Tag Archives: sendspace

How to Send Large Files (mostly for free)

augustus gloop chocolate tubeNeed to send giant video files, but don’t want the hassle of FTP? There’s a proliferation of free sites that will allow you to upload a giant file (100 MB to 1 Gig) and provide someone else with a URL or e-mail so they can pull it down. Some require “client” software, but many need only a web browser and are supported by advertising or upsells to fancier versions. I used to be a loyal Pando user, but there are three problems:

  1. I don’t like the way I have to locate the file and drag it to the clumsy file interface (the user experience for finding a file on my Mac via Pando is painful).
  2. Most people don’t want to have to download and install a client application to retrieve it (even though it’s quite easy). And once you’ve done that, it’s usually the most convenient way to go (because it’s a one-step operation — instead of uploading, waiting for a unique URL, then e-mailing that URL and hoping your recipient downloads it before it expires).
  3. Pando seems to be constantly nagging me to upgrade, and I never see any improvements. It also crashes quite often.

Now I’m finding a wealth of alternatives, and the web interfaces have improved. The ads are still there, but it’s a small price to pay for free storage and upload/download. Here are just a few… No doubt Google will invent a free one that will crush this marketplace, but you gotta love ’em all for trying.

  • sendspace: Currently my favorite. Up to 300 MB, no fee, and very few limits. Has some upsell packages with a lot higher limits (1.5 gigs).
  • mediafire: One to watch. Has really good reviews (PCMag, CNet and PCWorld) and is apparently new.
  • senduit: Extremely easy, but it vanishes in 7 days and you have to wait for the unique URL (then e-mail it). Lose that code, and the file vanishes.
  • yousendit: I moved to it, but it started nagging me about reaching a limit. It’s got some upsell features.
  • dropboks: Haven’t played with it yet, but seems simple enough.
  • nakido: Another one I haven’t tried, but looks simple.
  • Plain Old Webserver: A Firefox add-on that does the trick apparently.
  • diino: Another client one, but decent file limit.