ShareSecure vs WeTransfer

Updated October 27, 2026

WeTransfer is the best-known way to send big files, and it's simple. ShareSecure is built for a different job: sending private files, like contracts, IDs and tax documents, where you don't want the service in the middle to be able to read them. Here's an honest look at the differences, as of October 2026.

	ShareSecure	WeTransfer (free)
End-to-end encryption	Yes, on by default. The key is in the link and never reaches the server.	No. Files are encrypted in transit and at rest (AES-256), so WeTransfer can access them.
Biggest file	10 MB on the website, 100 MB with the desktop app on your own computer	Up to 3 GB
How much a month	5 shares a day free, 100 a day with Pro	10 transfers or 3 GB in any 30 days
Open source, run it yourself	Yes (MIT), with a desktop app and Docker	No

ShareSecure also has view-only links, links that work once, passcodes, in-browser viewing of PDFs, Word files, images, video and ZIPs, and request links anyone can send you files through. For what WeTransfer's paid plans add, see its pricing.

When WeTransfer is the better choice

If you're sending large, non-sensitive files, like a video edit, a photo shoot or design files, WeTransfer handles gigabytes on its free plan, and ShareSecure's website doesn't. For that, use WeTransfer (or ShareSecure's desktop app, which takes up to 100 MB per file and keeps it on your computer).

When ShareSecure is the better choice

When the file is private: tax forms, medical records, legal documents, ID scans, contracts. With end-to-end encryption, a breach of the service, or a request to it, can't expose the contents, because the service never has the key. You can also stop people downloading, make a link work once, see when it's opened, and erase it on a schedule.

In July 2025 WeTransfer changed its terms in a way many users read as allowing AI training on their files. After the backlash it revised them, and it says it doesn't use AI on shared content. ShareSecure can't read end-to-end encrypted files to begin with, and its terms forbid using anything shared on it to train AI.

Sources

WeTransfer, Plan limits and How do we protect your files, checked October 2026. Plans change; check theirs for the latest.
ShareSecure's limits are in its terms, and how its encryption works is on the security page.

Try it

ShareSecure is free and needs only a username and password. Create an account, or get the desktop app to keep files on your own computer.