and FrostWire access the same network: Gnutella. This means the files available for download on both clients are identical -- LimeWire users can download from FrostWire users, and vice versa. A number of other clients also connect to Gnutella, so users of both LimeWire and FrostWire can connect to those clients, too.
Price
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The free, basic version of LimeWire leaves out certain features: "Optimized Search Results," "Turbo-Charged Downloads" and "Connections to More Sources," according to the LimeWire web page. Getting these features requires an update to LimeWire Pro, which as of October 2009 cost $34.95 a year.
FrostWire comes with all its features for free.
Nags
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LimeWire Basic includes advertisements, and it reminds the user at every startup that an upgrade to LimeWire Pro is available for a price.
FrostWire includes no ads and, being a free program, does not try to sell upgrades.
Platforms
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Both LimeWire and FrostWire are built on top of Java, meaning they can run on almost any operating system. Both programs offer downloads for Windows, Mac and a number of versions of Linux, including Ubuntu, so most users will find themselves covered by both clients.
Store
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In 2009, LimeWire added a store, giving its users access to legal content for a per-download price.
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