Which port is used by the SFTP protocol?

SFTP, or Secure File Transfer Protocol, operates over port 22. This is the same port that is used by SSH (Secure Shell), which SFTP is built upon. By utilizing port 22, SFTP ensures that file transfers are encrypted, providing a secure method to transfer files over a network. This is particularly important for protecting sensitive data from unauthorized access during transmission.

In contrast, port 21 is commonly used by FTP (File Transfer Protocol), port 25 is primarily reserved for SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) used for email transmission, and port 443 is predominantly used for HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure), which secures web traffic. Therefore, recognizing that SFTP specifically relies on port 22 for establishing secure connections is vital in understanding how secure file transfers are managed in network communications.