Alternatives
Google Drive alternatives for sending large files
The best Google Drive alternative for sending large files is a transfer service that deletes the files when the job is done and resumes a broken upload, because Drive is storage that keeps everything until you delete it. We'd pick Tranzfer for hundreds of gigabytes from a browser and MASV if you'd rather use a desktop app and pay per GB. Keep Drive for files that should stay put.
We make Tranzfer, so read our ranking with that in mind. Drive is a good place to keep files, and for some sends it's the right tool. Every fact about another service links to the page it came from.
Why do people look for a Google Drive alternative?
Most people end up in Drive by accident. Personal Gmail allows 25 MB of attachments and swaps anything bigger for a Drive link. That works for a deck. It gets awkward at 200 GB.
Storage fills up. A free Google account has 15 GB, shared across Gmail, Drive and Photos. Every file you send stays in your Drive and counts against that space until you delete it. A 300 GB shoot needs a storage plan big enough to hold it, plus whatever you already keep there.
There's a daily cap. Google's Workspace limits page says "Each user can upload and copy 750 GB to Drive within 24 hours" and that "Only the first file that breaks the limit completes uploading." Google's page for personal accounts says there's a daily upload limit but gives no number.
A broken browser upload is a mystery. Google's developer docs describe resumable uploads for apps built on the Drive API. What the Drive website does after you close the tab or lose the connection halfway through isn't written down anywhere we could find. Google's sync help says Drive for desktop "will automatically retry later", and files it can't sync can land in a Lost and Found folder.
Popular links get throttled. Share one file with a lot of people and Google may restrict it for heavy downloads. Google says that typically resets within 24 hours.
Links don't end. "Anyone who has the link can use your file, without signing in", as Google's sharing page puts it. Expiry dates exist only for eligible work and school accounts. A client link from last year still works unless you remember to turn it off.
How do the alternatives compare?
The last column is a heavy month: four 100 GB deliveries, one live at a time. Prices are USD on monthly billing, checked 9 October 2026.
| Service | Best for | Price | How big | Interrupted upload | 4 × 100 GB a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Drive | Files that should stay put, shared with people already on Google | 15 GB free. More through Google One or Workspace; check Google's pricing. | Files up to 5 TB. 15 GB of free storage per Google account, shared with Gmail and Photos. | Not documented for browser uploads. Drive for desktop retries files later. | Depends on your storage plan |
| Tranzfer | Hundreds of gigabytes from a browser, on a connection you don't trust | Free, then $15, $29 or $69 a month, flat | 20 GB live at once on Free, up to 3 TB on Studio. No separate per-file cap. | Retries after a drop and carries on after sleep. After a crash or closed tab, pick the same files and only the missing parts upload. | $15 on Starter |
| MASV | Teams that want a desktop app and only pay when they send | $0.25 per GB after 15 GB free each month, or annual bundles from $58 a month for 250 GB | No cap on how much you send | Retries through network drops. A closed tab or crash in the browser starts over; the desktop app recovers. | $96.25 on Pay as you go |
| Filemail | People happy to install a desktop app who want files kept for good | Free, then Personal $6, Pro $14 and Business $24 a month | 5 GB a transfer on Free and Personal, 250 GB on Pro, any size on Business | Desktop app only. Their pages never say a browser upload resumes. | $14 on Pro |
| WeTransfer | A few gigabytes to someone who already expects a WeTransfer link | Free, then Starter, Ultimate and Teams. Prices show after you sign in. | Free: 10 transfers or 3 GB per 30 days. Starter: 10 transfers or 300 GB per 30 days. Ultimate: up to 1 TB a transfer by their help center. | Not mentioned. Their help asks for a stable connection and says sleep mode cancels the upload. | Over Starter's 300 GB, so Ultimate; see their pricing |
| Dropbox Transfer | Sending up to 100 or 250 GB when you already pay for Dropbox | Comes with Dropbox plans. Check their plans page for the current price. | 2 GB on Basic, 50 GB on Plus, 100 GB on Essentials and Business, 250 GB on Business Plus or with the Replay add-on | Not stated on their Transfer help pages | Fits Essentials or Business; see their plans |
The alternatives, ranked
1. Tranzfer
Best for Hundreds of gigabytes from a browser, on a connection you don't trust.
- Price
- Free, then $15, $29 or $69 a month, flat
- How big
- 20 GB live at once on Free, up to 3 TB on Studio. No separate per-file cap.
- If the upload is interrupted
- Retries after a drop and carries on after sleep. After a crash or closed tab, pick the same files and only the missing parts upload.
- How long links last
- Up to 3, 7 or 14 days by plan, then the files are deleted
Good
- Every plan resumes, Free included
- Flat monthly price, not per GB
- Folders arrive sorted; desktop Chrome and Edge save a whole delivery into one folder
Watch out
- No desktop app and no team seats yet
- Links last 14 days at most
- 3 TB live at once is the ceiling
- New. Tested at 100 GB with eight failures forced on purpose, not years of production
Sources: Tranzfer pricing, How resume works
2. MASV
Best for Teams that want a desktop app and only pay when they send.
- Price
- $0.25 per GB after 15 GB free each month, or annual bundles from $58 a month for 250 GB
- How big
- No cap on how much you send
- If the upload is interrupted
- Retries through network drops. A closed tab or crash in the browser starts over; the desktop app recovers.
