Smash vs TransferXL: How Do They Compare?
It should be easy, secure, and fast to send large files and – with Smash – it is!
IN THIS ARTICLE, YOU’RE GOING TO READ A COMPARISON BETWEEN TRANSFERXL AND SMASH:
When you want to send a large file you’ll need a file sharing service – but which one?
There are plenty of different transfer services to choose from and making the right choice can mean keeping your files secure, making your transfer fast, and not getting caught up by any of the constraints that the service might put on you or your files.
Two services that have attracted attention recently are Smash and TransferXL. Both claim to be easy to use services where it’s a cinch to send a file from one machine to another. Both are specialized in sending large files – things that are too big to attach to an email or instant message – and both claim to be cost-efficient, ultra-secure, and simple for new and experienced users alike. But how do they really stack up?
In this article we’ll tear down the Smash and TransferXL offers, look into their free and paid tiers, and unpack all of the functionality they do (or do not) offer to users. Which one is the better choice for sharing a large file?
How to Compare Two File Transfer Services
We’ll compare Smash and TransferXL across the following components:
Their Free Tier offer
Their Paid Tier offers
Their speed, security and personalization options
Their Outlook plugin, user management and API functionality
By looking at all of the different tiers of service plus all the most important functionality for individual and business users, we’ll be able to conclude which of the two is the better bet for transferring large files effectively, efficiently, and without breaking the bank.
Smash vs TransferXL: Free Tier
File sharing services almost always offer a free service for users to get a taste for their offer and so it’s no surprise that both Smash and TransferXL have a free tier on show. However, while the cost of the free tier is the same (that is: it’s free!) there are some significant differences between the two.
Smash puts zero limits on the size of the file that is transferred and no limit on the number or size of transfers that can be done in any 24 hour period. It offers free password protection on every transfer and the files that are sent are available for 7 days. The interface is clear, clean, and doesn’t force the user to sit through advertising just to move a file.
TransferXL, on the other hand, has some hard limits on the size of the file that is transferred and how many files you can transfer in a day. The largest file that TransferXL will send for free is 5GB and you can send a maximum of 10GB worth of data each day. There’s no password protection on the transfer and you are limited to sharing with just 5 people. The final big difference? Ads. In exchange for sending your file, you’re going to see invasive ads and that’s something that you might not look forward to.
| SMASH | TRANSFERXL | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Free |
| Maximum File Size | Unlimited | 5GB |
| Upload Limits | None | 10GB per 24 hours |
| Password Protection | Yes | No |
| File Availability | 7 days | 7 days |
| Recipients | Unlimited | 5 email addresses |
On the free tier, then, Smash is way out in front – but how do they fare once you pony up for a subscription?
And here’s the alternative at TransferXL:
No Registration. And Free.
Smash vs TransferXL: Paid Tiers
Smash and TransferXL offer paid plans to supplement their free offers with the different pricing options and a variety of services and functionality.
Smash offers three paid tiers:
Pro, which is priced from €4.80 each month, offers unlimited file transfers of any size, and 1TB of storage.
Team, which is priced from €12 each month, and offers the same unlimited transfers and 2TB of storage per user.
Enterprise, which is a custom tier but where, as with other tiers at Smash, transfers are unlimited in size and number.
TransferXL offers two paid tiers:
Pro, which starts at €8.25 each month, allows a maximum file transfer of 100GB and only 200GB in total transfers each day, and no storage.
Enterprise, which starts at €16.58 each month, allows a maximum transfer size of 200GB and only 400GB in total transfers each day, and no storage.
| SMASH | TRANSFERXL | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pro | Team | Enterprise | Pro | Enterprise | |
| Cost/Month * | 4.80 | 12 | Custom | 8.25 | 16.58 |
| Transfer Size | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | 100GB | 200GB |
| Transfer/Day | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | 200GB | 400GB |
| Storage | 1TB | 2TB | Custom | - | - |
| Availability | 30 days | 30 days | 30 days | 6 weeks | 3 months |
* prices in Euros
When it comes to price, the size of the file that can be sent, the number of files that can be shared each day, and the storage available to paid users, Smash is again out in front of TransferXL. TransferXL does store the files a little longer – a lot longer on the most expensive plan – but the hard limits on transfer size and quantity can really constrain some professional users, and the story around functionality is much the same.
Smash vs TransferXL: Functionality
Beyond the basics, file transfer services offer additional functionality that help users make the most of their subscriptions, build workflows that streamline business, and make sharing a breeze.
Outlook Plugin
Leading file transfer services offer plugins to key business tools like Microsoft Outlook so that team and enterprise customers can share simply and easily right from their desktop.
Smash has an Outlook plugin that makes sharing from the Microsoft email client easy. Sending a file from within Outlook is a matter of a couple of clicks. No matter how large the file, attaching it to an email in Outlook is simple with the plugin and keeps users productive in a tool they use every day.
