The best free file transfer services in 2026, compared

The best free file transfer service depends on three things: how big your files are, whether you want to create an account, and how long the recipient needs to download. On those criteria, as of October 2026, the free plans with the highest caps without an account are Transfr (100 GB per transfer) and SwissTransfer (50 GB), while WeTransfer’s free plan has shrunk to 3 GB per 30 days and requires an account.

We are, of course, one of the services in this list, so we have stuck to numbers each provider publishes on its own website, checked in October 2026, and pointed out where another service is the better fit. Prices and plans change; check the provider’s page before you rely on a detail.

How we compared them

• Size per transfer on the free plan, and any catch (queues, daily caps, per-file limits).
• Availability: how long the recipient has to download.
• Account rules: does the sender need to sign up?
• Security: password protection, end-to-end encryption, where files are hosted.
• Restrictions: number of transfers, downloads, recipients, commercial use.

Free file transfer services compared (October 2026)

Notes: SwissTransfer’s 30-day option ends at day 15 unless the sender confirms the extension email sent on day 12. Send Anywhere also offers direct device-to-device sending of up to 50 GB with a six-digit key. For Tresorit Send and Wormhole, the official pages we read did not state the account rules, so we marked them as not verified.

The best options by use case

Transfr

Transfr, made by the team behind the Drime cloud, sends up to 100 GB per transfer for free, with no account and no limit on the number of transfers. Files stay available for 7 days, are encrypted with AES-256 and hosted in Europe, and the free plan includes password protection, a download limit, optional end-to-end encryption, file previews, comments and file requests to receive files, plus download notifications if you sign in with a free account. There is no mobile app: it runs in any browser. Pro (€15 per month, or €144 per year) removes the size limit per transfer, extends availability to 60 days and adds download tracking and custom branding. The trade-off: 7 days is shorter than SwissTransfer’s maximum, and very large transfers depend on your upload speed like everywhere else.

SwissTransfer

Run by the Swiss host Infomaniak, SwissTransfer allows 50 GB per transfer without an account, with a choice of availability from 1 to 30 days and a download cap of up to 250 per file. Files are hosted in Switzerland and encrypted in transit and at rest, but Infomaniak states that transfers are not end-to-end encrypted. Watch the 30-day option, which requires the sender to click an extension email, and the limit of 20 recipients and 5 transfers per hour per IP address.

Smash

Smash advertises no size limit on its free plan, and that is true with a nuance: transfers up to 2 GB are prioritised, while larger ones are accepted but join a queue behind paid transfers. No account is needed, password protection is included and files stay up to 7 days. It is a good fit when you are not in a hurry; for time-sensitive deliveries over 2 GB, the queue is the thing to factor in.

TransferNow and Filemail

Both offer 5 GB per transfer for free without an account and keep files up to 7 days. TransferNow includes password protection on the free plan. Filemail limits free use to 2 transfers per 24 hours and is not available in some regions without an account. Both are straightforward for medium files, but 5 GB is quickly reached with video.

WeTransfer

The best-known name is no longer the most generous free option. Since its latest changes, WeTransfer Free allows 10 transfers or 3 GB in total per rolling 30 days, keeps files for up to 3 days, requires an account to send, and is reserved for non-commercial use. It still has a polished interface and includes password protection on the free plan. Our article WeTransfer free limits explained details how the quota works.

Privacy-first options: Tresorit Send, Wormhole and Proton Drive

If confidentiality matters more than size, Tresorit Send (5 GB, 7 days, 10 downloads per file) and Wormhole (10 GB, files up to 5 GB kept 24 hours) both encrypt files end to end in your browser. Proton Drive is cloud storage rather than a transfer service, with 5 GB free once you complete its onboarding and end-to-end encryption; sharing a file over 5 GB requires its paid Drive Plus plan. Transfr also offers optional end-to-end encryption on its free plan, with the decryption key kept in the link itself. Our explainer on end-to-end encryption shows what that protects against.

Cloud storage links: Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox

Cloud storage is free up to 15 GB at Google (shared with Gmail and Photos), 5 GB at Microsoft OneDrive and 2 GB at Dropbox Basic. It works well for files you keep, but every file counts against that quota and stays shared until you remove it. Dropbox Transfer on the Basic plan sends up to 2 GB with a fixed 7-day expiry. See Google Drive vs a file transfer service for when each makes sense.

What “free” usually costs you

• Queues or slower delivery for big files on some services.
• Short availability: 24 hours to 7 days is common; plan for the recipient’s schedule.
• Monthly or daily caps on the number or volume of transfers.
• An account requirement, which matters when you send once or help someone else send.
• Features held back for paid plans, such as tracking, branding or longer expiry.

How to choose in 30 seconds

1. 1

   Step 1

   Check the size

   Under 2 GB, almost any service works. Between 5 and 50 GB, the list narrows to a few. Above 50 GB, Transfr is the only service here with a published free cap that high; Smash accepts big transfers but queues them.

2. 2

   Step 2

   Decide on the account

   If you do not want to sign up, rule out WeTransfer, Dropbox and Google Drive.

3. 3

   Step 3

   Think about the recipient

   If they may take a week or more to download, prefer a longer availability.

4. 4

   Step 4

   Match the sensitivity

   For confidential files, choose a password and, ideally, end-to-end encryption. See our secure file transfer checklist.

For a step-by-step on sending, read how to send large files, or go straight to the page on sending large files for free. Comparisons with specific services are on our pages for WeTransfer, Smash, SwissTransfer and TransferNow.