WeTransfer Free vs Smash
WeTransfer's free plan now gives you 10 transfers or 3 GB every 30 days, and links that expire after 3 days. Here's how that compares with Smash, using figures from each company's own pages. Full disclosure: I run Smash.
By Romaric Gouedard-Comte, co-founder and CEO of Smash · Updated October 8, 2026
Based on 56,000+ reviews, Smash is rated 4.9/5 on Trustpilot and Google.
Is WeTransfer free?
Yes, still. The free plan shrank in late 2024, though. You now get 10 transfers or 3 GB in total over any rolling 30 days, whichever runs out first. One 3 GB master and you're done for the month.
Links stay live for 3 days. To send, you need a WeTransfer account: your first transfer creates a free account once you verify your email address. Recipients download without one. WeTransfer's pricing page lists the free plan as for individual, non-commercial use only, and its download pages carry ads.
Smash Free works the other way round. No size cap, however large the folder, and no sign-up. Anything up to 2 GB goes out right away. Above that, your transfer waits in a queue behind paying users, sometimes for a few hours. Links last 7 days, and nothing in our terms limits free use to personal projects. On the download page, your recipient gets a glimpse of an artist or a cultural event we're showcasing.
WeTransfer Free vs Smash Free
| Free plan | WeTransfer Free | Smash Free |
|---|---|---|
| Size per transfer | Up to 3 GB | No limit |
| Volume | 3 GB in total per rolling 30 days | No volume limit |
| Number of transfers | 10 per rolling 30 days | No limit |
| Processing | Immediate | Immediate up to 2 GBQueued above 2 GB; the wait can last several hours |
| Link availability | Up to 3 days | Up to 7 days |
| Account to send | RequiredCreated on email verification | Not required |
| Account to download | Not required | Not required |
| Password protection | Yes, on the free account | Yes, without an account |
| Commercial use | Individual, non-commercial use only | No restriction |
| Advertising | Yes, on download pages | Artists and cultural events shown on the download page |
Figures as published by WeTransfer and Smash, checked on October 1, 2026.
Can you use WeTransfer without registration?
Not anymore. Since November 2024, sending means registering a WeTransfer account, created on the fly from your email address and a verification code. Your recipients skip all that: the link you share opens straight onto the download page.
Smash Free asks for nothing: no registration, no login. Drop your files in, copy the link, share it with whoever needs it. An account only comes into play with Pro, for things like your own logo or 1 TB of storage.
Both interfaces speak several languages. WeTransfer offers 14, picked at the bottom of the page. Smash runs in English, French, Italian, German, Spanish and Portuguese.
Send a file now, no registration
WeTransfer free vs paid plans
The two companies don't slice their plans the same way, so each gets its own table. Lining one plan up against another would compare things that don't match.
| WeTransfer plan | Monthly | Billed yearly (per month) | Main limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | €8 | €7 | 10 transfers or 300 GB per rolling 30 days, 3-day links, individual use |
| Ultimate | €23 | €19 | Unlimited transfers up to 1 TB each, no expiry, logo on each transfer, individual use |
| Teams | €19 per user | €16.58 per user | Everything in Ultimate, 2 to 50 users |
| Enterprise | On quote | On quote | 50 users and more, SSO |
Prices including VAT, as displayed from France on October 1, 2026. They vary by country: see WeTransfer's pricing.
| Smash plan | Monthly | Billed yearly (per month) | Main limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pro | €10 | €6€4.80 on a 2-year plan | Priority on any size, 30-day links, 1 TB of storage, 1 user |
| Team | €2.50 per user | €1.50 per user€1.20 on a 2-year plan | Same features as Pro, packs of 10 to 50 users |
| Enterprise | On quote | On quote | Unlimited users, SSO, SCIM, custom domain |
Prices including VAT, as displayed from France on October 1, 2026. They vary by country: see Smash's pricing.
How long do WeTransfer links last?
Up to 3 days on Free and Starter. On Ultimate, a transfer can stay up with no expiry date. Once a link expires, the files are gone: share a link on Thursday evening, and the client opening it Monday morning finds an empty page.
Smash links stay up for 7 days on the free plan and 30 days on paid plans.
Security and branding
This table sticks to what each company publishes. "Not listed" means a feature isn't published, not that it doesn't exist.
| Feature | WeTransfer | Smash |
|---|---|---|
| Encryption in transit (TLS) and at rest (AES-256) | All plans | All plans |
| Encryption keys held in hardware security modules (HSM) | Not listed | All plans |
| Password protection | All plans, account required | All plans, no account required |
| Two-factor authentication | Yes | Yes |
| Malware scanning | Paid plans | Yes |
| Independent security audits | Not listed | Yearly, by a third party |
| End-to-end encryption | Enterprise | Not listed |
| Logo on transfers | Ultimate and above | Pro and above |
| Custom page or subdomain | Ultimate and above | Pro and above |
| Promotional pop-ins during upload and download | Not listed | Pro and above |
| Custom transfer link name | Not listed | Free and above |
"Not listed" means the feature isn't published by the company, not that it doesn't exist. Checked on October 1, 2026.
