WeTransfer's file size limit

What SendTheStuff will do with a file over WeTransfer's limit

SendTheStuff will take the file WeTransfer won't, and hand you a link to share. SendTheStuff's free version will send up to 5 GB in one transfer. A transfer that size will fit whenever your recent sends leave room under the monthly total and count.

SendTheStuff will count your month the way WeTransfer does, as a rolling window, but with more room. SendTheStuff's free version will allow 10 transfers or 20 GB a month, whichever comes first. So a 4 GB video will go out in one piece, even after a couple of smaller sends.

A SendTheStuff link will work for 14 days. A recipient back from a long weekend will still have time to download. After that, the files will be deleted for good. Nothing will be compressed on the way, so your recipient will get the original file.

SendTheStuff will also email the link to up to 10 people for you, if you'd rather not paste it. SendTheStuff will ask you to confirm your email with a code before the upload, much as WeTransfer does. SendTheStuff's free version will be for personal, non-commercial use.

How WeTransfer counts its free limit

WeTransfer's help center gives two limits for its free version. Whichever you reach first stops you:

• 10 transfers over any rolling 30 days, whatever their size.
• 3 GB in total across those transfers, over the same window.

The window isn't a calendar month, and nothing resets on a fixed date. Each transfer stops counting 30 days after you sent it. Your allowance comes back piece by piece, in the order you used it.

Because 3 GB is a running total, it's also the ceiling for a single transfer. WeTransfer lists no separate per-file cap for its free version. Here's how the same allowance looks after different sends:

Checking what you have left on WeTransfer

WeTransfer shows how many transfers you have left in two places:

1. Hover over your account email at the top right of WeTransfer.
2. Or open Transfers > Sent.

For the data side, add up the sizes of what you've sent in the last 30 days. Take that from 3 GB, and you have the largest file that will still fit. Do this before starting a long upload on a slow connection.

The free limits side by side

The number of transfers matches. Where SendTheStuff will differ is size and time: more per transfer, more in total, and links that last longer. Neither free version brings back an expired transfer, so keep your own copy.

Why the usual workarounds fall short

When WeTransfer's free limit stops you, these are the moves people try:

• Waiting it out. Room comes back only as each old transfer turns 30 days old. If a big send went out yesterday, that's a long wait for a file needed now.
• Splitting the file. The total is what's capped, so the parts still add up against 3 GB. Each part also burns one of your 10 transfers.
• Zipping it. Videos and photos are already compressed, so a zip barely shrinks them. Your recipient also has to unzip it.
• A cloud storage link. It handles bigger files, but the file keeps using your storage until you delete it. Shared the wrong way, your recipient hits a sign-in screen.
• Resending after expiry. A link on WeTransfer's free version lasts at most 3 days. If your recipient misses it, the resend uses your allowance again.

SendTheStuff will skip all of that for files up to 5 GB. One transfer will do it, and each SendTheStuff link will work for 14 days.

Setting how long a WeTransfer link lasts

When you send, WeTransfer's transfer window has an Expires in dropdown. On the free version, the choices go up to 3 days, counted from the moment you send. Pick the longest option unless you want the link gone sooner.

Once a transfer on the free version expires, WeTransfer can't bring it back: recovery is not available. So tell your recipient when the link ends.

What your recipient needs

A WeTransfer account is not needed to download. Anyone with the link, or anyone you emailed, can get the files.

You can send two ways. Email the transfer to up to 10 recipients, or make a link and paste it anywhere. A link transfer has no recipient field, so it suits a group chat or a message thread.

SendTheStuff will work the same way for recipients: a download page in the browser, with no sign-up to get the files.

The code WeTransfer emails you before sending

Since November 2024, WeTransfer has asked everyone who sends to have an account. If you don't have one, it makes one for you as you send.

If you aren't signed in, WeTransfer emails you a verification code. Enter it, then click Verify and Send. The transfer doesn't go out until you do, so check your spam folder if the code is slow.

SendTheStuff will ask for a code too, before the upload starts. After that, your browser will stay signed in, so later sends won't ask again.

Until SendTheStuff launches

Here's the best route through WeTransfer's free limit in the meantime:

1. Check what you have left: hover over your account email at the top right, or open Transfers > Sent.
2. Add up what you've sent in the last 30 days. If your file fits under what's left of 3 GB, send it with WeTransfer.
3. In Expires in, choose the longest option, 3 days.
4. Enter the emailed code and click Verify and Send.
5. If the file doesn't fit, upload it to a cloud storage service instead. Share it as "anyone with the link" and send that link.

When it doesn't work

• The file is under 3 GB, but WeTransfer won't send it. Earlier transfers in the last 30 days count toward the same 3 GB. Check Transfers > Sent, or wait for older transfers to age out.
• You've hardly sent any data, and you're still stopped. You've likely used all 10 transfers. A tiny transfer counts once, the same as a big one.
• The transfer is stuck waiting. It won't go out until you enter the emailed code and click Verify and Send.
• Your recipient says the link is dead. It expired, after 3 days at most on the free version. It can't be recovered, so send it again.
• The upload feels slow. WeTransfer's help center says: the same speed on every plan. Speed depends on your connection, so try a faster network.

If you sent it another way:

• Your cloud link asks your recipient to sign in. It's shared with specific people only. Change it to anyone with the link.