BetterFileTransfer vs TransferNow

TransferNow gives away password protection, unlimited recipients and unlimited downloads on a free tier that most of this category charges for. It pays for that with advertising.

Transfer serviceFigures checked TransferNow

At a glance

BetterFileTransfer and TransferNow, measured the same seven ways.
MeasurementBetterFileTransferTransferNow
Send without an accountWhether a first-time visitor can send something without handing over an email address.Yes, up to 100 MBYes
Free transfer sizeThe largest single transfer on the free tier.1 GB5 GB
Free link lifetimeHow long a link keeps working before the files are deleted.Up to 30 days7 days
End-to-end encryptedEnd to end means the provider holds sealed bytes and cannot open them. Encryption "in transit and at rest" is a different, weaker promise: the provider still holds the keys.Yes. End to end, on by default, sealed in your browser before uploadNo. In transit and at rest; TransferNow holds the keys
Cheapest paid plan$10 / month, or $100 / year€3 / month on a two-year plan
Paid transfer size10 GB250 GB on Premium
Storage includedStorage is what stays on the service; a transfer is what leaves it. A product built for one is rarely the best answer for the other.10 GB free, 1 TB on Pro100 GB on Starter, 1 TB on Premium

Limits and prices are set by each service and change without telling us, and a figure we could not confirm reads "not confirmed" rather than being estimated. If something here is out of date or simply wrong, email contact@betterfiletransfer.com and we will correct the row. Say where you saw it and we will check it against their own pages the same way we checked the rest.

TransferNow is a French service with an unusually well-judged free tier: 5 GB per transfer, no account, seven days on the link, and password protection included rather than sold. Unlimited downloads and unlimited recipients too, which is rarer than it sounds.

The trade is advertising. TransferNow sells "zero advertising" as a paid feature, which tells you exactly what the free tier looks like.

What TransferNow does well

Free password protection is the headline, and it is a real one. WeTransfer keeps it for Ultimate, Dropbox for business plans, Send Anywhere for paid tiers. TransferNow hands it to anonymous visitors. If you want a second factor on a link and you are not paying anybody, this is the shortest path to it.

The Premium tier is also unusually clear about its billing: 10 euros a month monthly, 8 annually, 6 on a two-year commitment, for 250 GB per transfer, 1 TB of storage and links lasting a full year. That transparency is more than several services on this page manage.

Where the two differ

  • Ads on the free tier. Your recipient sees them on the download page. Nothing here carries advertising on any tier.
  • Euros only. There is no published US dollar pricing, which is a small friction that becomes a real one at expense-claim time.
  • The cheapest tier is quoted on a two-year commitment. Starter is advertised at 3 euros a month, and that is the two-year rate; the monthly-billing figure is not shown by default. Read the toggle carefully.
  • A year is a long link. Premium's 365-day expiry beats our 30-day free ceiling, though Pro here can be set to never expire at all.

The encryption question

TransferNow uses SSL/TLS in transit and AES-XTS-256 at rest, with keys it holds. Premium mentions encrypting stored files with your key, but makes no zero-knowledge claim, and the absence of that claim is the answer.

That is a perfectly ordinary posture and, importantly, they do not oversell it. Password protection and encryption are two different things: a password stops somebody opening the link, and encryption decides whether the company holding the file can read it. TransferNow gives you the first for free. Only the second changes what the provider can see, and that is the one that is on by default here.

What it costs

Starter is 3 euros a month on a two-year plan, with 10 GB transfers, 100 GB storage and 30-day links. Premium runs 6 to 10 euros a month depending on commitment, with 250 GB transfers and 1 TB of storage.

Ours is $10 a month or $100 a year, with 10 GB transfers, 1 TB of storage, and no cycle you have to commit two years to in order to see the advertised price.

Which one to use

If you want a password on a free link today and you do not mind ads, TransferNow is the most sensible free tier in this category after SwissTransfer. If what you actually want is for the service to be unable to read the file, a password on their server is not that, and this is.

Compare something else