CADDManager on September 29th, 2009

I have used a few of the online file hosting and sharing services in the past. As always, I am looking for free services as my needs are not often very large. I look for  “unlimited duration” free – not a timed free trial. I look for file sharing, and backups. For file sharing, I want something so that others could easily get the files that I want to send them that are too large for email.

This review will focus on free file sharing only.

The settings for these services change all the time.  There may be all kinds of limits and restrictions on these free accounts. They may send you emails that you do not want. I have not used them enough to know some of the negative issues yet. For review purposes, all I was looking for was a quick, free sharing of files. You can try these out also and see what you think.

Most provide free accounts, but some are for limited times. Most provide download links that can be cut and pasted to email.

Here are the results of my searches and my quick testing.  In no specific order at all.

BigUpload – Free account. Ease of use was good. Interface was simple and easy to understand. Upload and download speeds were good. Upload limit = 50 MB.

MegaUpload – Free account – Very easy to use. Interface was very nice. Upload and download speeds were good. Had a little trouble figuring out what page allowed uploading. It is separate from their File Manager. Had to click on the home page graphic to get back to uploading. This one has a file manager download that can be installed. I did not do that. It also has integration with your browser – again another install. I did not want to do that either. 1 Gig upload limit. WARNING – Mega ads also, and pop-ups.

Uploading – Free account. Very simple interface but effective. 1 Gig limit on uploads. Upload and download speeds were acceptable. Has a 30 second delay before you can start a free download.

FileFactory – Free account. 300MB upload limit. 100 Gig of storage. Has an easy “email the link” button. Easy File Manager screen. Nice interface all around. Downloads are filled with pop-up ads and banner – too hard to get past them.

Box.net – Free account. 25MB upload limit. Easy signup. Wanted my phone number, but I did not put it in and it still allowed me to register. Has a JAVA applet drag and drop (install needed – did not do it – do you see a pattern here 🙂 ) This one has a preview on the download so you could look at your file before downloading.

ShareFile – free – but it was a 30 day trial – did not sign up.

Drop.io – Free account. 100 MB uploads. You create a “Drop” site and place files in it. You then have a URL to that unique site. Upload is straightforward. It has a preview function like Box.net, which is cool. The download interface on this is really easy to use.

MediaFire – Free account. 200MB uploads. Unlimited storage. Looked really good – but my upload never worked.

SendSpace – no account needed. Free account offered. Upload and get the download link instantly. Ad driven site. Offers ad free service – for a price.

NOTES:

DropBox – I use this for file sync and backup but not for file sharing with others.

Yousendit – 14 day Free account. 100 MB upload limit.  I have used this before and it works very weel.  It does not fit my review category of free account because it has a limited time duration

This list is in no way exhaustive. The more I searched – the more I found. I think that this industry is expanding at a rapid rate. Checking the most current ones from time to time may pay off.

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4 Responses to “Review of Free File Hosting and Sharing Services”

  1. Pando.com is another good site. Will allow up to 1GB of file transfer and is fast.

    You just need to install and App on the Computer similar to Box.net

  2. I’ve used Microsoft’s http://skydrive.live.com several times and it is pretty good.

  3. Wuala.com is another good one. You can share folders with that one either publicly or you can send secret links also. There are no file size limits, space is 1GB I believe, however you can share some your hard drive space and get more online storage for free. There are no bandwidth caps either. I actually purchased some extra space which also is pretty reasonably priced.

  4. Awesome post.

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