The best free file hosting services in 2026

NudgeHost is the best free file host for sharing a file as a link, because a free account keeps 10 links live at once, takes files up to 25MB, never expires a link unless you set a date, and opens a PDF, an image or a video in the browser instead of downloading it. You can also share a file without an account, which gets a link that lasts 7 days for a file up to 25MB.

The seven other services here are better at different jobs. MEGA gives 20 GB of free storage and Google Drive gives 15 GB, so either beats NudgeHost for keeping a lot of files. WeTransfer sends a file of up to 3 GB to someone's inbox. We read every figure from each company's own pricing and help pages, and the list of those pages, with the date each was read, is at the end.

We picked four storage services most people already know, two built for one-off sends, and Linkyhost, which publishes its own roundup. We compared each one's free plan on eight points: storage, the largest file, whether the sender and the recipient need accounts, how long a link lasts, whether the file opens in the browser, what it tells you about opens, and the price of the cheapest paid plan. Where a company's own pages don't state something, the table says so.

NudgeHost gives each file its own short address, and the person you send it to opens it straight away with no account and no app. A PDF, an image, a video, a Word file or a CSV shows in the browser. Anything else gets a clean download page.

A free account holds 10 live links of up to 25MB each, and a link stays up until you delete it or set an end date. You can replace the file and keep the same link, and every account plan counts how many times each link was opened. Every link gets a QR code, and an account downloads it as a PNG or SVG for print. The Pro plan adds passwords, plus the time and country of each open, for $12 a month. Files over 25MB go up on Pro, which takes 250MB, or Studio, which takes 1GB.

Every Google account comes with 15 GB, shared between Drive, Gmail and Photos, and a single file can be up to 5 TB. Set a file to "Anyone with the link" and people open it without signing in to Google, with a browser preview for common file types. More storage starts at $0.89 a month for 30 GB on Google One Lite.

A personal Google account can't put an end date on a link, because Google keeps expiry dates for eligible work or school accounts. It also can't see who viewed a file, since Google shows view history only on files owned by a work or school account. Anyone who opens a Drive link can also see your name and email as the file's owner, and a NudgeHost link shows no owner's name. NudgeHost lets a free account set an end date and shows an open count on every link.

Dropbox Basic gives 2 GB free and keeps files in step across your computer and phone. Anyone with a shared link can view the file and download it without a Dropbox account, and previews let them read it without downloading first. Dropbox Plus costs $9.99 a month billed yearly and holds 2 TB.

On Basic a file has to fit inside your 2 GB, and shared links stop when your sharing passes 20 GB or 100,000 downloads in a day. Expiry dates and passwords on links start with Dropbox's paid plans. Seeing when someone last viewed a file is listed only for paid plans too. A NudgeHost free account has no visitor cap, sets end dates at no cost, and counts every open.

A Microsoft account gets 5 GB free, a file can be up to 250 GB, and an "Anyone" link works for people outside your organisation without them signing in. Microsoft 365 Basic adds 100 GB for $1.99 a month or $19.99 a year.

Microsoft says an expiry date or a password on a link is "Only available to Microsoft 365 subscribers," so a free OneDrive link stays live until you remove it by hand. NudgeHost gives a free account an end date on any link, and you can check whether a link was opened from the dashboard.

MEGA's free plan holds 20 GB, the most in this list, and has no limit on the size of a single file. Links are end-to-end encrypted, and anyone with one can view and download the file without a MEGA account. The cheapest paid plan, Essential, costs €3.33 a month charged yearly for 200 GB.

MEGA limits how much a free or signed-out visitor can download from one IP address in six hours, so a large file can pause partway for the person downloading it. Link analytics and expiry dates are Pro features. A NudgeHost link has no visitor cap on any plan, and the free plan counts opens.

Nobody needs an account to upload or to download, and the file is deleted after the first download. For a one-off send you'd rather not leave online, that's the point. The size limit depends on which file.io page you read. The plans page says 2 GB on the free plan, and the homepage says 4 GB. Paid plans start at $25 a month.

NudgeHost suits any file that more than one person needs, or that one person needs twice. A file.io link stops working the moment someone downloads it, while a NudgeHost link stays up until you delete it, so the same address can sit in an email signature, a CV or a client folder.

A free WeTransfer account sends files of up to 3 GB, and recipients download them without an account.

A free WeTransfer transfer stays online for up to 3 days, and the free plan allows 10 transfers or 3 GB in any 30-day window. You've also needed an account to send since November 2024. The Starter plan costs $84 a year. For a file that has to keep working, the NudgeHost and WeTransfer comparison has each figure with its source.

Linkyhost has PDF and document viewers, a QR code on the free plan, and links that recipients open in the browser without an account.

Linkyhost's free plan allows 1 upload of up to 10 MB for the life of the account, needs an account before anything goes up, and shows a banner. A free link stops serving at 250 views in a month until the month resets. NudgeHost's free account holds 10 links of 25MB with no banner and no visitor cap, and the NudgeHost and Linkyhost comparison sets the two side by side.

MEGA's 20 GB, or the 15 GB already in your Google account, suits keeping a lot of files. For one large file sent once, WeTransfer takes up to 3 GB, and file.io deletes the file after its first download. To send a file as a link that opens in the browser and keeps working, host a PDF or any other file on NudgeHost.