Copy-Item is 27 percent slower than File Explorer drag and drop on Windows

1 2 3 4 5 File Explorer drag & drop ########## (112 MBps) Copy-Item ####### (82 MBps) Built in SFTP client ###### (70 MBps) Built in robocopy ## (25 MBps) WSL 2 rsync # (13 MBps) In table form: Tool Speed (MBps) Difference Drag and drop ~112 — Copy-Item ~82 -27% sftp ~70 -37% robocopy ~25 MBps -78% rsync (WSL 2) ~13 MBps -88% I feel like I’m losing my mind. ...

December 6, 2025