What is the difference between FAT32, exFAT & NTFS?

FAT32, exFAT and NTFS are the three different file systems commonly used on windows operating system.

What is File System?

A file system provides a way of organizing a drive. It specifies how data is stored on the drive and what types of information can be attached to files—filenames, permissions, and other attributes. A file system uses a set of rules to control how data is stored and retrieved on a storage device. Every file system has its own pros and cons, so have their own use cases.  If you know them well, you can choose the correct file system for different needs.

FAT32 file system

FAT32 aka "File Allocation Table" is the oldest of the three file systems available to Windows. It was introduced all the way back in Windows 95 to replace the older FAT16 file system used in MS-DOS and Windows 3. FAT 32 is commonly used in devices of different kinds, such as hard disk, DVD player, game console, etc. It also supports the Windows XP, Linux, Mac, Android , and Windows Phone operating systems. However, this form of file system has many disadvantages. For example, its maximum single file size is 4GB and the maximum partition size limit is 2TB.

Pros:
Compatible with all versions of Windows, Mac, Linux, game consoles, HDTVs, bootable disk and practically anything with a USB port

Cons:

• Cannot store a single file which is larger than 4GB
• Cannot create a FAT32 partition that is larger than 8 TB (Windows only recognizes 2TB)
• Lacks the permissions and other security features built into the more modern NTFS file system
• Modern versions of Windows are unable to be installed to a drive formatted with an FAT32 file system

Usage:
Flash drives will often be formatted with FAT32 for maximum compatibility. If you want to use it on removable drives, you’d better format the drive to FAT32. Be sure not to store a single file that is larger than 4 GB.

exFAT file system

exFAT is the abbreviation of "Extended File Allocation Table".  It is a file system introduced by Microsoft in 2006, which is similar to FAT32 files system, but does not have the FAT32 file system limitations. Designed to replace FAT32, exFAT is optimized for flash memory such as USB flash drives and SD cards, although some very older ones may support FAT32 only.

Pros:

• More widely-compatible than NTFS, but not quite match FAT32’s compatibility
• Allows users to store files much larger than the 4 GB allowed by FAT32
• No realistic file-size or partition-size limits

Cons:

• Not as compatible as FAT32
• Lacks journaling functionality and other advanced features built into the NTFS file system

Compatibility:

• Works with all versions of Windows and modern versions of Mac OS X
• Compatible with Linux, but additional software will be needed

Usage:

When you need to build large partitions and save files greater than 4 GB, and need more compatibility than what NTFS provides, you can use exFAT file system. And exFAT is a good choice for swapping or sharing large files particularly between OSes.

NTFS file system

NTFS is the "New Technology File System" created by Microsoft in 1993 with windows NT 3.1. It is now the most widely used file system in Windows especially for its system drive and most internal hard drives. For detailed information, you can refer to the following contents to learn its pros and cons, compatibility and usage.

Pros:

• Supports very large files and it nearly has no realistic partition size limit by changing cluster size
• Enables users to compress files, folders or the whole drive when they are running out of disk space
• Enables users to set file permissions and encryption as a file system with higher security
• Enables users to set disk quotas, limiting the amount of space users can consume
• Automatically restores the consistency of the file system by using its log file and checkpoint information
• Uses a change journal to help restore information quickly if power failure or other system problems occur
• No realistic file size or partition size limits

Cons:

• Not compatible with very old operating systems

Compatibility:

• Compatible with all versions of Windows
• Read-only with Mac OSX by default, and may be read-only by default with some Linux distributions
• Only a few Linux variants are able to provide write support for NTFS

Usage:

An NTFS file system is perfect for your Windows system drive and other internal drives or external hard drives with large capacities that will just be used with Windows.