WeTransfer still works. It just asks a lot more than it used to.
Send a client a 3GB file on the free plan and the link dies in three days, whether they downloaded it or not. Hit ten transfers in a rolling month and you're locked out until the window clears. And in July 2025 the terms of service briefly read like your uploads could be fed to a machine-learning model, which sent a lot of designers hunting for the exit. So the honest answer to "what's the best WeTransfer alternative" starts with a question almost nobody asks first: are you sending a file, or collecting them? For one-off big sends, Smash and SwissTransfer are the strongest free picks. For privacy, Proton Drive or MEGA. If you already live in Google, Drive is right there. And if the real job is pulling files from other people onto a page you own, that's a different tool entirely, which is where something like a drop endpoint (Tonta) fits. Sort by direction first, and the list gets short fast.
Why so many people started looking in the first place.
WeTransfer was acquired by Bending Spoons in 2024, and the free tier got noticeably tighter afterward. Today the free plan caps individual transfers at 3GB, limits you to roughly ten transfers (or 3GB total) in any rolling 30-day window, and expires the download link after three days. None of that is unusable, but it's a real step down from the looser service people remember, and it's enough friction that a single busy week can hit the wall.
Then came the terms-of-service episode. In July 2025 WeTransfer updated its terms with a clause granting itself a broad, sub-licensable license to use uploaded content, including language about improving "machine learning models." Read cold, it looked like the company was claiming the right to train AI on whatever you sent through it. The backlash was fast, lawyers weighed in publicly, and within about two weeks WeTransfer rewrote the clause and stated plainly that it does not use customer content to train AI models or sell it to third parties, and that the wording was meant to cover future content-moderation tooling. Worth knowing the full arc: it was a bad clause that got walked back, not a confirmed data grab. But for people moving client work or unreleased creative, "we rewrote it, trust us" was reason enough to shop around.
Five things that separate these tools, and one that separates the categories.
Every roundup lists the same features. These are the ones that actually change which tool you should pick.
The size ceiling
Free limits run from 2GB up to 50GB depending on the service. If you send video, raw photo sets, or design files, WeTransfer's 3GB cap is the thing you keep bumping into. SwissTransfer's 50GB and Smash's no-size-limit free tier exist precisely for that.
How long the link lives
WeTransfer free expires in three days. SwissTransfer holds files 30 days, TransferNow and Smash around a week, Send Anywhere just two. If your recipient is slow to download, a short expiry means resending, and resending eats your monthly quota.
Passwords and encryption
A password on the link is table stakes and most tools offer it. True end-to-end encryption, where even the provider can't read your files, is rarer: Proton Drive and MEGA are the names to know there. For sensitive material, that distinction matters more than raw file size.
Signup friction
Part of WeTransfer's original charm was that neither side needed an account. Smash, SwissTransfer, TransferNow, and Send Anywhere keep that no-signup flow. Anything built on cloud storage (Drive, Dropbox, MEGA) asks the sender to have an account, and often nudges the recipient toward one too.
Where the file goes
A transfer tool hands the recipient a temporary link. Cloud storage keeps a permanent copy you manage. Those are different jobs with different failure modes. Transfer tools lose the file on expiry; storage tools fill up and start charging. Know which behavior you actually want.
Sending versus collecting
This is the fork the other four hang off. Firing one big file at a client is the opposite problem from getting fifty files back from fifty people. WeTransfer and its clones are built for sending. Collecting is where they get awkward and a different kind of tool takes over.
If you just need to get a big file out the door.
These are the closest drop-in replacements for what WeTransfer used to be: paste a file, get a link, no account required. Free tiers current as of mid-2026, verify before you lean on them.
Smash
The one with no size limit on free.
- ✓ No file-size cap on the free tier and unlimited transfers, which is the single biggest thing WeTransfer free took away
- ✓ Password protection and personalized links, no signup to send
- × Very large free transfers can be queued or throttled, and the free expiry window is short (around a week)
SwissTransfer
50GB free, hosted in Switzerland.