What changed at WeTransfer
WeTransfer started in Amsterdam in 2009 and spent years as the default way to get big files to a client. Bending Spoons, the Italian company behind Evernote and Meetup, bought it in July 2024 and announced that September it would cut about 75% of the staff.
December 2024 brought the 10-transfer free allowance. In July 2025, a terms update mentioning machine learning set off a backlash among creatives; WeTransfer rewrote the clause on July 15 and stated that it doesn't use AI to process the files people send.
Plenty of recipients still know the WeTransfer download page by heart, and that counts for something. To compare more services than these two, I keep a separate guide to every WeTransfer alternative. The exact caps live on our WeTransfer limits page.
Where Smash falls short
The queue. It's the price of a free plan with no size cap, and you'd better hear about it from us before you drop a 60 GB folder in. Large free transfers, above 2 GB, wait behind paying users, sometimes for a few hours. They always go through. They just won't land in the next ten minutes.
If the client needs the file before lunch, Pro puts every transfer through straight away, whatever the size.
Two smaller catches: free links expire after 7 days, and collecting files from other people through a drop link is a paid feature.
One of our first users, Julia, a wedding photographer, sent a whole wedding, 60 GB of RAW files on the free plan at 11 pm. She went to bed. By breakfast, the link was waiting in the couple's inbox. Zero stress, zero euros. Our favourite way to use the queue: send the night before.
User reviews
| Service | Trustpilot rating | Number of reviews |
|---|---|---|
| WeTransfer | 3.4 out of 5 | 1,100+ |
| Smash | 4.9 out of 5 | 42,000+ |
Ratings and review counts as displayed on Trustpilot in October 2026. Read them on the WeTransfer page and the Smash page.
Frequently asked questions
Is WeTransfer still free in 2026?
Yes. The free plan allows 10 transfers or 3 GB in total over any rolling 30 days, with links that last up to 3 days. It requires an account, and WeTransfer describes it as being for individual, non-commercial use only.
Do recipients need a WeTransfer account?
No. On both WeTransfer and Smash, the person you share the link with downloads without an account. The difference is on the sender's side: WeTransfer requires one since November 2024, Smash Free doesn't.
What is WeTransfer?
A file transfer service founded in Amsterdam in 2009 and owned by Bending Spoons since 2024. You upload files, get a link, and the person you share it with downloads them.
Is WeTransfer safe?
WeTransfer states that files are encrypted in transit (TLS) and at rest (AES-256) on all plans. It lists malware scanning on paid plans and end-to-end encryption on Enterprise. Smash publishes the same in-transit and at-rest encryption, malware scanning and a yearly third-party security audit.
What is the maximum size on WeTransfer Free?
3 GB per transfer, and 3 GB in total over 30 days. Starter raises the volume to 300 GB but keeps the 10-transfer allowance. Ultimate takes up to 1 TB per transfer.
Can I use WeTransfer Free for work?
WeTransfer's pricing page describes its free plan as being for individual, non-commercial use only; for client work, it offers paid plans. Smash's free plan has no such restriction.
Does Smash have a free plan like WeTransfer?
Yes, with no size cap and no registration. Transfers above 2 GB are queued and can take a few hours to go out.
Is there an alternative to WeTransfer?
Several, and the right one depends on what you share. I compare 12 services, including where each one falls short, in a separate guide to each WeTransfer alternative.
Sources
- WeTransfer, plans and pricing: https://wetransfer.com/pricing
- WeTransfer Help Center, plan limits (updated May 30, 2026): https://wetransfer.com/help-center/subscriptions/plan-limits
- WeTransfer Help Center, accounts: https://wetransfer.com/help-center/accounts
- TechCrunch, Bending Spoons plans to lay off 75% of WeTransfer staff (September 2024): https://techcrunch.com/2024/09/08/bending-spoons-plans-to-lay-off-75-of-wetransfer-staff-after-acquisition
- The Register, WeTransfer terms of service change (July 2025): https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/18/llm_products_terms_of_service/
- Smash, plans and pricing: https://fromsmash.com/pricing
- Trustpilot, WeTransfer page (consulted October 1, 2026): https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.wetransfer.com
- Trustpilot, Smash page (consulted October 1, 2026): https://www.trustpilot.com/review/fromsmash.com
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