Thanks to the internet, file sharing has become extremely easy. Whether you work for a business or as a freelancer or just want to share cute cat videos with friends & family, file sharing is something everyone’s familiar with.
There are many ways you can share files over the internet, you can use an email or even better you can go for a cloud-hosted file sharing platforms (which can provide you with speed, security, and a bunch of other neat features), there are a lot of them available out there, let’s take a look at some of the best file sharing services.
Dropbox
Dropbox has been the leader of the file sharing and storage services, since its beginning (2007). And there are a lot of reasons for that: its slick, it’s reliable, it’s convenient, and I don’t think there is any platform out there on which it doesn’t work.
One can easily share files via URL with just a few clicks from iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and so forth, you can apply time limits & password protection on it too. And the recipient does not necessarily need a Dropbox account to download the files.
Dropbox only problem is that its free account starts out with just 2 GB storage capacity which is way lower than what Google Drive or other services offer. If you need more storage, individual plans start from $11.99/mo, with business team plans starting from $15/mo, with annual payment discounts available.
Google Drive
Another giant in the file sharing space, Google Drive offers cloud storage to keep all your data (documents, audio, videos, everything) in one place.
Files can be easily shared via email or link; however, it doesn’t have time limit or password options. But you can limit the edits that the recipients can make: as expected, it’s perfect for sharing files from Google Docs, Sheets and Slides.
Like Dropbox, Google Drive too can be accessed from almost every platform out there, whether mobile or desktop. Users get 15 GB for free across Drive and other services like Google Photos and Gmail, so if you need more, you can either buy more storage within Google Drive, or upgrade to Google One (from $1.34 a month and up), to get extra benefits.
WeTransfer
WeTransfer allows you to quickly share files without any registration, all you have to do is to just supply yours & the recipients email addresses (up to 3) along with the file (or files (up to 2 GB)), and you’re good to go. You can email or copy the link to the files to unlimited people, and the link stays active for seven days.
Nothing can beat WeTransfer when it comes to simplicity. WeTransfer apps for Mac, iOS and Android are available, if needed.
All that is free, but with a Pro account ($12/mo or $120/yr) you can email transfers to up to 50 people, set time limits for your downloads, send and receive up to 20 GB, password-protect your files, change the look of the share screen, get 1 TB storage and more besides.
Hightail
Hightail is a professional-level file collaboration service that works on the premise of something they call “Spaces” which allows team members to share files (such as videos and images) with one another and collaborate.
This completely revamped version of YouSendIt makes adding files very easy; Whether you prefer to select files, drag, and drop or import content from other services (such as Drive or Dropbox), Hightail makes it easy to upload and share your work.
For free, Hightail allows you to share only a 100 MB file (& 2 GB of storage space). There’s plenty more to Hightail, which you can get by signing up to one of the paid plans, starting at $12/month.
MediaFire
MediaFire has been in the business of file sharing since the last 13 years, and it covers online file storage too. To get started, you’ll first have to create a free account, with that done you’ll get 10 GB of storage space and an unlimited number of shares.
It’s got a very sleek and convenient interface that makes file (or a group of files) uploading very easy, and from there you can share them with just a few clicks (for sensitive personal or work documents you can even create a one-time download link). If you want to share files from your phone then Android and iOS apps are available.
If you want more storage space and feature you can upgrade to one of the paid plains, the pro plan costs $7.50 when billed annually for 1 TB of storage along with other interesting features. Business users can get 100 TB for $80 a month when billed quarterly.
Box
Like Dropbox, this platform too combines file storage and syncing with file sharing. So, if you love Dropbox but want it to be more business-focused then Box is the best solution for you. It’s used by more than 95K organizations around the world, including 70% of the Fortune 500.
You’ll need to create an account to get started, with that done, you’ll have to upload some files into your cloud storage, after that sharing files is as easy as right-clicking on them to generate a unique share link – if you want you can set a password and an expiry date on the link, and even invite other people to collaborate on files. Nothing is hard about controlling and configuring inside Box.
You get a number of other features too, such as desktop and mobile file syncing, and in-browser previews of your files (you can view 120+ types of files, including Word, Excel, PDF, AI, EPS, PSD, photos and more). For individual users, the vendor gives you a generous 10 GB of storage space for free, with an upload limit of 250 MB.
Slack
If you’re looking to share a select few documents rather than a huge archive then this online communication platform will be enough for you.
Let’s say your team is working on a project, and need to keep all your documentation in one place. This is easy to set up in Slack, also unlike other general file-sharing services, this platform allows for more user control, so you’ll easily able to control which team members have access to which documents, without having to worry about over-complicated permissions.
What makes it even better is that it has a free tier with a generous 5 GB/team member of storage, so you can try it out without any or very minimal investment of money, time and effort. Paid-for plans come with a plethora of extra features including phone and video conferencing on top of messaging, with increased storage.