Whether you want to sync files from one folder to another locally or sync files to a network drive, Windows provides free ways to do it. In this article, I will show you 3 ways to sync files in Windows 10.
Method 1: Sync files with built-in tools
As you may know, Robocopy is a command-line utility that is included in Windows 10 for copying files. You can write a script to copy files and then set up a task in the Task Scheduler to run the script at a particular time.
For the script shared below, you just need to add the frequency in days, the path to the folder from where you want to move the files, and the path for the folder you want to move the files to.
Step 1. Create a new text file. Copy and paste the following command in the TXT file. Be sure to replace the number of days, destination folder, and source folder as per your needs.
@echo off
set X=<days>
set “source=C:\<Source Folder Path>”
set “destination=D:\<Destination Folder Path>”
robocopy “%source%” “%destination%” /mov /minage:%X%
exit /b
Step 2. Change the file extension to .bat and save the file.
Step 3. Open Task Scheduler. You can find it by using the search box or type “taskschd.msc” from a Run box.
Step 4. Click Create Task in the right panel and taye a task name.
Step 5. Under the Triggers tab, click New to create a Trigger. In the settings, select Daily and check the option Repeat Task Every 1 hour. You can change the frequency if needed.
Step 6. After saving the settings for Trigger, let’s go to the Action tab. Click New to create a new action. Click Browse to find the .bat file that you previously created. 
Step 7. Click OK to save all the settings for this new task and close the Task Scheduler.
As you can see, it is not perfect for file sync, but if works and you don’t need to download third-party apps. Actually, Microsoft has provided its own file sync software for Windows. Keep reading to check it out.
Method 2: SyncToy
Windows also provides a dedicated tool SyncToy for file sync that you can download from Microsoft Store. The latest version is SyncToy 2.1 that allows you to synchronize files and folders between locations. You can also use it to share files with other computers and create backup copies of files and folders.
To use SyncToy, you need to download it from Microsoft website by choosing the appropriate Windows version and then install in on Windows 10. After installation, you can follow the steps below to sync two folders in Windows 10 on the same computer.
Step 1: Within the SyncToy main interface, click Create New Folder Pair to start a new task.
Step 2: specify the Two Folders You Want to Sync by clicking the Browse button. It is pretty straightforward as you can see from the screenshot.
Step 3: Select the right Method to Sync Two Folders in Windows 10. If you like two-way sync, then you should check Synchronize. Echo and Contribute are for one-way sync. The difference is deleting files in the Left Folder won’t cause the change in the Right Folder with Contribute method.
Step 4: assign a name for the synchronization task and click click the Run button to start Windows sync files between folders.
After that, this sync program will start the process of folder sync between drives and you will see whether the task is successful or not.
Sync Network Files
Windows 10 also has a built-in feature Sync Center that allows you to sync the files between your PC and network servers, so you can get them when your server or your PC is not connected to the network.
Step 1. Launch Sync Center. Press Windows+R key to bring out Run window and type mobsync in the box and tap OK.
Step 2. click on the Manage offline files link on the left side column. In the General tab, click Enable Offline Files and click Ok. You may need to restart the computer.
Steop 3. After restarting the computer, then you will have other tabs available on the Offline Files to configure the Offline Files including Disk Usage, Encryption, and Network tabs.
Step 4. Configure Disk Usage for the the available space for keeping the offline files on your PC. Under the network tab, you can choose to automatically keep your files offline if the network connection is too slow. You can also set how often you’d like to check for a slow connection.
Conclusion
That’s the 3 ways to sync files or folders in Windows 10 for free. If you like to sync files to another drive, the SyncToy is the best choice because it supports two-way sync and one-way sync. The other two options also have its own purpose. Now it is your turn. Let us know which method you prefer in the comments.