I've run the same WebDAV server across three operating systems for six months. Here's what each OS does well, where each breaks, and which one I ended up using as my daily driver.

TL;DR

If you want it to "just work" with no setup, macOS Finder wins. If you want full control over every parameter and are willing to type commands, Linux GVFS + gvfs-dav is the most powerful. If you're on Windows and want native drive letters, a dedicated WebDAV client (ScsDriver, RaiDrive) is the only way to get reliable behavior — the built-in net use is half-broken on modern Windows.

The setup

  • Server: Synology DS220+ at home, WebDAV over HTTPS port 5006, Basic Auth
  • Files: mix of small markdown files (1-10 KB) and large media files (100 MB - 4 GB)
  • Tested over LAN only, on each OS as a fresh install (or factory-reset VM)

macOS Finder: zero setup, decent behavior

Open Finder → Go → Connect to Server → https://your-nas:5006 → enter credentials. Done. The WebDAV share shows up under "Locations" in the sidebar and mounts as a volume.

What works:

  • Connection setup with no terminal
  • Credentials stored in Keychain (good)
  • Volume mounts as a real macOS volume (good for Spotlight, Quick Look, file dialogs)
  • HTTPS + self-signed cert: prompts once, "always trust" persists
  • Handles Unicode filenames correctly

What's annoying:

  • macOS sometimes drops the connection after sleep/wake. You have to unmount and reconnect. Annoying if you have a long file copy going.
  • Performance is capped around 70 MB/s on LAN. Slower than Linux or Windows native clients.
  • macOS caches negative lookups aggressively. If you create a file on another device, macOS may not see it for 30-60 seconds.

Best for: macOS users who want minimum setup and accept some quirks.

Linux GVFS: most powerful, needs the most setup

Linux desktops (GNOME, KDE) ship GVFS, which has a WebDAV backend (gvfs-dav or gvfs-backend-dav). On KDE Plasma, KIO provides equivalent WebDAV support.

Setup (Ubuntu 22.04):

sudo apt install gvfs-backends # or for KDE sudo apt install kio-extras

Then in Files (Nautilus) or Dolphin: davs://user@your-nas:5006/ in the address bar.

What works:

  • Best performance: 110 MB/s sustained read on LAN, beating both macOS and Windows
  • Full POSIX behavior — every CLI tool (ls, find, rsync, tar) just works
  • Configurable timeouts via ~/.config/gvfs.conf for power users
  • Native integration with file dialogs (GTK apps see the mount, KDE apps see the mount)
  • Honors ~/.netrc for credentials

What's annoying:

  • First-time setup requires terminal + package install + understanding GVFS internals
  • GNOME Files sometimes loses the mount after a screen lock. KDE Plasma is more stable.
  • No equivalent of "drive letters" — but /run/user/$UID/gvfs/ mounts work for scripts

Best for: Linux power users who want maximum control. Skip if you want zero terminal.

Windows: built-in is broken, third-party wins

Windows has two built-in ways to mount WebDAV:

  1. Map Network Drive (net use) — uses the WebClient service
  2. Add Network Location — same WebClient backend

Both work in theory. In practice:

What's broken:

  • WebClient service is unreliable on Windows 10/11: it loses the connection on sleep/wake, fails to reconnect, and sometimes won't accept HTTPS connections with self-signed certs at all.
  • net use Z: \your-nas@5006\path requires the URL in UNC-style (\server@port\path), which most users can't figure out.
  • No credential persistence: each new Explorer window asks for the password again (unless you check "remember", which is hidden behind a small link).
  • Throughput capped: native WebClient tops out around 30 MB/s on LAN because of how it batches requests.
  • mac-style negative caching: same problem as macOS, but worse. Stale directory listings for 5+ minutes.

What actually works on Windows: a third-party native client. ScsDriver and RaiDrive both mount WebDAV as a true local drive letter with sustained 100+ MB/s throughput, automatic reconnect, and proper credential storage in Windows Credential Manager.

Best for: Windows users who need real performance and reliability. Don't bother with built-in.

Comparison table

Feature macOS Finder Linux GVFS Windows built-in Windows native client
Setup effort None Medium Medium Low
Throughput (LAN) 70 MB/s 110 MB/s 30 MB/s 100 MB/s
Sleep/wake reconnect Manual Mostly auto Often fails Auto
Credential storage Keychain netrc / keyring Poor Credential Manager
POSIX tools No Yes No Yes
Drive letter No No Yes (broken) Yes
Best for Casual macOS users Linux power users Nobody Windows daily driver

What I use

My primary machine is a Windows desktop (for gaming and dev). ScsDriver for the daily WebDAV mounts — it's $9.99 lifetime, no nag screen, and reconnects after sleep.

For traveling with a MacBook Air, I just use Finder. The 70 MB/s is fine for hotel WiFi (which tops out around 20 MB/s anyway).

For my Linux server (homelab), GVFS is what I use when I'm at the keyboard. For headless file ops, it's cadaver or curl.

Final thoughts

WebDAV is one of the few protocols that genuinely works across all three OSes — the protocol is the same, the security model is the same, the failure modes are similar. The differences are in the OS-level integration: who mounts it, how it's cached, how credentials are stored. Pick the OS you're most comfortable with and the client (or built-in) that gives you the least friction.