Alternatives
Smash alternatives for large files
The best Smash alternative for large files is one that resumes a broken upload, because Smash's own help says a stuck transfer can't be restarted and has to be sent again from the start. We'd pick Tranzfer for hundreds of gigabytes from a browser and MASV if you want a desktop app and pay per GB. Smash Pro at $10 a month is still the cheapest flat plan here.
We make Tranzfer, so weigh our ranking with that in mind. Smash is good value and for small sends it's hard to beat. There's a section below on when to stay. Every fact about another service links to the page it came from.
Why do people look for a Smash alternative?
The free queue. Smash Free has no hard size limit, which sounds great. The catch is in the footnote on the pricing page: "Beyond 2 GB, transfers join a queue behind Pro transfers." Their size limit help page says the same thing, that free transfers over 2 GB "are not prioritized and are placed in a waiting queue." Neither says how long the wait is.
Starting over. This is the bigger one for large files. Smash's help page on uploads stuck at 100% is blunt about it: "Unfortunately, there is no way to restart the upload, the only solution is to start the process once again." The same page asks you to make sure the computer isn't in standby while uploading. A 200 GB upload on a 50 Mbps line runs close to 9 hours at full speed. Keeping a laptop awake and online for 9 hours is the hard part.
Two answers to one question. The pricing page lists Pro with "Unlimited transfer size". The help center says "The size limit is 250 GB per transfer with Smash Pro, and 1 TB per transfer with Smash Team." We can't tell you which one is current. If you plan to send more than 250 GB on Pro, ask Smash first. Free link expiry has the same problem, 7 days on the pricing page and 14 on the expiry help page.
How do the alternatives compare?
The last column is a heavy month: four 100 GB deliveries, one live at a time. Prices are USD on monthly billing, checked 9 October 2026.
| Service | Best for | Price | How big | Interrupted upload | 4 × 100 GB a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smash | Free sends a bit bigger than WeTransfer's, with password links on every plan | Free, then Pro at $10 a month, or Team at $25 a month for 10 people | 2 GB at full priority on Free; bigger transfers queue. Pro: unlimited or 250 GB, see above. | Starts over. Their help says there's no way to restart a stuck upload. | $10 on Pro |
| Tranzfer | Hundreds of gigabytes from a browser, on a connection you don't trust | Free, then $15, $29 or $69 a month, flat | 20 GB live at once on Free, up to 3 TB on Studio. No separate per-file cap. | Retries after a drop and carries on after sleep. After a crash or closed tab, pick the same files and only the missing parts upload. | $15 on Starter |
| MASV | Teams that want a desktop app and only pay when they send | $0.25 per GB after 15 GB free each month, or annual bundles from $58 a month for 250 GB | No cap on how much you send | Retries through network drops. A closed tab or crash in the browser starts over; the desktop app recovers. | $96.25 on Pay as you go |
| Filemail | People happy to install a desktop app who want files kept for good | Free, then Personal $6, Pro $14 and Business $24 a month | 5 GB a transfer on Free and Personal, 250 GB on Pro, any size on Business | Desktop app only. Their pages never say a browser upload resumes. | $14 on Pro |
| WeTransfer | A few gigabytes to someone who already expects a WeTransfer link | Free, then Starter, Ultimate and Teams. Prices show after you sign in. | Free: 10 transfers or 3 GB per 30 days. Starter: 10 transfers or 300 GB per 30 days. Ultimate: up to 1 TB a transfer by their help center. | Not mentioned. Their help asks for a stable connection and says sleep mode cancels the upload. | Over Starter's 300 GB, so Ultimate; see their pricing |
| Dropbox Transfer | Sending up to 100 or 250 GB when you already pay for Dropbox | Comes with Dropbox plans. Check their plans page for the current price. | 2 GB on Basic, 50 GB on Plus, 100 GB on Essentials and Business, 250 GB on Business Plus or with the Replay add-on | Not stated on their Transfer help pages | Fits Essentials or Business; see their plans |
The alternatives, ranked
1. Tranzfer
Best for Hundreds of gigabytes from a browser, on a connection you don't trust.
- Price
- Free, then $15, $29 or $69 a month, flat
- How big
- 20 GB live at once on Free, up to 3 TB on Studio. No separate per-file cap.
- If the upload is interrupted
- Retries after a drop and carries on after sleep. After a crash or closed tab, pick the same files and only the missing parts upload.
- How long links last
- Up to 3, 7 or 14 days by plan, then the files are deleted
Good
- Every plan resumes, Free included
- Flat monthly price, not per GB
- Folders arrive sorted; desktop Chrome and Edge save a whole delivery into one folder
Watch out
- No desktop app and no team seats yet
- Links last 14 days at most
- 3 TB live at once is the ceiling
- New. Tested at 100 GB with eight failures forced on purpose, not years of production
Sources: Tranzfer pricing, How resume works
2. MASV
Best for Teams that want a desktop app and only pay when they send.
- Price
- $0.25 per GB after 15 GB free each month, or annual bundles from $58 a month for 250 GB
- How big
- No cap on how much you send
- If the upload is interrupted
- Retries through network drops. A closed tab or crash in the browser starts over; the desktop app recovers.
- How long links last
- You set it. 5 days of storage are included, then $0.07 per GB a month.
