Updated Oct 6, 2026 ## Should you use WeTransfer or Smash? Pick Smash when the file is very large, since its free plan has no hard size cap and keeps the transfer for 7 days. Pick WeTransfer when you already use it and the file fits its free allowance, which keeps a transfer for 3 days. Pick neither if the link has to keep working or the recipient should view the file in the browser: that is a job for a link service. ### Size: Smash goes bigger for free WeTransfer's free plan caps a transfer at 3 GB. Smash's free plan has no hard size limit; very large free transfers wait in a queue behind paid ones. For raw video or big archives, that difference decides it. ### Expiry: 3 days or 7 days A free WeTransfer transfer is deleted after 3 days; a free Smash transfer after 7. Both are designed to be downloaded and forgotten. If the recipient might come back to the file next month, neither free plan will still have it. [Why share links expire](https://linkinseconds.com/blog/share-links-that-never-expire) ### A third option: a link that stays Link in Seconds is not a transfer service. A file up to 250 MB on a free sign-in (500 MB on Pro) becomes a link that opens in the browser, has a view counter and does not count down to a deletion date. Use it when the file is not huge but has to keep working. [Compare with WeTransfer](https://linkinseconds.com/wetransfer-alternative) ### Before you choose Plans change often. Both services have revised their free plans in the last two years, so check their current pricing pages before you rely on a number here. Both end in a download. The recipient gets a file to save, not a page to view, which is right for delivery and wrong for review. A link service has a size ceiling. Here it is 500 MB per file on Pro, so for raw footage a transfer service, or our peer-to-peer Direct Send, is the better tool. ## WeTransfer vs Smash at a glance WeTransfer compared with Smash | Feature | WeTransfer | Smash | | Free size per transfer | 3 GB | No hard cap | | Free transfer kept for | 3 days | 7 days | | Free plan's other catch | 10 transfers per 30 days | Over 2 GB waits in a queue | | Password on the free plan | WeTransfer, Password on the free plan: no | Smash, Password on the free plan: yes | | Recipient needs an account | WeTransfer, Recipient needs an account: no | Smash, Recipient needs an account: no | | Ends in | A download | A download | From each service's public pricing and help pages at the time of writing. Free plans change often, so check their current pricing before you decide. ## How it works - 1 ### Check the size Over 3 GB and no budget points to Smash. Under that, any of the three works. - 2 ### Ask how long it must work A one-off download can expire in days. Anything people will reopen needs a link that stays. - 3 ### Send it the right way Use the transfer for delivery, or upload here for a link that opens in the browser with a view count. ## File size: where Smash pulls ahead This is the clearest difference. WeTransfer's free plan tops out at 3 GB a transfer, and its paid plans raise that ceiling. Smash's free plan has no hard size limit at all; transfers over 2 GB are simply queued behind paid users, which can make a big free send slower but not impossible. If you regularly move multi-gigabyte video exports or design archives and do not want to pay, Smash is the one built for it. ## How long the link lives A free WeTransfer transfer is deleted after 3 days, and the free plan allows ten transfers in any 30 days. A free Smash transfer stays for 7 days, and Smash's paid plans keep files longer. On WeTransfer, only the top paid tier lets you switch expiry off. Either way, the model is the same: the link is a delivery slip, and once it lapses the recipient has to ask you to send it again. ## Passwords, tracking and the paid plans Smash lets you put a password on a transfer even on its free plan; on WeTransfer, password protection is a paid feature. Both put their richer controls, such as longer storage, branding and transfer tracking, on paid plans, and both price those plans in tiers that change from time to time. Because the details move, compare the specific feature you need on each pricing page rather than trusting a summary, including this one. ## When neither is the right tool Transfers are built for files that get downloaded once. If you are sending something people will open more than once, such as a portfolio, a price list, a deck or a demo video, a link that stays is the better shape. Link in Seconds turns a file up to 250 MB on a free sign-in (500 MB on Pro) into a link that opens in the browser: PDFs in a viewer, video streaming with seeking, photos as an album. Every link has a view counter and a QR code, and nothing counts down to a deletion date. ## Which one should you pick? Very large one-off delivery and no budget: Smash. A file that fits the free allowance, sent to someone who already knows WeTransfer: WeTransfer is fine. Something people will open again, view on a phone, or that you want to know was opened: a link service such as Link in Seconds. And for a raw multi-gigabyte file between two devices, our Direct Send moves it browser to browser with no size cap. price-list.pdfPDF catalog-shot.jpgJPG manual-v2.pdfPDF event-album.zipZIP portfolio.jpgJPG price-list.pdfPDF catalog-shot.jpgJPG manual-v2.pdfPDF event-album.zipZIP portfolio.jpgJPG price-list.pdfPDF catalog-shot.jpgJPG manual-v2.pdfPDF event-album.zipZIP portfolio.jpgJPG price-list.pdfPDF catalog-shot.jpgJPG manual-v2.pdfPDF event-album.zipZIP portfolio.jpgJPG deck-final.pdfPDF brochure-pack.zipZIP report-q3.pdfPDF highlights.jpgJPG shoot-selects.jpgJPG deck-final.pdfPDF brochure-pack.zipZIP report-q3.pdfPDF highlights.jpgJPG shoot-selects.jpgJPG deck-final.pdfPDF brochure-pack.zipZIP report-q3.pdfPDF highlights.jpgJPG shoot-selects.jpgJPG deck-final.pdfPDF brochure-pack.zipZIP report-q3.pdfPDF highlights.jpgJPG shoot-selects.jpgJPG 2,600+ people sharing files 5,100+ links shared 17,400+ times opened Keep reading [WeTransfer alternative](https://linkinseconds.com/wetransfer-alternative)[Smash alternative](https://linkinseconds.com/smash-alternative)[8 WeTransfer alternatives compared](https://linkinseconds.com/blog/wetransfer-alternatives-compared)[Direct Send (peer-to-peer)](https://linkinseconds.com/transfer)[Send large files via email](https://linkinseconds.com/send-large-files-via-email)[WeTransfer vs Google Drive](https://linkinseconds.com/wetransfer-vs-google-drive) Source: https://linkinseconds.com/wetransfer-vs-smash