16 free services for sharing large files.
Contents
Today we bring you a compilation with 16 free tools for sharing large filesEither by email or simply by sending a link. It is a type of website that can be useful in the professional field, but also when sending a particularly heavy file to a friend or family member.
We are going to start this article with a comparison chart in which we are going to add the main data of the services on our list. And then we will talk to you one by one about each of the selected services. You will see that we have everything, from those that have a size limit of one or two gigabytes but favor ease of use, to others with which you can send files of 10 or more gigabytes in weight.
Comparison of services to send large files
|
Service name |
Free maximum size 
|
Days available |
Download limit 
|
Encryption type |
Requires registration 
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
TeraShare |
Unlimited |
Unlimited 
|
Unlimited |
RC4 |
Requires an app 
|
|
WeTransfer |
2 GB |
7 days |
Unlimited 
|
AES-256 |
Requires an app |
|
SendThisFile 
|
Unlimited |
3 days |
Unlimited |
AES-256 |
Yes |
|
Firefox Send |
1 GB |
24 hours 
|
1 |
AES-128 |
Not |
|
Ydray 
|
5 GB |
7 days |
Unlimited |
Yes |
Not |
|
Smash |
Unlimited |
14 days |
Unlimited |
Unspecified |
Not |
|
MailBigFile |
2 GB |
10 days |
20 times |
Unspecified |
Not |
|
Filemail |
50 GB |
7 days |
Unlimited |
Unspecified |
Not |
|
DropSend |
4GB |
7 days |
1 |
AES-256 |
Not |
|
TransferNow |
4GB |
7 days |
Unlimited |
Unspecified |
Not |
|
NoFile.io |
10 GB |
7 days |
Not specified |
AES-128 |
Not |
|
Fastest Fish |
Unlimited |
Until you disconnect the browser |
Unlimited |
Unspecified |
Not |
|
Instant.io |
Unlimited |
Until you disconnect the browser |
Unlimited |
Unspecified |
Not |
|
Volafile |
20 GB |
2 days |
Unlimited |
Unspecified |
Not |
|
Google drive |
15 GB |
Unlimited |
Unlimited |
AES-256 |
Yes |
It is a file sharing system that combines a P2P system with cloud storage. Requires you to install a small application, and its behavior depends on the size of your file. If it is less than 10 GB, it will be stored in the cloud so that whoever wants to download it whenever they want, and if it is higher, you will send it by pure P2P.
This means that the recipients of your files they will be able to start downloading them before you complete any type of upload, although if it is not uploaded the download will be slower. TeraShare uses RC4 encryption, and its great disadvantage is that it is a bit complicated to use by uninitiated users.
WeTransfer
WeTransfer is one of the simplest services you can find to share files. It has a free mode that does not need any registration, and with which you can send up to 2 GB of data No limit on the number of files included in that capacity. Of course, if you are looking for more space you will have to pay the 12 euros per month that its plus version costs.
This service uses TLS encryption while files are uploaded to its servers, where it stores them with AES-256 encryption. One of the drawbacks is that there is no option in its free mode to add a password to the download, so anyone who obtains the link can get hold of the files.
SendThisFile
If you are looking for the ability to share files without limits on their size, SendThisFile may be an option to consider. However, and although it is still free, its negative point is that requires you to register with a free account to use it.
Files are transmitted with 128-bit TLS encryption, but are kept stored with AES-256. Its free mode allows you to upload a file to a single container with no size limit, but being able to access it for only 3 days. As usual, if you want advanced benefits you will have to resort to its multiple payment plans that range from 5 to 100 dollars a month.
Firefox Send
If all you need is send a file to a single person, the Send project supported by the experimental web program Firefox Test Pilot is a very simple solution to use. It is free and you do not need registration, and all you have to do is drop a file on the web and share the link that you will generate with it.
You have to take into account some limits, like that the link disappears after the first download or after 24 hours, or that the maximum size is 1 GB. However, this precisely makes it perfect for submitting files that you don’t want redistributed by sharing the link. Everything is erased from the servers once the link is gone, and the service uses AES-128 encryption.
Ydray
Ydray is a service developed in Spain competing to gain a foothold among the proposals for sending large files. For this, it has a free version in which you can send up to 50 files that occupy a total of up to 5 GB to a maximum of 20 recipients in the mail delivery mode, although if you generate a link you will not have a download limit.
To use it you will not need to register or create accounts, and the files will remain available for 7 days after you upload them. The only downside is that they do not specify what encryption they use, although they assure that they secure the files with the rules of the LOPD.
