The best file sharing websites, compared on their free limits

What the table shows

Laid side by side, the free versions differ more than their home pages suggest. Five patterns stand out:

• Free size runs from 2 GB to 50 GB. Smash prioritizes up to 2 GB and Dropbox Basic stops at 2 GB. SwissTransfer takes 50 GB.
• Link life runs from one download to 30 days. A file.io file lasts one download, WeTransfer up to 3 days, and SwissTransfer up to 30 days. Most of the rest sit at 7 days.
• Three of the seven other services need an account to send. WeTransfer, Filemail and Dropbox do. Smash, TransferNow, SwissTransfer and file.io don't.
• Only two of the seven publish a sending count. WeTransfer allows 10 transfers per 30 days, and Filemail 2 per 24 hours. Smash, TransferNow and SwissTransfer list a size and a link life, but no count.
• Passwords split the field. Smash, TransferNow and SwissTransfer include one free. WeTransfer keeps it for Ultimate and Teams plans only, and neither Filemail's nor Dropbox's free version has it.

How this comparison was made

Every number in the table comes from the service's own pricing, plan or help page, not from a review site. All of them were read on the same day, shown in the note under the table. A value a service doesn't publish isn't guessed. Where a page lists no monthly count, the table doesn't invent one.

Free versions change without notice. WeTransfer, for example, has required senders to have an account since November 2024. So each row links to its source, and the date tells you how fresh it is.

Where SendTheStuff will fit in the field

SendTheStuff will sit in the middle on size and near the top on link life. SendTheStuff's free version will take 5 GB per transfer, more than WeTransfer's 3 GB. SendTheStuff links will last 14 days, second only to SwissTransfer's 30 days in the table.

SendTheStuff will count a month as 10 transfers or 20 GB, whichever comes first, over a rolling 30 days. Unlike WeTransfer, one big send won't use the whole month.

Senders will confirm their email with a code before uploading. People downloading won't need anything but the link. Nothing will be compressed, so photos and videos will arrive exactly as sent.

Transfer services and cloud storage aren't the same thing

A transfer service sends a copy and deletes it when the link expires. Cloud storage keeps the file until you delete it, and a shared link usually lasts as long as the file does.

That difference shows in the free numbers. A Google Account includes 15 GB of storage, shared across Gmail, Google Drive and Google Photos. Drive itself accepts files up to 5 TB, but every file you share keeps using that storage.

Dropbox Transfer sits between the two. It sends from a Dropbox account, up to 2 GB on Basic, and the link expires after 7 days.

Use storage when you'll work on the file together. Use a transfer service when you just need it delivered.

Which service suits which job

Start from the job, then check the table for that column:

• One very large file. SwissTransfer's 50 GB is the largest free size here. Its sending is not available from a number of countries outside Europe, so check first.
• A quick send with nothing to set up. TransferNow sends 5 GB and keeps it 7 days. Smash sends 2 GB with priority, and bigger sends join a queue.
• A file that should disappear after one look. The file.io service deletes it after one download.
• A file for a few named people. Filemail's free version emails each transfer to up to 3 recipients, at most 2 per 24 hours.
• You already use Dropbox's free plan. Dropbox Transfer sends 2 GB from your existing Basic account.

Why the usual picks fall short

The first things people reach for each stop somewhere:

• An email attachment. Gmail, Outlook.com and Yahoo Mail each cap attachments at 25 MB.
• A cloud storage link. It counts against your 15 GB on Google, and stays shared until you remember to stop it.
• WeTransfer's free version. 3 GB across a whole 30 days, and links that last up to 3 days.
• The biggest free number. SwissTransfer may not let you send from your country.
• The quickest anonymous link. A file.io link is gone after one download, even if it was downloaded by mistake.

SendTheStuff will aim at the gap between them, with 5 GB per transfer and links lasting 14 days.

Until SendTheStuff launches

Pick a service from the table in a few steps:

1. Find your file's size. On Windows, right-click it and choose Properties. On a Mac, press Command-I.
2. Drop any service whose free size in the table is smaller.
3. Of the rest, pick by link life: how long will your recipient take to download?
4. If you'd rather not make an account, skip WeTransfer, Filemail and Dropbox.
5. Before a long upload, check the service's page for changes. The note under the table shows when these values were last read.