Guides to sending files
Plain-English help for getting files from one place to another: which service to use, how to keep quality, what the limits are, and how to stay safe. Written by the team that builds TransferFiles.net, and updated when the services we cover change.
Comparisons
Honest, side-by-side looks at popular transfer services, checked against their own pricing pages.
File transfer services compared (2026)
One table with the free limits, retention, encryption and paid entry price of eleven file transfer services, plus which one fits which job.
ComparisonsTransferFiles.net vs Dropbox Transfer
What Dropbox Transfer allows on Basic, Plus and business plans, how expiry and deletion work, and when to skip it for a live transfer.
ComparisonsFilemail vs TransferFiles.net
Filemail's free 5 GB tier, its daily transfer cap, and what the desktop app, UDP acceleration and FTP add on paid plans.
ComparisonsTransferFiles.net vs Google Drive: storage service or hand-off?
Drive's shared 15 GB quota, its sharing permission traps, Google One tiers, and when a live peer-to-peer transfer is less hassle.
ComparisonsHightail in 2026: what is left of the free plan, and what to use instead
Hightail's current status under OpenText, its 100 MB free limit, and a replacement guide by use case.
ComparisonsMASV vs TransferFiles.net: what you pay for, and when it is worth it
Worked MASV cost examples and an honest look at when a pro media transfer service beats a free peer-to-peer one.
ComparisonspCloud Transfer vs TransferFiles.net
How the redesigned pCloud Transfer works in 2026, and when a live browser-to-browser transfer makes more sense.
ComparisonsSend Anywhere vs TransferFiles.net
Send Anywhere's 6-digit key and share-link modes explained, with their real limits and where a browser P2P transfer differs.
ComparisonsSmash vs TransferFiles.net
What Smash's free 'no size limit' really involves, from the 2 GB priority queue to 7-day links and Pro pricing.
ComparisonsTransferFiles.net vs TransferNow
TransferNow's free 5 GB links versus a live, uncapped browser-to-browser transfer, with three worked scenarios.
ComparisonsTransferFiles.net vs WeTransfer: which one fits your transfer?
WeTransfer's free plan after the Bending Spoons changes, its paid tiers, and when a live peer-to-peer transfer is the better tool.
Guides
How file transfer actually works, and how to do it safely.
File transfer time calculator
Work out how long a file will take to send at your connection speed, and why Mbps is not MB/s.
GuidesFile sharing without an account: what works and what it costs you
Which file transfer services work without sign-up, what they still ask for, and the trade-offs of skipping an account.
GuidesFree ways to send large files in 2026
An honest comparison of free cloud links, transfer services, peer-to-peer tools and local transfers, with their real limits.
GuidesEmail attachment size limits: every major provider, and why your file still bounces
Per-provider sending and receiving limits for Gmail, Outlook, Microsoft 365, Yahoo, iCloud, Proton and Zoho, and why encoding makes files bigger.
GuidesFile transfer blocked or slow on this network? How to diagnose and fix it
A symptom-by-symptom guide to transfers that fail on corporate, school, hotel and public Wi-Fi or behind a VPN.
GuidesIs it safe to receive files? A checklist before you open anything
A practical safety checklist for files from strangers, clients and friends, including fake 'you've received files' emails.
GuidesHow much mobile data does sending a large file use?
Worked examples of the mobile data a transfer really uses, plus hotspot, roaming and Low Data Mode tips.
GuidesHow to transfer files from a PC to your phone without a USB cable
Every wireless way to get files from a Windows PC to an Android phone or iPhone, with steps, limits and realistic speeds.
GuidesWhat is WebRTC? A practical guide to browser-to-browser connections
How WebRTC data channels, signaling, STUN and TURN actually work, explained without hand-waving.
GuidesPeer-to-peer file sharing: how it works and which kind to use
Browser P2P, local-network apps and BitTorrent compared: how each connects, what it is good at, and the legal basics.
GuidesWhat really limits your file transfer speed
Upload vs download, Mbps vs MB/s, Wi-Fi bands and service queues: find the real bottleneck in a slow file transfer.
GuidesSending large files from your phone without failed transfers
Screen lock, background tabs, memory limits and mobile data: what breaks big transfers on phones and which method to use for each size.
GuidesHow to send large video files for free without losing quality
The math behind huge video files, what messaging apps do to them, and free ways to send originals or sensible compressed copies.
How-to
Step-by-step help for specific devices and situations.
How to zip files (and when you shouldn't bother)
Step-by-step zipping on Windows 11, macOS, iPhone and Android, plus password-protected 7-Zip archives and splitting big files.
How-toHow to send large files to clients professionally
A practical delivery workflow for freelancers and creatives, from choosing a method to checksums and backups.
How-toHow to send photos and videos without compression
App-by-app steps for WhatsApp, iMessage, Telegram, Signal, Messenger and Instagram to send originals instead of compressed copies.
How-toHow to send files between iPhone and Android
Quick Share with AirDrop, Google Photos, LocalSend, browser transfer or a cable: which works for your phones and how to keep full quality.
How-toHow to send files from a Mac to a Windows PC
SMB sharing, exFAT drives, cloud, LocalSend or browser transfer: how to move files between Mac and Windows without surprises.
How-toFiles too big for email: what happens, and better ways to send them
What your email client does with an oversized attachment, the hidden encoding overhead, and the alternatives ranked.