Free File Sharing Sites

The very best free file sharing sites you'll find, like ever.

File sharing - how to send files the right way.

No doubt, file sharing sites have made life so much easier. As long as you implement the right solutions based on your needs, you can easily reduce costs, simplify collaboration, and boost productivity. The good news is, there's plenty of choice, and you've got lots of options to try out.

Free File Sharing Sites You Should Know About

If you have been looking for the best free file sharing sites, you have come to the right place! Below are some of the most popular platforms you should try:

Google Drive

We all know this one. Google Drive is a cloud service owned by the search engine giant Google. It comes with a big advantage of being part of the Google Cloud services.

Pros

- Easy-to-use interface
- Allow users to share files using a custom link
- Allow users to store a range of file types
- Uses encryption for security
- Users can access their documents from anywhere at any time via the app
- Content creation is possible as part of Google Docs

Cons

- Very limited content creation options
- Collaboration capabilities are very basic
- Doesn’t save previous versions of content
- Other tools are still needed due to limited capabilities
- It’s Google, why do we need to give Google everything?!?

Microsoft OneDrive

Another well known company offering file sharing, Microsoft.

This service is included with Office 365; thus, it enables users to create and save documents across desktop, mobile, and browser apps. A unique is allowing users to make edits offline, and the changes will be uploaded automatically the next time they connect online.

Pros

- Offline edits
- Has 15GB free space and a chance to earn extra storage
- Allows easy organization of files
- Works closely with other Office apps such as Word and PowerPoint for easier collaboration

Cons

- Files in shared drive can be compromised because anyone with a link to a particular file can access it
- Microsoft platforms have more complicated UX than other platforms
- Very limited collaboration options
- it's Microsoft, does anyone cool use Microsoft?

Dropbox

Dropbox is and has been the gold standard for file sharing for the past decade. It is one of the biggest, if not the biggest platform solely focusing on file sharing in the market today. It provides users with a reliable and effective cloud storage space, which allows them to store all their files in one place. Additionally, it provides dedicated mobile apps and desktop clients to help users keep their files in sync and within reach. A free account has a 2GB storage capacity, which is significantly lower than other file sharing options.

Pros

- Convenient and easy to use
- Accessible from anywhere and at any time
- File sharing is the central focus of the product
- Allows storage for all file types
- Offers advanced encryption for enhanced security

Cons

- One trick pony. File sharing is what it does, with no real creation or collaboration capabilities
- There have been cases of Dropbox servers being hacked; hence it poses a security concern
- Developers and administrators have a right to delete information from free, ‘inactive accounts’
- Upgrading for more storage is expensive
- Doesn’t offer real feedback and collaboration options, so users need other tools to complement their needs

Amazon Drive

Another big name. Formerly known as Amazon Cloud Drive, Amazon Drive is another free file sharing service worth mentioning. It allows users to store all their multi-media, i.e., photos, videos, graphics, audio, to Amazon’s cloud and access it from anywhere at any time. It has dedicated apps for iOS and Android, which enable users to set Auto-Save to automatically back up files on their mobile devices.

Pros

- Cross-platform compatibility
- Offers good upload/download speed
- Amazon is pretty easy-to-use
- Has a drag and drop feature; hence you don’t need to undergo a long process to upload a file

Cons

- Doesn’t provide file-syncing
- Can’t share folders, only files
- Lacks essential features
- Best suited for personal use and might not be effective for businesses
- Not really fit for purpose and best ignored imho

Box

Box is a sharing service for the professional crowd. Box is specially designed for business, unlike all other platforms we've discussed and focuses on file sharing and collaboration workflows. While looking at Dropbox, on the other hand, is more often used by the consumer crowd.

Box allows users to easily transfer all file types from their PCs to the Box cloud. They can invite teammates to collaborate, join conversations, edit files together, and more. This service also enables users to control who can view, share, edit, and update files, thus increasing privacy and security options.

Pros

- Strong emphasis on security, especially in collaboration
- Capable of sharing larger files
- Free personal plan for single users
- Third-party app integrations

Cons

- Has limited multi-media sharing and viewing capability
- No content creation option
- Pricey
- Lacking feature flexibility

Monday.com

Monday.com is specially designed to make file sharing easy, fast, and convenient. This software offers a centralized system for file sharing and project management. Monday.com has different account types and file management options.

Pros

- Ability to integrate with other systems
- Flexibility
- Attractive look and feel
- Offers project management features
- Ready made for a range of teams
- Templates

Cons

- Few customization options, built for absolutely everyone
- No Chat features on boards
- Complicated as it offers an overwhelming number of options\
- Very steep learning curve
- Can get pricey

Bit.ai

Bit.ai is another file sharing platform that has been growing in popularity since its inception. Bit.ai has helped users share files easily with partners, clients, co-workers and friends. This service offers a range of features that are hard to find on other platforms, including document collaboration, workflow management, integration with many other apps.

Pros

- Easy integration with other systems
- Supports multiple file types
- Easy collaboration with remote teams

Cons

- Limited formatting and customization options
- Complicated user experience
- Steep learning curve

Hightail

Formally known as YouSendIt, useful for team collaboration and individual use, plus a free account to share files without paying a dome! Hightail works on a premise of what is known as “Spaces” that allows users to share multiple file types, including videos, audios, PDFs, and more with others and collaborate.

