The best replacement for sftp is ftps.

The best alternatives to sftp are rated as following:
★★★★★  ftps
★★★  scp
★★  ssh
★★  ftp
★★  https
★  ftp speed
★  pgp
★  ftp over ssl
★  tftp
★  scp speed
★  webdav
★  secure ftp
★  samba
★  vsftpd
★  as2
★  ssl
  ftp over ssh
  ftpes
  sftp2
  vpn
  ftp over vpn
  smb
  connect direct
  ftp faster
  ftp ssh
  sftp
  ftp speeds

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

Other search terms related to sftp and their ratings are:
★★★★★ filezilla
★★★ public key
★★ ssh key
★ filezilla server
★ ssis
pgp
key authentication
expect
public key authentication
You have in mind a companion for sftp and it is not yet here? Propose!



Google Trends

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