TransferXL does not offer an Outlook plugin.
Easy. Secure. Responsible.
Speed
Both Smash and TransferXL are fast. Essentially, as soon as the file is uploaded to the service’s servers it is available to download by the recipients. Both rely on servers located in different parts of the world to help speed up transfers thanks to download locations in close proximity to uploaders and downloaders.
Personalization
Smash offers all users on every tier the chance to customize their sharing URL. Hence, instead of sharing a file with a strange mix of letters and numbers as a URL, you can share one called Halloween24 or FinalReportOctober. If you have a paid plans at Smash also offer the chance to customize logos, backgrounds, and promotional messages, too.
TransferXL allows paying users to customize their backgrounds and sharing subdomains as well as remove the advertisements that are mandatory on their free plan. TransferXL explains that clients appreciate the customization of the backgrounds and subdomains, making it more familiar for recipients and building brand equity.
User Management
Smash offers granular management of users for Team and Enterprise accounts. With Smash, there are three different roles for users within a team, in basic terms being:
Collaborator: can send files and access their own transfer history
Marketer: can send files and access their own transfer history, plus manage the account design customization and control settings for ‘waiting messages’ for communication purposes
Analyst: can send files and access the history of ALL users on the Team or Enterprise account
TransferXL has no information about user management on their website at all, though it is clear to note that even the Enterprise plan has a hard limit on the amount of data transferred each day (400GB) and the maximum size of the files that Enterprise accounts can transfer (200GB).
Security
No surprise, security is a key feature for both Smash and TransferXL.
Both services use cutting-edge end-to-end encryption so that the file you upload is secure once it leaves your device and when it is downloaded, too. Smash does add password protection for another layer of security, something that is available on its free and paid tiers. TransferXL, on the other hand, does not offer that option on any of their plans.
API
Smash has an API for developers that allows them to integrate file transfers into everyday workflows. With only a few lines of code and a couple of minutes of work it’s possible to deploy Smash across an entire organization, and all the billing and management is centralized.
TransferXL does not offer API access.
| Smash | TransferXL | |
|---|---|---|
| Outlook Plugin | Yes | No |
| Speed | ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ |
| Personalization | ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ |
| User Management | ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ | - |
| Security | ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ |
| API | ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ | - |
Conclusion: The Better File Transfer Service is Smash
Sometimes file transfer services are closely matched but – head to head – there isn’t much of a competition between Smash and TransferXL: Smash comes out on top every time.
Put simply, TransferXL puts hard limits on how much you can transfer and how often, even when you pay them for the privilege of sending files! It costs more money every month, doesn’t offer an Outlook Plugin or an API, and doesn’t even provide password protection for people paying hundreds of euros a year in subscriptions.
Smash, on the other hand, doesn’t limit the size or number or frequency of transfers. It doesn’t force advertising down the throat of free users and its paid tiers are competitively priced, with the Pro tier half that of the TransferXL offer.
Smash has an Outlook Plugin, an API, a native iOS app, a native Android app, and a Mac app, too. The online portal at fromsmash.com transfers thousands of files every day for users around the world, and the password protection and end-to-end encryption keeps everything safe and secure.
| Smash | TransferXL | |
|---|---|---|
| Max File Size (Free) | Unlimited | 5GB |
| Max File Size (Pro) | Unlimited | 100GB |
| Max File Size (Team/Enterprise) | Unlimited | 200GB |
| Max Transfer / 24H (Free) | Unlimited | 10GB |
| Max Transfer / 24H (Pro) | Unlimited | 200GB |
| Max Transfer / 24H (Team/Enterprise) | Unlimited | 400GB |
| Cost | Pro: from €4.80/month Team: from €12/month |
Pro: from €9.99/month Enterprise: from €19.99/month |
| Outlook Plugin | Yes (paid tiers) | - |
| Speed | ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ |
| Personalization | ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ |
| User Management | ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ | - |
| Security | ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ |
| API | ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ | - |
Frequently Asked Questions
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Stepping up to a top-tier plan is something you should consider once your organization starts moving a lot of large files regularly as part of their everyday workflows. Businesses rely on Enterprise packages to fuel their growth and facilitate their day to day work. However, when sending a lot of files is what you do, you’ll want to favor a service like Smash that puts no limits on those transfers over one like TransferXL that locks you down with limits.
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YES! Smash will transfer a file of any size to anyone – if you can upload it, they’ll send it on to anyone else. Password protection is free, you can customize your URL for free, too, and it’s encrypted from end to end during the transfer. All of that, and not a cent to spend!
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Basically, no. If you can upload it, you can share it with Smash. Smash is used to send audio, video, images, documents, presentations and more every single day.
