TechRadar Verdict
For a free tool, SendGB offers a surprising number of features and it doesn’t throttle your upload and download speeds. The storage options, password protection, and auto-delete function all add to its appeal.
Pros
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Store files up to 90 days
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Password protect transfers
Cons
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5 GB transfer limit
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No mobile app
Why you can trust TechRadar
SendGB is a completely free file transfer service that enables you to share files up to 5 GB in size. What’s unique about this service is that it comes with essentially no catch. You can send as many files as you want to as many people as you want, with no restrictions on how frequently you can use SendGB. Plus, files can be stored for up to 90 days. If you just need to send files and don’t need a full-fledged cloud storage solution, there’s almost no downside to using this service.
- Want to try SendGB? Check out the website here
So is this file transfer platform right for you? In our SendGB review, we’ll help you decide.
Plans and pricing
SendGB is completely free. You can register for a free account, although there is absolutely no need to. The only extra feature unlocked is the ability to see your sending history. The platform also has a donation feature (note that payments are in euros), but we never felt pressured into paying.
By default, files up to 250 MB can be stored on SendGB’s servers for up to 90 days and files up to 5 GB can be stored for seven days. You can extend your storage term for all files to six months for €1.29 (approximately $1.53) or to one year for €1.99 ($2.36).
Features
SendGB enables you to send up to 500 files at a time, as long as the total amount of data being transferred is under 5 GB.
SendGB is a simple tool, but it does have a few useful features that enable you to control how your files are sent. First, you can make a transfer either by sending an email or creating a link for sharing. If you choose to send your files using email, you can enter up to 20 recipients at a time and include a message with your transfer.
If you send less than 250 MB, SendGB will store your data for up to 90 days (you can also choose to store files for 15, 30, or 60 days). For files between 250 MB and 5 GB, the company will store data for up to one week. Files are automatically deleted from SendGB’s servers at the end of the selected storage period.
Alternatively, you can choose to have your files deleted as soon as they are downloaded. When transferring over email, SendGB won’t erase your files until all recipients have downloaded them.
Interface and in use
Transferring files with SendGB is incredibly simple. Since you don’t need an account to send data, you can just navigate to the website, add your files, choose your recipients, and hit send. You cannot drag and drop files onto the utility, but you can select multiple files using the pop-up explorer window. There are very few options to worry about, and most of them have short explainers to make your choices clear.
One thing we especially liked about SendGB is that it doesn’t throttle your file uploads. Uploading a 1 GB file took under a minute over a high-speed Internet connection. Downloads aren’t throttled either.
We couldn’t find any file types that SendGB wouldn’t accept. The company claims that it supports all known file extensions, and this appeared to be true for all practical purposes.
The only thing we didn’t love is that once you upload a file, there’s no way to delete it ahead of schedule. If you decide to store a file for 30 days without auto-delete upon download, the file will be on SendGB’s servers for the full 30 days. This isn’t a huge deal in most cases, but it does make SendGB slightly less secure.
Support
As you might expect from a free service, SendGB doesn’t offer much customer support. There’s a basic FAQ page on the website, but that’s about it. You can get in touch with the development team by email, but responses typically take a few days.
Security
SendGB offers password protection for all file transfers using 128-bit encryption. The encryption isn’t end-to-end, so this is far from a locktight security measure. However, we certainly won’t complain about having the option to password-protect your files given that the service is free.
The company itself doesn’t use or access your files, but it does capture some information about senders. According to SendGB, this data is only used for internal analytics and is never shared with third parties.
The competition
SendGB isn’t the only free file transfer service, and some of its competitors offer the ability to send even larger files. Google Drive, for example, offers up to 15 GB of free space that you can fill with a single file if desired. However, you do have to register to take advantage of this. Smash is another free service with no file size restrictions, although upload and download speeds are throttled for transfers larger than 2 GB. In addition, files are only stored for 14 days.
Final verdict
SendGB is a simple and free tool for sending files up to 5 GB in size. The platform stands out by offering up to 90 days of free storage for files less than 250 MB, and increasing your storage to six months or one year is incredibly cheap. SendGB also offers handy options like password protection and the ability to send files by email or download link.
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Michael Graw is a freelance journalist and photographer based in Bellingham, Washington. His interests span a wide range from business technology to finance to creative media, with a focus on new technology and emerging trends. Michael's work has been published in TechRadar, Tom's Guide, Business Insider, Fast Company, Salon, and Harvard Business Review.