In November 2013, I wrote an article presenting 9 Services for Sending Large Files via Email. On these 9 sites, only 3 still exist today. So I decided to update this article to offer you a more up-to-date selection of sites that allow you to easily share large files.
The observation I have made is that there are now 2 types of tools (with the exception of the brilliant extraterrestrial that is takeafile.com). The tools that have rushed in the wake of WeTransfer and therefore offer ephemeral sharing and the more advanced tools that allow you to create accounts and facilitate file management.
So here are 10 free sites for sending large files. The order of these sites does not constitute a ranking.
WeTransfer
A benchmark service for transferring large files, WeTransfer is among the survivors of my 2013 article.
Simple, fast and practical tool, you just need to add the files, specify the email address of your contacts, as well as the sender, and possibly an accompanying message (for more details see our article).
WeTransfer allows you to transfer files up to 2GB and your files are available for 7 days. There is also a paid version that allows you to transfer larger files and stores them for longer.
takeafile.com
Launched on the web in 2016, this service is a revolution in the small world of sharing large files. Indeed, takeafile.com gets around 2 of the drawbacks of other services since it allows you to transfer files no size limit and without being stored on a remote server. The downside is that you have to keep your web browser open until your contact has downloaded your file.
ydray
Another very practical tool that has survived for more than 2 years, Ydray is based on the same model as WeTransfer with the significant possibility of sending files up to 5GB. These will then remain available online for 7 days. We had already spoken a few years ago on Byothe.fr, but the service has improved!
Mailbigfile.com
Another survivor from our 2013 article, Mailbigfile.com is also based on the WeTransfer model since it allows you to send up to 5 files simultaneously for a maximum total weight of 2GB in its free version. A little originality, the files will be kept for 10 days!
HighTail.com
The last survivor of 2013, HighTail.com (formerly YouSendIt) is intended to be more dedicated to professional use thanks to a series of collaborative tools: create spaces for each project and share the link to these spaces with your collaborators, versioning tool to see old versions of files, comment system for files.
In its free version, you will have to create a user account that will allow you to create as many spaces as you want with a limit of 250MB of files in each space.
TransferNow
Again, nothing very original since we are still starting from a WeTransfer model (even the name is similar). However, let's not spit in the soup since this tool made in France allows you to share files up to 4GB without registration with a validity of 15 days!
On the other hand, if you choose to create a free account, you will be allowed to transfer files up to 5GB with 21 days availability. Registration also allows you to manage your transfers, which can be very useful in certain cases.
SendBox
With a Dropbox-style graphic charter, SendBox allows you to send files up to 3GB for free and without registration. The offer is not very detailed, but there is also a paid offer that seems to have many advantages but whose operation is rather poorly explained.
BigFiles
The good thing about the Swiss is that they don't take themselves seriously... they call a spade a spade! GrosFichiers, as its name suggests, allows you to transfer large files for free. Here, the size limit is set at 2 GB and availability reaches a very respectable 14 days.
The service is pretty well designed and provides you with a link that will allow you to manage your file (including deleting it) and track download statistics.
WeSend
In the case of WeSend, the free version of the service is just a stepping stone to encourage you to upgrade to the premium version. Indeed, the free version requires registration and allows you to share files of up to 40MB, with a limit of 100MB per month. This solution is clearly to be preferred in the case of files of a few MB.
On the other hand, the service offers quite a few features such as the ability to provide a link to your contacts so that they can share large files with you on your WeSend space. You will also have a lot of information regarding traceability of your files.
Poetic
Yet another clone of WeTransfer, but one that does better than the original since it offers you the possibility to share for free. files up to 5GB with a shelf life of 10 days.
So, did you know them all? Do you have other sharing services in mind?
For my part, I use myairbridge.com which allows you to send up to 20 GB, a marvel!!
Hi,
I use Filemail which allows me to send up to 30GB in the free version.
Thanks for the info, but I have the impression that Filemail is chargeable?
Try CatUpload! It's ad-free and totally free up to 3GB!
Hello,
Thanks for mentioning the free French service TransferNow in your article 😉
I would like to make a small correction: it is possible to send up to 4 GB per transfer as a guest and 5 GB with a free account.
I'm changing it 😉
Thank you Florent,
Hello, we should also mention J-Doc, a French Tech offer that already existed in 2011, as simple as Dropbox and much less expensive for companies with more than 5 users.
J-Doc ensures a high level of security by creating a subdomain per client, personalized with the company logo.
Very intuitive, it allows an unlimited number of users, with a single subscription, to share files with people inside or outside the company. www.j-doc.com
Thanks for the advice. Maybe you can also add MyAirBridge (www.myairbridge.com). Totally free and without registration, you can send up to 20 GB.
Hello,
Thanks for all these rich lessons but you don't talk about the arrival of the transferred elements - Some people don't know how to decompress the images!!! Do they all arrive compressed on these sites?
Thanks again,
Phil
Hello,
I don't quite understand the meaning of your comment...
Indeed, most of the time when you send several images, they can be downloaded in a compressed file (Zip)... The decompression operation is relatively simple, just right-click on the archive and choose the "Extract" option.
After some sites like GrosFichiers allow you to download an archive or all the images independently.
Hello,
Can we decompress on a simple tablet... That is to say a tablet that just does emails and photos.
Thanks again for your patience…
Phil
If it's an Apple tablet (iPad) I don't think so... otherwise on Windows, no problem and on Android I think it's possible but with a decompression application... but I don't know the Android universe well...
put an s: You will thus obtain a whole series of information
Sorry but I don't see the mistake?
if there is a series there are several so write a series of information…;-))
Apart from that, following my visit to your page I used filemail for a 1,8G file. Several hours of downloading, no better than Wetransfer. But I live in the countryside, far from the exchange (between 500 and 800 kb/s. On the other hand, my correspondents succeeded in less than 30 min.
Disadvantage/wetransfer: fewer recipients?
I can't find it anymore. Excuse me if I got distracted...
Very disappointed by wetransfer, which does not send my files after telling me that they had been transferred!! I will go to 1 of the other services indicated by this article, very complete by the way thank you!
ps: and the cherry on the cake, wetransfer does a lot of propaganda with a moralistic guilt-inducing sauce, it's quite disturbing...
It's annoying to lose files on the go!!
Hi, for your information, there is also this now that I have just discovered (French and eco-friendly site):
https://filevert.fr/
Thank you