- ✓ 50GB per transfer free, no ads, no registration, links live for 30 days
- ✓ Optional password, Swiss data hosting, run by Infomaniak
- × "Swiss privacy" is about jurisdiction and HTTPS, not confirmed end-to-end encryption, so don't treat it as zero-knowledge
TransferNow
5GB free with no monthly quota.
- ✓ 5GB per transfer, no cap on how many transfers you send per month, password included
- ✓ Send by link or by email notification, no account needed
- × 5GB is better than WeTransfer's 3GB but still tight for heavy video; expiry on free is about a week
Send Anywhere
Direct device-to-device with a 6-digit key.
- ✓ Up to 10GB free, and its peer-to-peer mode moves files directly without a long stay on someone's server
- ✓ No account required, works well phone-to-phone and across platforms
- × Link-based transfers expire fast on free (around two days), so it rewards both sides being online at once
Most of these tools do the same job well. The real fork isn't which is best, it's whether your files are going out or coming in.
When the files themselves are the sensitive part.
Proton Drive
End-to-end encrypted, Swiss-based.
- ✓ Zero-knowledge encryption, so Proton itself can't read your files, plus shareable links with passwords and expiry
- ✓ 5GB free storage, part of the wider Proton privacy ecosystem
- × It's cloud storage with sharing bolted on, not a fast paste-and-send tool; the free storage fills quickly with large files
MEGA
Big free storage, encrypted by default.
- ✓ 20GB free storage with end-to-end encryption on everything, and links that carry the decryption key in the URL
- ✓ Generous transfer sizes and a genuine free footprint for both storing and sending
- × That key-in-the-link design means anyone with the full link can open the file, so guard the link like the file itself
Storage you're paying for anyway can do this too.
Google Drive
Fine if the recipient lives in Google.
- ✓ 15GB free, no expiry, and everyone already has it; sharing a link takes two clicks
- ✓ Files stay put and stay organized in folders you control
- × Permissions get fiddly with non-Google recipients, and collecting files from many people means everyone needing access to a folder, which is clumsy
Dropbox
Only 2GB free, but the transfer flow is clean.
- ✓ A dedicated transfer feature that behaves a lot like WeTransfer, plus solid sync if you're already in the ecosystem
- ✓ Reliable, well-known, easy for recipients who don't want an account
- × The 2GB free storage tier is the smallest here, so it's really only free-friendly for light or occasional use
If the actual job is getting files from other people.
Every tool above is built around sending. The moment you flip it, gathering files from clients, event guests, or applicants onto something you own, the expiring-link model stops fitting. That's a different category, and it's the honest place Tonta belongs on this list.
Tonta
A drop page you own, not a link that expires.
- ✓ You set up an upload endpoint or shareable drop page and hand out one link; every file people upload lands in one folder in your dashboard, and it doesn't vanish in three days
- ✓ Images get resized, compressed, and converted to WebP on the way in, and served from a CDN, so a 40MB phone photo doesn't arrive as a 40MB phone photo
- ✓ Real free tier: 5GB and one uploader, no card, and the person uploading needs no account of their own
- × It leans developer-first: you add it with a script tag or configure an uploader, so it's more setup than pasting a file into WeTransfer, and it's the wrong tool for firing off a single big file to one client
The distinction is worth sitting with, because it's where most "WeTransfer alternative" lists quietly mislead you. If you need to send one 4GB video to a client this afternoon, Tonta is overkill and Smash or SwissTransfer will do it in a browser tab. But if you're a photographer collecting selects back from twenty clients a month, or running a form where people upload their files to your site, an expiring one-way link is the wrong shape entirely. You want a persistent place you control, and you want the incoming files processed and organized rather than dumped. A couple of honest caveats, since this is a roundup and not a sales page: things like per-file size caps, retention guarantees, and formal GDPR terms aren't spelled out in enough detail on the public docs to promise here, so if you're moving regulated or legally sensitive material, confirm those specifics directly before you commit. Setup and pricing live on the Tonta pricing page.
