Where can I host a file online for free?
The main free options are Google Drive (15 GB, shared with Gmail and Google Photos), OneDrive (5 GB), Dropbox (2 GB on the free Basic plan), GitHub (public repositories) and Droply (one project up to 10 MB). All of them give you a link that keeps working. They differ in what the visitor sees, how big a file can be and what you can change later. For a file you share with clients, the deciding question is usually what the person on the other end sees when they click.
The free options compared
| Service | Free allowance | What visitors see | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Drive | 15 GB, shared with Gmail and Photos | Google's preview page | Long, unreadable links; big files show a virus-scan warning |
| OneDrive | 5 GB | Microsoft's preview page | Same idea as Drive, with less free space |
| Dropbox Basic | 2 GB | Dropbox's preview page | Little free space |
| GitHub | Public repositories, files up to 100 MB (25 MB through the browser) | The raw file or GitHub's file view | Everything is public, and it is built for code |
| Droply Free | 1 project, 10 MB, 5,000 visits a month | A page with a viewer (PDF, image, video) or a download button | A small Droply badge, and free projects are kept out of search engines |
Hosting a file or sharing it?
Sharing means giving specific people access, usually through a drive's permissions. Hosting means the file has a public address that anyone with the link can open, without an account and without asking for access.
Cloud drives can do both, but they are built for sharing: links point to the drive's interface, and a permission mistake shows your client a "Request access" screen. Hosting services give the file its own page or address, which is what you want for a link in an email signature, on a flyer or in a proposal.
How long does a free link last?
- Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox: as long as the file is there, sharing stays on and your account stays active. Google may delete personal accounts that have been inactive for two years.
- GitHub: as long as the repository exists and stays public.
- Droply: a free project has no expiry date and you do not need to log in to keep it alive. It stays up until you take it down.
- Transfer services such as WeTransfer: free links expire after a few days. That is fine for sending, but it is not hosting.
How to host a file on Droply for free
- Go to droply.so and type a name, for example
ana-cv. - Drop the file onto the upload box.
- Sign in with Google or a code sent to your email. The file is live at
ana-cv.droply.page.
A PDF opens in a viewer with page thumbnails and a download button. Images and videos play on the page. Other files get a page with a download button. When you have a new version, click Update in your dashboard and replace the file; the link stays the same. Publish your first project walks through it step by step.
When free stops being enough
- The file is bigger than 10 MB. Droply's Starter plan holds 100 MB for $5 a month billed yearly; Plus holds 1 GB.
- It needs a password, your own domain or visitor stats. Those come with Plus, which you can try free for 7 days.
- It should show up on Google. Free Droply projects are kept out of search engines to keep spammers away; paid projects can be listed.
- You need thousands of direct download links for an app or a website. That is a job for object storage such as Amazon S3 or Cloudflare R2, which charge by storage and traffic once you pass their free allowances.