The best replacement for rsync is scp.

The best alternatives to rsync are rated as following:
★★★★★  scp
★★★  unison
★★  tar
★★  cp
★★  robocopy
★  dd
★  scp speed
★  ditto
★  time machine
★  cp faster
★  bittorrent sync
★  wget
★  scp faster
★  rdist
★  rdiff
★  zfs send
  rtrr
  mv
  xcopy
  zfs replication
  rdiff backup
  sshfs
  bacula
  rcp
  rdiff-backup
  cpio
  rsnapshot

Your alternative for rsync is not listed? Suggest!
Speaking about rsync, one probably shouldn't forget about cygwin.

Other search terms related to rsync and their ratings are:
★★★★★ cygwin
★ ssh keys
★ hard links
★ rsh
★ password file
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You have in mind a companion for rsync and it is not yet here? Propose!



Google Trends

Scale is based on the average worldwide traffic of rsync in all years. Click on graph for more.
rsync
scp
unison