Free tiers, side by side, so you can stop tab-hopping.
| Tool | Free size | Expiry | No signup to send | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WeTransfer | 3GB / transfer | 3 days | Yes | The familiar default, now tighter |
| Smash | No size cap | ~7 days | Yes | Oversized one-off sends |
| SwissTransfer | 50GB / transfer | 30 days | Yes | Big files, long link life, EU hosting |
| TransferNow | 5GB / transfer | ~7 days | Yes | Frequent sends, no monthly quota |
| Send Anywhere | 10GB | ~2 days | Yes | Direct device-to-device |
| Proton Drive | 5GB storage | You set it | No | End-to-end encrypted sharing |
| MEGA | 20GB storage | You set it | No | Encrypted storage plus sending |
| Google Drive | 15GB storage | None | No | Recipients already in Google |
| Dropbox | 2GB storage | You set it | No | Existing Dropbox users |
| Tonta | 5GB, 1 uploader | Persistent | Uploader needs none | Collecting files from many people |
Pick by the sentence that describes your week.
Skip the feature matrices and finish one of these sentences. "I need to send a huge file once and never think about it again": Smash for no size limit, SwissTransfer if you also want the link to survive a month. "I send files constantly and keep hitting monthly caps": TransferNow, because it doesn't meter your number of transfers. "The files are confidential and I don't want the provider able to read them": Proton Drive or MEGA, for actual end-to-end encryption rather than just a password. "The recipient already lives in Google Workspace": Drive, and don't overthink it. "People keep sending files to me and it's chaos": that's not a send problem, it's a collect problem, and a drop page like Tonta is built for exactly that shape.
The mistake almost everyone makes is picking on free-tier size alone, then discovering the tool was built for the opposite direction of travel. Match the direction first, the size second. WeTransfer itself is still perfectly fine for what it does, incidentally; if the free caps don't pinch you and the terms rewrite reassured you, staying put is a legitimate answer too.
What's the best free alternative to WeTransfer?
For pure sending, SwissTransfer (50GB free, 30-day links, no signup) and Smash (no size cap on free) are the strongest free picks in 2026. If privacy is the priority, Proton Drive or MEGA give you real end-to-end encryption. There's no single "best," it depends on file size, how long the link needs to live, and whether you're sending files or collecting them.
Is there a WeTransfer alternative with no file size limit?
Smash is the closest: its free tier advertises no file-size cap and unlimited transfers, though very large sends can be queued and the free link expires within about a week. SwissTransfer's 50GB free ceiling is high enough that most people never reach it. For truly enormous media libraries, a pay-per-GB service aimed at video professionals may work out cheaper than a subscription.
Did WeTransfer really change its terms to train AI on my files?
In July 2025 WeTransfer added a broad license clause that mentioned improving machine-learning models, and people reasonably read it as claiming AI-training rights over uploads. After heavy backlash the company rewrote the clause within about two weeks and stated it does not use customer content to train AI or sell it to third parties, explaining the language was meant for future content-moderation tools. So: a badly worded clause that was walked back, not a confirmed data grab, but enough to make many creative pros switch.
What's the most secure WeTransfer alternative?
For end-to-end encryption, where the provider itself can't read your files, Proton Drive and MEGA lead. Both encrypt content client-side. A password on a normal transfer link (offered by Smash, SwissTransfer, TransferNow) protects against a leaked link but isn't the same as zero-knowledge encryption. Match the level to how sensitive the material actually is.
How do I collect files from a lot of people at once?
Send-style tools handle this badly, because each person would need to start their own transfer back to you. Better options are a request-a-file feature (Dropbox and some transfer tools offer one) or a dedicated upload page you own, where you hand out a single link and every file lands in one folder. A drop-page tool like Tonta is purpose-built for that, and the person uploading doesn't need an account.
Sending? Grab one of the free senders above.
Collecting is the job the transfer tools fumble. If you keep chasing files from clients or a crowd, spin up a drop page you actually own on the free tier and see how it feels, no card required.