pCloud Transfer is a genuinely decent free tool, and it deserves credit for keeping the no-registration flow that most of its competitors abandoned. You open it, add files, enter an email address, and send up to 5 GB without creating anything.
But it has one restriction that sends people looking for alternatives more than any other: a 200 MB cap on any single file. The 5 GB headline is a total across the transfer, not a per-file allowance. So you can send twenty-five 200 MB files, and you cannot send one 300 MB video.
If that is the wall you hit, this is what to use instead.
Key takeaways
- pCloud Transfer's real constraint is 200 MB per file, not the 5 GB total
- It supports up to 10 recipients and offers optional encryption with a password
- For one large file, almost any link-based alternative works better
- The best replacement depends on whether you care most about size, speed, or not signing up
Why People Leave pCloud Transfer
The per-file cap is unusual. Most services set one number and apply it to the whole transfer, so a 4 GB video either fits or it does not. pCloud Transfer splits the difference in a way that suits batches of documents and actively blocks the single-large-file case that most people mean by "send a big file."
A phone video of anything longer than a couple of minutes clears 200 MB easily. A RAW photo burst does. A zipped project folder does. So the tool works well for sending a stack of PDFs and fails immediately for the media most people are trying to move.
The other limitation is control. Once a transfer is sent, you cannot adjust the expiry, extend it, or delete it early.
The Alternatives Worth Knowing
ShareIt.onl - no account, real control
Up to 100 files and 3 GB in a single share, and crucially no per-file cap inside that. One 3 GB file is fine. No account, nothing to install.
The part pCloud Transfer does not offer is control over the link. You choose how long it lives - 1 hour, 12 hours, 24 hours, 3 days, or 7 days - and every download extends a live link by another 24 hours, so a share people are actively using does not expire underneath them. Password protection and delete-after-first-download are both free.
A free Google sign-in is optional and adds 30-day links, a dashboard to extend or delete shares early, upload-inbox links for collecting files from other people, plus 50 GB of live storage and 100 GB of downloads a month across everything you send.
Best for: one large file, or anything where you want the link on a timer you control.
SwissTransfer - by far the biggest free size
50 GB per transfer, free, with no accounts at all. Run by Infomaniak, a Swiss hosting company, with files stored in Switzerland. Links last up to 30 days and passwords are free.
Nothing else in the free tier comes close on size. If your problem is that the file is enormous, this is the answer and the rest of this list is academic.
Best for: very large transfers where size beats every other consideration.
Smash - no size cap, with a catch
Smash does not cap upload size at all on the free tier. The trade-off is that transfers over 2 GB are queued behind paying Pro customers, so a large free send can take a while. Free links last 7 days.
Best for: huge files when you are not in a hurry.
WeTransfer - the famous one, now more restricted
Worth knowing what it is now rather than what it was. The free plan requires an account, allows 3 GB, expires after a fixed 3 days, and is bounded by a 30-day rolling transfer allowance. Passwords are paid.
Best for: people already using it, or who need its recipient-notification flow.
A cloud drive - when you want to keep the file anyway
Google Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox will hold files far larger than any transfer service and let you share a link. The trade-offs are that it consumes your storage quota, the file stays until you remove it, and recipients sometimes hit sign-in prompts.
Best for: files you want to keep, not just deliver.
Quick Comparison
| Service | Free size | Per-file cap | Account needed | Link expiry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| pCloud Transfer | 5 GB total | 200 MB | No | Fixed |
| ShareIt.onl | 3 GB / 100 files | None within the share | No | 1h - 7d, 30d signed in |
| SwissTransfer | 50 GB | None | No | Up to 30 days |
| Smash | No cap | None | No | 7 days free |
| WeTransfer | 3 GB | None | Yes | Fixed 3 days |
Picking One
Work backwards from what actually blocked you.
A single file over 200 MB but under 3 GB - which covers most videos, photo sets, and zipped projects - any of these work, and ShareIt.onl is the quickest since there is no sign-up and you keep control of the link.
A single file over 3 GB. SwissTransfer, or Smash if you can wait.
A batch of small files. pCloud Transfer is honestly fine for this. Its 5 GB total is more than most free tiers offer, and the 200 MB cap never comes up.
Something you need to keep. A cloud drive. Transfer services are built to delete files, and that is a feature rather than a flaw - just not the one you want here.
One Thing to Check Whichever You Pick
Transfer services delete files on a schedule. That is the point of them, but it means none of these is a backup. Download what matters and store it somewhere permanent, because when the link expires the file is genuinely gone.
Send a file up to 3 GB free, no account, or read how to send large files online.