- How long links last
- You set it. 5 days of storage are included, then $0.07 per GB a month.
Good
- Desktop app recovers from most interruptions, reboots included
- Portals collect files from clients and can forward them to S3 or Frame.io
- Pay only for what you send
Watch out
- Per-GB pricing adds up. 1 TB in a month is about $246 pay as you go
- In the browser, "if you close your MASV browser tab or your computer crashes you will have to start over"
- A credit card is needed even for the free 15 GB
Sources: MASV pricing, MASV on interrupted uploads, MASV Portals
3. Filemail
Best for People happy to install a desktop app who want files kept for good.
- Price
- Free, then Personal $6, Pro $14 and Business $24 a month
- How big
- 5 GB a transfer on Free and Personal, 250 GB on Pro, any size on Business
- If the upload is interrupted
- Desktop app only. Their pages never say a browser upload resumes.
- How long links last
- 7 days on Free, 30 days on Personal. Permanent on Pro, set by you on Business.
Good
- Flat monthly price
- Desktop app that resumes interrupted transfers
- Files can stay up permanently on Pro
Watch out
- Resume is listed as a desktop app feature, not a browser one
- Free allows 2 transfers a day of up to 5 GB; Personal also stops at 5 GB a transfer and Pro at 250 GB
- Sending a folder from the browser needs Chrome or Opera
Sources: Filemail plans, Filemail desktop app, Filemail free plan
4. WeTransfer
Best for A few gigabytes to someone who already expects a WeTransfer link.
- Price
- Free, then Starter, Ultimate and Teams. Prices show after you sign in.
- How big
- Free: 10 transfers or 3 GB per 30 days. Starter: 10 transfers or 300 GB per 30 days. Ultimate: up to 1 TB a transfer by their help center.
- If the upload is interrupted
- Not mentioned. Their help asks for a stable connection and says sleep mode cancels the upload.
- How long links last
- Up to 3 days on Free and Starter. Ultimate keeps transfers up as long as you like.
Good
- Everyone knows the name
- Ultimate takes up to 1 TB in one transfer
Watch out
- Free allows 10 transfers or 3 GB in 30 days, Starter 10 transfers or 300 GB
- Free and Starter links last 3 days at most
- Their troubleshooting page says sleep mode cancels an upload; resuming isn't mentioned
- Senders need an account; prices are only shown after you sign in
Sources: WeTransfer plan limits, WeTransfer link expiry, WeTransfer upload troubleshooting
5. Smash
Best for Free sends a bit bigger than WeTransfer's, with password links on every plan.
- Price
- Free, then Pro at $10 a month, or Team at $25 a month for 10 people
- How big
- 2 GB at full priority on Free; bigger transfers queue. Pro: unlimited or 250 GB, see above.
- If the upload is interrupted
- Starts over. Their help says there's no way to restart a stuck upload.
- How long links last
- Up to 7 days on Free by their pricing page, 14 by their help center. Up to 30 days paid.
Good
- No hard size cap, even on Free
- Password protection on Free
- Recipients never need an account
Watch out
- On Free, anything over 2 GB waits in a queue behind Pro transfers
- Their help says a stuck upload can't be restarted; you send it again from the start
- Their pricing page says Pro has no size limit, but their help center says 250 GB a transfer
Sources: Smash pricing, Smash size limits, Smash on stuck uploads, Smash link expiry
Which one should you pick?
- You send 50 GB to 3 TB and want it gone afterwards. Tranzfer. Files are deleted when the link ends, so they never sit in your storage. You sign in with Google to send, and your recipient doesn't need an account.
- You want a desktop app and send irregularly. MASV, at $0.25 per GB after 15 GB free each month.
- You want files kept for good and don't mind an app. Filemail Pro.
- You send a few gigabytes to someone who expects a familiar link. WeTransfer.
Check how long your upload will run before you start it. The upload time calculator does the math. A 300 GB folder on a 100 Mbps line takes 6 h 40 min at full speed, and about 8 h 20 min at a realistic 80%.
When is Google Drive still the better pick?
- The files should stay. Drive is storage, and Tranzfer isn't. Our links last 14 days at most, then the files are deleted.
- You're sharing a working folder, not a delivery. People can comment on Docs, edit Sheets and add files to a shared folder. Tranzfer has no request links and no comments.
- Your recipient lives in Google already, and you already pay for the storage. For a 10 GB send, that's free and good enough.
- You need a single file bigger than 3 TB. Drive takes up to 5 TB. Tranzfer's ceiling is 3 TB live at once.
If a Drive upload keeps dying partway, our Google Drive upload failing guide covers what to check.
Questions people ask
How big a file can I upload to Google Drive?
Google says files up to 5 TB. Your storage is the real limit. A free Google account gets 15 GB, shared with Gmail and Google Photos.
Is there a daily upload limit on Google Drive?
Google Workspace accounts can upload and copy 750 GB a day per user. Google's page for personal accounts says there is a daily limit but gives no number.
Do Google Drive links expire?
Not by default. Google lets eligible work and school accounts set an expiry. Personal accounts keep the link and the file until you remove them.
Why does Google Drive say download quota exceeded?
A file with a lot of views or downloads can hit a restriction, which Google says typically resets within 24 hours. Sharing one big file with many people from a public link is how most people run into it.