WeTransfer Pro charges $12/month, forever, to move files through their storage. Droplink does the same job from your own $5 VPS or desktop: chunked resumable uploads with no practical size limit, expiring share links with password gates and download limits, and a clean download page for recipients. Your client files never touch a third party.
If you've searched for a WeTransfer alternative, Droplink is the pay-once option worth putting at the top of the list: Droplink is $29, one time, and covers the same core job WeTransfer charges $12/mo for.
What makes Droplink the pick for 2026
- Chunked, resumable uploads — Files slice into 5MB chunks with per-chunk retry. Drop your connection mid-upload and it resumes exactly where it left off — a 50GB file is as safe as a 5MB one.
- Transfers with real terms — Expiry (default 7 days), optional bcrypt-hashed password, optional max-download count, optional message to the recipient.
- Clean share links — File list with sizes, live expiry countdown, password gate, inline preview for images and PDFs, per-file download plus streamed "Download all as ZIP".
- Email the link — Compose recipients + a note straight from the transfer page using your own SMTP credentials — no third-party mail service.
- Auto-cleanup — A sweep runs every 5 minutes deleting expired or limit-hit transfers — database rows and files on disk.
Droplink vs WeTransfer, at a glance
| Droplink | WeTransfer | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $29 once | $12/mo ($144/yr, forever) |
| File size limit | None — your disk is the limit | 200GB (Pro) |
| Resumable uploads | Yes | No |
| Where files live | Your own server | Their storage |
| Download limits per link | Yes | No |
| Password-protected links | Yes | Pro only |
| Ongoing cost after year 1 | $0 | $144+/yr |
| Source code | MIT, on GitHub | Closed |
Pays for itself in 2.4 months versus WeTransfer Pro — and stays free forever after that.
Common questions
Is it really free on GitHub?
Yes — the full source is MIT at github.com/bensblueprints/droplink-mvp, always. $29 buys the packaged installer, guided deploy and lifetime updates instead of building it yourself.
Do I need a server?
For public share links, yes — a $5 VPS with the included Docker Compose setup does it, with Caddy or nginx in front for TLS. Desktop mode runs the identical app in an Electron window for local use. WeTransfer's zero-setup convenience is real; the trade is you rent it forever.
What happens if an upload drops at 90%?
It resumes. The server tracks exactly which 5MB chunks it already has, so a refresh or dropped connection continues instead of restarting — verified in the test suite with a sha256 byte-identical check, not just eyeballed.
The bottom line
Droplink won't out-feature WeTransfer on every axis — no subscription tool with a bigger team and a bigger roadmap loses on everything. But for the core job, $29 once against $12/mo forever is a trade most people should at least look at. Droplink is part of OneTimeSuite, a catalog of pay-once apps that replace subscription SaaS.
Try Droplink — $29, once
Self-hosted WeTransfer — chunked resumable uploads, password links, download limits.