Perhaps one of the biggest drawbacks of Hightail is that it is not easy to use for the average user, but it makes it easy for everyone to add files to the platform. You can choose to import content from other platforms such as Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive, or you can drag and drop files. The free plan provides users with 2GB of storage space and 100MB file upload limit. In case you are looking for a casual tool to help you store and share files anytime, anywhere, Hightail might be the ideal choice for you.

Pros

- Fast Uploads
- Easy integration with other services such as Dropbox
- Easy to share large files and folders
- High-end security system
- Easy to share links and collaborate with teams

Cons

- The free plan has limited storage and upload limit
- The dashboard is a bit complicated and unfriendly
- Generally a lightweight tool that lacks the required functionality

MediaFire

Share videos, photos, docs, PDFs, or any other file type all with MediaFire. MediaFire offers a simple platform to upload, organize and share most media types.

Pros

- Easy-to-use; hence it’s convenient for newbies in file sharing
- Has dedicated apps that enables users to share files on the go
- Allow users to share multiple file types
- 10GB free storage
- MediaFire accounts never expire even if they are not used for long

Cons

- There are some blocked options in the free version
- Has no PC sync client
- There is no robust customization option
- Limited collaboration files

There you have it! These are some of the best free file sharing websites on the web....wait wait, right there.

This list isn't finished just yet. What if there is a new way to effortlessly store, organize and share files? Plus, easily manage tasks, create content, share work with clients, manage projects from start to finish and reduce the number of tools you use (so reduce costs!).


Meet...Collato


Collato is a visual collaboration management platform that offers the simplest, fastest and best way to share files. We take file sharing to the next level to offer a complete collaborative experience yet still ensuring a simple user experience and a very short learning curve for creators and contributors alike.

Pro

- file storing that is easy to organise
- support for almost all content types
- unrivalled collaboration features
- no cost for external contributors
- ability to create tasks and visually track

Cons

- it's only just been built!

That's the end folks!.....or wait is it....

NO! - the story doesn’t end here.

Before you can make an informed decision about the best site to use for file sharing, first you need to understand the importance of file sharing and how it should work.

This a story of a historical problem, the rise of a modern solution and the links between file sharing and productivity.

Suppose you are interested in streamlining your file sharing workflow to give yourself and your intended collaborator more time to focus on completing work and achieving more. In that case, the following deep dive is for you.

File sharing is important

File sharing has become an integral process in our daily workflow. The workplace digital revolution has been kicking up pace, and the way we work has been evolving in strides. Do you remember the days of USB sticks or sending files by email? Wow, I do!

This digital first (and sometimes digital only) work attitude means we’re sharing work through digital channels more than ever. File sharing is vital to productivity, so let's discuss the challenges we face and what we should be doing better.

So, what challenges do we face and what's stopping us from being really really really productive?
(Feel free to give me a hell yeah for any that apply to you.)

- too many tools in use to share different types of content

- limited content type sharing capabilities in general

- high costs of so many tool subscriptions

- version control, which file is the latest?

- multiple versions of the 'truth'

- security concerns and too many passwords

So the question is, how should file sharing work and why it linked to productivity.

Let's discuss the why and touch upon digital productivity.

The sharing of work and information in the workplace is a critical part of everyday business. Without this, simply no progress is being made. You can go as far as saying file sharing is idea sharing and vital to creativity. Pretty important then, huh?

File sharing (so idea sharing) is digital productivity, and due to the rise of remote working, freelance outsourcing and working from home, this transfer of information takes on a vital role.

The better, faster and leaner we transfer files the better we perform. File sharing feeds directly into our output, productivity and results.

So why are we still doing it wrong?

Maybe it's just humans being humans, be stuck in our old ways and putting off new methods due to the effort, or maybe we just do not have the ideal solution yet.

What is the wrong way of file sharing exactly?

- emails. Thinking about it, how are emails still a thing? Literally how! There's been so many tools that were built to replace emails (hi Slack) yet we all still use emails at work, everyday. This is wrong, yet here we are. Maybe the right approach is to reduce the importance on emails rather than claim to be the be email killer...

- too many tools. Using multiple platforms to create, store, share and collaborate on such as G-drive, One drive, Dropbox, WeTransfer, Asana, Trello, Notion, blah blah, blah. Yikes, how can we be productive like this.

- using overly complicated platforms. To fill the void of a missing function we sign up to fully featured overly complicated tools, yet we only use a small portion of the platform, yet the learning curve for your team is steep. I bet you've tried them all out, right?

- decentralising file storing. So files can be saved anywhere, so we very quickly lose track of the latest versions or lose the source of truth. We create files on Figma, store them on the company G-Drive but share everything via Dropbox with external partners. Who else is confused?

What should we be doing?

We should be keeping things simple. Find a tool that makes file sharing easy and central to our daily workflow, but a tool that also gives us other productivity focused features in an easy and simple user experience.

Collato fixes this. Collato is the modern solution to a very modern problem.

Join our waiting list today to get early access the future of file sharing

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3. Design Assets: Where to find the best free assets

Need answers? Collato it.

Skip the meeting and use Collato's AI-powered search.