A WeTransfer alternative — nothing gets uploaded, so nothing is capped or expires
The two sides connect and send directly — multi-gigabyte video or a whole asset folder; the trade-off is that both have to be online at once
The upload-link-download model has a real advantage: the two sides never have to be online together. You send and walk away; the other person can collect tomorrow. Its limits come from the same model — the file occupies space and bandwidth on their servers, and that costs real money, so there are size caps, expiry dates and paid tiers. Those three aren't stinginess; they follow from the design.
SourceDrop your files here to start right now Start transferring now
The peer-to-peer family doesn't carry that cost, so those three limits simply don't exist here: the file can be any size (what bounds you is the disks and the time on both ends, not a server), you can send as often as you like, and nothing «expires in a few days» because no copy is sitting anywhere waiting to expire.
The trade-off is equally plain: both sides need the page open at the same time. If the other person can't receive right now, the upload-and-link family genuinely suits you better — that's not politeness, it's a difference in models. The middle path is to save the files into your own cloud drive first and send a share link; we offer that route too, but it belongs to the «the file really was uploaded» family, and we won't describe it as peer-to-peer.
Side by side
| What | WeTransfer | TutuDrive Send |
|---|---|---|
| Anything to install | Nothing to install — it's a web page | Nothing to install — it runs in the browser |
| Where the bytes go | The whole file is uploaded to its servers first; the other side downloads from there | Peer to peer. If a direct link can't be made we switch to a relay and label it as relayed — we don't pretend it's still direct. |
| Across different networks | Yes — it's an internet service, so the two sides need no shared network | Yes — the two sides don't have to be on the same network |
| Integrity check | Not documented publicly | Every file gets a sha-256 comparison when it lands; one byte off and it fails loudly |
| Is a copy left behind | Yes — a copy sits on its servers until it expires | On a direct connection nothing is left — the bytes never reach us. On a relay the copy is deleted the moment the other side picks it up, with a 24-hour sweep as a backstop. |
| Open source and self-hosting | A closed-source commercial service | Not open source, no self-hosting — this one we don't have |
When you should pick it instead
- The other person isn't online right now, or you want to send and walk away: the upload-and-link family is built for exactly that, and the peer-to-peer approach on this page can't do it — it needs both sides on the page at once.
- You're sending the same batch to many people: one link that anyone can click beats establishing a connection with each of them.
How it works here
- 1
Drop your files in, or click Choose files. A whole folder works too.
- 2
A QR code and six digits appear. The other person scans, types the digits, or opens the link you send.
- 3
Once connected the transfer starts. Neither side signs up, and nothing gets installed.
Common questions
Why is there no size limit here?
Because the files don't pass through our servers, we carry no storage or bandwidth cost, so there's nothing a cap would be protecting. The transfer is streamed in chunks rather than read wholly into memory, so multi-gigabyte video won't blow up the browser. The real boundary is the disk space and the time on both ends.
Can I use this if the other person isn't online yet?
The peer-to-peer route requires both sides online at the same time — that's what the mechanism dictates, and we won't be vague about it. If they can't receive now, there are two options: agree on a time and open this page together, or save the files into your own cloud drive and send them a share link they can collect whenever. We offer that second route too, but then the file really has been uploaded, and the interface won't call it peer-to-peer.
Does the recipient need an account?
No, and neither do you. The sender doesn't sign up and the receiver certainly doesn't — they just scan a code or type six digits. When the task is «send this to my colleague», there's no reason the colleague should have to register first. Signing in only matters if you also want to save the files into your own cloud drive, which is a separate thing.
After the transfer, do you still have the files?
On a direct connection the bytes never reach us at all, so there's nothing to keep or not keep. A temporary copy exists only when a direct link couldn't be made and you yourself clicked «use a relay» — and it is deleted the moment the other side collects it, with a 24-hour sweep that clears anything nobody came for. Both of those are implemented behaviours, not a promise in prose.