Good
- Desktop app recovers from most interruptions, reboots included
- Portals collect files from clients and can forward them to S3 or Frame.io
- Pay only for what you send
Watch out
- Per-GB pricing adds up. 1 TB in a month is about $246 pay as you go
- In the browser, "if you close your MASV browser tab or your computer crashes you will have to start over"
- A credit card is needed even for the free 15 GB
Sources: MASV pricing, MASV on interrupted uploads, MASV Portals
3. Filemail
Best for People happy to install a desktop app who want files kept for good.
- Price
- Free, then Personal $6, Pro $14 and Business $24 a month
- How big
- 5 GB a transfer on Free and Personal, 250 GB on Pro, any size on Business
- If the upload is interrupted
- Desktop app only. Their pages never say a browser upload resumes.
- How long links last
- 7 days on Free, 30 days on Personal. Permanent on Pro, set by you on Business.
Good
- Flat monthly price
- Desktop app that resumes interrupted transfers
- Files can stay up permanently on Pro
Watch out
- Resume is listed as a desktop app feature, not a browser one
- Free allows 2 transfers a day of up to 5 GB; Personal also stops at 5 GB a transfer and Pro at 250 GB
- Sending a folder from the browser needs Chrome or Opera
Sources: Filemail plans, Filemail desktop app, Filemail free plan
4. WeTransfer
Best for A few gigabytes to someone who already expects a WeTransfer link.
- Price
- Free, then Starter, Ultimate and Teams. Prices show after you sign in.
- How big
- Free: 10 transfers or 3 GB per 30 days. Starter: 10 transfers or 300 GB per 30 days. Ultimate: up to 1 TB a transfer by their help center.
- If the upload is interrupted
- Not mentioned. Their help asks for a stable connection and says sleep mode cancels the upload.
- How long links last
- Up to 3 days on Free and Starter. Ultimate keeps transfers up as long as you like.
Good
- Everyone knows the name
- Ultimate takes up to 1 TB in one transfer
Watch out
- Free allows 10 transfers or 3 GB in 30 days, Starter 10 transfers or 300 GB
- Free and Starter links last 3 days at most
- Their troubleshooting page says sleep mode cancels an upload; resuming isn't mentioned
- Senders need an account; prices are only shown after you sign in
Sources: WeTransfer plan limits, WeTransfer link expiry, WeTransfer upload troubleshooting
5. Dropbox Transfer
Best for Sending up to 100 or 250 GB when you already pay for Dropbox.
- Price
- Comes with Dropbox plans. Check their plans page for the current price.
- How big
- 2 GB on Basic, 50 GB on Plus, 100 GB on Essentials and Business, 250 GB on Business Plus or with the Replay add-on
- If the upload is interrupted
- Not stated on their Transfer help pages
- How long links last
- 7 days on Basic, Family and Plus. Other plans pick a date, 30 days by default.
Good
- Already there if your team lives in Dropbox
- Recipients don't need a Dropbox account
- Passwords and download counts on the business plans
Watch out
- Basic tops out at 2 GB and Plus at 50 GB a transfer
- Dropbox warns that browser uploads over 375 GB may time out and points you to the desktop app
- Their help pages don't say what happens to an interrupted Transfer upload
Sources: Dropbox Transfer help, Dropbox upload limits, Dropbox plans
Which one should you pick?
- You send 50 GB or more and can't babysit the upload. Tranzfer. If the tab closes or the browser crashes, pick the same files again and only the missing parts go up. Starter holds 300 GB live at once for $15 a month.
- You want a desktop app that survives a reboot: MASV, billed per GB, or Filemail at a flat price.
- Your sends are a few gigabytes and the recipient expects a familiar name: WeTransfer.
- You already pay for Dropbox and send under 100 GB: Dropbox Transfer.
Plug your own sizes into the price calculator to see what a month costs on each.
When is Smash still the better pick?
- You want the cheapest flat plan. Smash Pro is $10 a month. Tranzfer Starter is $15.
- Your transfers are under 2 GB. Smash Free sends them at full priority, for nothing.
- You want branded pages. Smash Pro adds your logo and background to the send, receive and download pages.
- You want links that last up to 30 days on a paid plan. Tranzfer links last 14 days at most.
- You want an app. Smash has a Mac app and phone apps on the App Store and Google Play. Tranzfer runs only in the browser.
Smash also takes folders straight from the browser without zipping, so that's not a reason to switch.
Questions people ask
What is the Smash file size limit?
Smash's pricing page says Pro has unlimited transfer size. Its help center says 250 GB per transfer on Pro and 1 TB on Team. Free has no hard cap, but anything over 2 GB waits in a queue behind Pro transfers.
Why is my Smash transfer stuck at 100%?
Smash's help page says there's no way to restart a stuck upload and the only fix is to send it again. It also asks you to keep the computer out of standby while it uploads.
How long do Smash links last?
Up to 30 days on paid plans. For Free, Smash's pricing page says 7 days and its help center says 14, and neither can be extended.
Is there a free Smash alternative for big files?
Tranzfer Free holds 20 GB live at once with links up to 3 days, and resumes interrupted uploads. Once a link is downloaded and cancelled, the space comes back for the next send.