TransferFiles.net vs Dropbox Transfer

Yes, Dropbox Transfer works on the free Dropbox Basic plan, but only for transfers up to 2 GB, and links expire after 7 days. If your file is bigger than that and you don't pay for Dropbox, a live peer-to-peer transfer such as TransferFiles.net removes the cap, provided the recipient can receive while you send. If you already pay for Dropbox, or need the recipient to collect files on their own schedule, Dropbox Transfer is a good tool, and on business plans it adds passwords, branding and longer expiry that a live transfer doesn't try to offer.

What Dropbox Transfer is, and what it isn't

Dropbox Transfer is separate from ordinary Dropbox sharing. A shared link points to a file that stays in your Dropbox folder and keeps changing as you edit it. A transfer is a packaged, read-only delivery: you choose files, either uploaded from your computer or picked from your Dropbox, and the recipient gets a download page that expires. It suits "here are the final files" rather than "here is our working folder".

On the web, you create one by logging in to dropbox.com, clicking the grid icon in the left sidebar, choosing Transfer, then Create transfer. You add files with Upload files (or Add from Dropbox from the same dropdown), open the settings icon to adjust options, then click Create transfer and choose Send email or Copy link.

Limits by plan

Everything about Dropbox Transfer, including size, expiry and features, depends on the plan of the person sending. At the time of writing (October 2026), Dropbox's help center lists:

Two details in that table are easy to miss. First, an expired transfer is not deleted straight away. Dropbox keeps it for 30 or 180 days depending on the plan, although you can delete a transfer yourself to remove it immediately. Second, Dropbox advises that transfers very close to the 100 GB limit (95 GB or more), especially with deeply nested folders or thousands of files, may have upload problems. It suggests keeping transfers to 80–90 GB or splitting them.

The 2 GB cap in real files

Two gigabytes covers documents, a few hundred phone photos, or a short clip. It does not cover much modern video. Some typical examples that go over it:

• A 10-minute 4K recording from a recent phone.
• A day's RAW files from a mirrorless camera.
• An exported project from a video editor at a high bitrate.
• A full phone photo library you want to move to a new device.

Compressing rarely helps much with video and photos, which are already compressed. Zipping can help with folders of mixed documents (see how to zip files), and you can split a large job across several Basic transfers. Each still has to fit under 2 GB, and each creates a separate link for the recipient.

Worked example: sending a 7 GB wedding video

Here are the realistic options for a videographer with a free Dropbox account who needs to deliver a 7 GB final cut.

1. Dropbox Basic: not possible as one transfer. Splitting the video into four parts is awkward and leaves the client to reassemble it.
2. Upgrade to Plus: fits easily under the 50 GB cap, and the client can download any time within 7 days. You pay for a subscription but also get 2 TB of storage, which may be worth it if you do this often.
3. A business plan: adds a password, your logo on the download page and a custom expiry date, which helps with professional delivery. It costs more and is designed for teams.
4. A live transfer: agree a time with the client, open TransferFiles.net, select the file and send them the link or short code. The video goes directly from your browser to theirs, encrypted, and is never uploaded to a server. It works only while both tabs stay open. If the client is on desktop Chrome or Edge, a file this large streams straight to their disk. On a phone or Safari it is held in memory first, which may fail on devices with limited RAM.

For a one-off delivery to a client who will download that evening, option 4 costs nothing. For a business that delivers several films a month to clients who download on their own schedule, option 2 or 3 is the better investment. Our guide to sending large video files for free covers more approaches.

Store-and-forward versus a direct pipe

Dropbox Transfer uploads your files to Dropbox's servers, where they wait for the recipient. Dropbox encrypts data in transit and at rest, but it is not end-to-end encrypted, and the copy remains on Dropbox's infrastructure until it is deleted after expiry. In return, the transfer does not depend on you staying online. Your laptop can be closed and the recipient can still download.

TransferFiles.net is not a storage service. It uses WebRTC to connect the two browsers directly, with mandatory DTLS encryption. If a strict firewall blocks a direct route, the encrypted stream goes through a TURN relay that passes data along without being able to read it. Nothing is stored, and when you close the tab there is no link left. The how it works page explains this step by step. The trade-offs are no resume after a dropped connection, and both people must be present.

Feature checklist

When Dropbox Transfer is the better choice

• You already pay for Dropbox. Transfer is included, the size caps are generous, and you can send straight from files already in your Dropbox without uploading again.
• The recipient will download when it suits them, not while you wait.
• You want branded, password-protected delivery pages for clients, and you are on a plan that includes them.
• You want a notification when the recipient downloads.
• The recipient will download a large file on a phone, where a server download is more reliable than an in-browser live transfer.

When a live transfer is the better choice

• You are on Dropbox Basic and the file is over 2 GB.
• You don't have a Dropbox account and don't want to create one just to send a file. See file sharing without an account.
• You would prefer no copy to sit on a cloud server for weeks after the transfer expires.
• Both of you are available now, and one direct pass is quicker than a full upload followed by a full download.

If you are still comparing hosted services, our WeTransfer comparison covers a service with a different quota model.

Sources

• Dropbox Help: What is Dropbox Transfer? (plan limits, expiry, customization)
• Dropbox Help: How to create a Dropbox Transfer
• Dropbox Help: How many devices can I use with my Dropbox account?
• Dropbox plans and pricing