Sending files back and forth to your coworkers or clients is an essential part of most workplaces, and when you're working from home, transferring flies can become a little tricky. The good news is there are a ton of services — for individuals and businesses alike — that specialize in moving files and online storage to let you share those crucial documents or projects when you want. Here are our favorite file transfer services!
Google Drive
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Google Drive is a good option if you're already invested in the Google ecosystem. Chances are you already have a Google account and are already using it, but if you're not, then creating an account is free and nets you 15GB of space to start with. Google storage takes into account all of your stuff from Gmail, Photos, and Drive, so depending on how you're using Google services, it may fill up quickly (Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides don't count). Google Drive's pricing tiers are as follows:
- 15G: Free
- 100GB: $1.99/mo
- 200GB: $2.99/mo
- 2TB: $9.99/mo
- 10TB: $99.99/mo
- 20TB: $199.99/mo
- 30TB: $299.99/mo
Google Drive is available on any connected device you can think of, which makes it super easy to store and transfer your files from any computer, tablet, or phone you want.
Google Drive gives all users 15GB for free, and for most, it's definitely enough space considering it works across Gmail, Photos, and Drive. Paying for more storage is pretty reasonable.
Dropbox
I have been using Dropbox for years, but its prices aren't the best value (it was with Google Drive pricing before their price increases). However, it's so ubiquitous with integrations in third-party apps and services that it's hard to stop using it.
A free Dropbox account gets you a measly 2GB of free space, which is the smallest amount out of all of your options. However, you can bump that up to around 16GB if you max out the number of referral bonuses and activities, such as installing it on multiple devices. But if you want to get the most of Dropbox, then it's best to pay for it. There are several different tiers for both individuals and teams.
- 2GB free, more space earned with referral bonuses
- 2TB Plus, $11.99/mo or $120 a year
- 3TB Professional, $19.99/mo or $199 a year
- 5TB Standard Team, $15 per user per month or $150 per user per year
- Unlimited Advanced Team, $25 per user per month or $240 per user per year
Dropbox has the worst free storage amount, but you can bump it up through referrals and other activities. The paid plans are a little expensive now, but it really shines when it comes to app integrations because it's supported by everything.
WeTransfer
While it's a much smaller service than Dropbox or Google Drive, WeTransfer is file transferring and sharing made pretty simple. Heck, you don't even need to sign up for an account if you don't want — you do need to supply an email address, though.
WeTransfer can be entirely managed by visiting the website, and it's super convenient. Pick your file(s) (which can be up to 2GB in size), enter the receiving email address, and you're done. You can also copy the link to the files, and that link stays active for seven days. Plus, all of this is free, but you can pay for some additional features.
If you opt for a WeTransfer Pro, you can set specific time limits for your files, protect your files with passwords, transfer files up to 20GB in size, and more, but it will cost you about $12 a month.
WeTransfer is incredibly easy to use and can be completely free if you don't mind some limitations. Just upload the files you want to send and the email address of the recipient.
Send Anywhere
Send Anywhere is another simple and straightforward service that offers a pretty generous amount of storage and file transfer sizes, even for its free version.
You can easily add files from the website and have multiple ways you share your files. You can do it right through the sit with a code, share a URL link, or even through email. Plus, Send Anywhere has dedicated apps for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS, so you don't have to use the website if you don't want.
Send Anywhere will let you share files up to 10GB in size for free, which makes it one of the best sharing services in terms of file size per price, but the link will only be function 48 hours. You can sign up for a Send Anywhere Plus account, costing $5.99 a month, and that will net you 1TB of storage and allow you to share files up to 50GB in size.
Send Anywhere is perfect for individuals looking to send files in a straightforward manner, its lack of professional features (even using its paid service) likely makes it unsuitable for businesses.
DropSend
DropSend Is a relatively inexpensive option for file sharing but does come with its fair share of limitations. The free version is limiting to only four file transfers a month, and those files can only be up to 4GB in size.
If you upgrade to the Basic subscription at $5 a month, you'll get 15 file transfers a month with files up to 8GB in size and 1GB of online storage. You can go up to the standard plan at $9 a month, which allows you 45 file transfers a month and $10 of storage. Plus, you'll get access to drag and drop support and faster transfer speeds. DropSend also has even more expensive plans that offer encryption for files, more file transfers per month, and even more online storage.
With apps available on iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac, its easy to send files from any device, and DropSend simple file transfer manager makes it easy to see who's received and downloaded your files.
With options for both individuals and professionals, DropSend has several different tiers to choose from; however, their free level isn't really worth considering for most people.
Box
Box is very similar to Dropbox when it comes to storage and file sharing, but is often seen as the more business-focused service due to its advanced features.
Once you've set up your Box account, sharing files is easy. You can right-click on them your uploaded files to create a unique link to share with whomever you want. Plus, you can set a password and any expiry date to the files. You can even invite people to collaborate with you on documents and files, making it easy to work together on specific projects with your team.
Some other professional features include desktop and mobile file syncing and in-browser previews of your files. If you plan on using Box for personal use, there is a free tier that gives individual users 10GB of storage space for free but only has a file size limit of 250MB.
Luckily, the paid plans start from as low as $5 a month, which can give you 100GB of storage with file limits of 2GB.
Box is very geared towards professional use, but for $5 a month, 100GB of online storage and file transfers of up to 2GB is a pretty great deal.
What service do you use?
Let us know in the comments below.