Smash
Another alternative if you are looking for a particularly simple solution is Smash, whose free plan allows you to send files without size limit, keeping them available for 14 days. The web is so simple that the only thing you will see on it is a button to open the file explorer and decide which one you want to upload, at which point you will send it and the link will be generated.
You can add password to downloads, and you won’t even need to register to use it. The service has a payment plan that, for 5 euros a month, allows you to keep the files for more than 14 days, have priority transfers and a history and reports to see how many times they have been sent.
MailBigFile
MailBigFile has an interface quite similar to that of WeTransfer, and in its free mode too you can upload up to 2GB one-time data. Of course, with a limit of 5 unique files in a container, which will be kept for 10 days on their servers so that they can be downloaded up to 20 times. The downside is that AES 256-bit encryption is only included in their paid plans.
Filemail
If the need to have a large size in the files that can be sent is more important than your privacy, Filemail may interest you a lot. Allows you to send files up to 50GB, which will stay online for 7 days, but their free plan does not include any encryption, which makes it inadvisable for sending confidential documents.
For the rest, with this service you will not need to create an account to use its free mode, which includes the possibility of control the number of times it has been downloaded each file or the time until it expires.
DropSend
DropSend is a service that allows you send up to 5 files of 4 GB per month. It is quick and simple, and does not require installing any type of software. In addition, it encrypts files with the AES 256-bit standard. The files are sent by mail, being able to indicate yours, that of the person to whom you send it and include a message.
TransferNow
If you want to use TransferNow you will not need to register. In each shipment you can send up to 250 files with a total size of 4 GB, with each transfer being able to send it to up to 20 different senders. Transfers can be password protected, and there is no download limit when sharing.
The files are available for download for seven days, although sharing them will give you the possibility to configure a specific lower period to your liking. You also have acknowledgments of receipt and shipments through HTTPS. Of course, I’m afraid nothing at all about encryption, or at least they don’t talk about it on their website.
NoFile.io
If you are looking for a service in which first to be able to keep files in the cloud for as long as possible, you may be interested in looking at NoFile.io. It is characterized because you have various online file durability settings, and in addition to 30 days you have another option called “as long as possible”, which without giving a specific date makes the service commit to keeping the files online for as long as possible.
The service uses AES-128 encryption, has a limit of 10 GB per file and practically not any browser works. They do not specify the maximum number of people who can download the file, so we assume that there are no limits, and everything is completely free pending the introduction of payment plans in the near future.
Fastest Fish
Fastest Fish is a P2P service in its purest form. Instead of uploading a file to the service’s server, what it does is generate a private link that you have to send to the other person. Then, when the other person opens the link, the file that has been selected previously will be sent.
The inconvenience of all this is that both computers, the sender and the receiver, have to be turned on at the same time and connected to the web for the duration of the transfer. The positive point, on the other hand, is that there are no limits on size of the files to send. The service has full support for Chrome, and partial for Edge and Firefox.
Instant.io
Another curious hybrid between conventional file sharing services and P2P is Instant.io. What it does is create a torrent with the file you send it, and then you share it with the URL Magnet so anyone can download it. During this download, both the sender and the receiver have to be connected. Come on, the difference with the previous service is that it creates a torrent file or Magnet link that is easier to handle in Torrent clients.
Volafile
Volafile is a service that focuses on anonymity during submissions, so it will neither ask you to register nor request data such as your email, phone number or any other that may lead to identify you. That means that there is neither a mobile application nor payment methods to expand its possibilities.
Its operation is also different, since the first thing you will have to do is create a private chat room in which you are given a URL to invite other people. In that room you can upload files of up to 20 GB in size that disappear after 2 days, say what you want and let those who go download them, speak or upload their own files to the chat.
Google drive
And although it was not designed for it, and it certainly does not have the ability to send files as large as some other features, we are going to end up with an application as well known as Google Drive precisely because almost everyone has a Google account. You need to register, yes, but any Android user already has an account.
With Google Drive you can send files up to 5 TB in weight, but the free version it only allows you up to 15 GB of storage, so obviously without paying this is the maximum that you will be able to send. Regarding security, Google Drive uses an encryption of your files when uploading them to its cloud, and allows you to use two steps to protect them.
Other personal clouds
Microsoft OneDrive offers you 5 GB of free storage, Amazon Drive 10 GB, and you also have other alternatives ranging from DropBox to Mega, which are services that although are not promoted by sending large files Yes, they can help you get out of more than one predicament. Of course, in all of them you will have to register to use them.
BONUS: Telegram
And already looking for simple solutions, there will always be Telegram. Perhaps it is not the safest solution because it does not have the complex encryption of the rest of the services, but it offers you a fast way to send any type of file up to 1.5 GB. And since it has both desktop and mobile clients, it’s a versatile alternative where they exist.
