How to send a large file
Don't attach it, link it. Email gives up at a few tens of megabytes (see the limits), but a link can carry any size. The fastest link streams the file straight from your browser to theirs, so there's no upload to sit through first.
Numbers checked Oktober 2026. Each one links to where it came from.
What you're up against
Cloud drives take big files, but you upload the whole thing before they can start downloading, and both of you need room in the same service.
- Google Drive, largest filesupport.google.com, checked Oktober 2026
- 5 TB
- Google Drive, upload per daysupport.google.com, checked Oktober 2026
- 750 GBPer user, every 24 hours (Google Workspace help)
- OneDrive, largest filesupport.microsoft.com, checked Oktober 2026
- 250 GBMicrosoft suggests the sync app for anything over a few GB
- Dropbox, largest filehelp.dropbox.com, checked Oktober 2026
- 2 TBBrowser uploads over 375 GB may time out
- iCloud Drive, largest file or foldersupport.apple.com, checked Oktober 2026
- 50 GB
- USB stick formatted FAT32, largest filelearn.microsoft.com, checked Oktober 2026
- 4 GiBexFAT and NTFS have no practical limit
How to send it
Drop the file
Open download.fyi and drop the file anywhere on the page, or choose it. Several files at once is fine.
Send the link
Your link is ready straight away. Paste it into an email, a chat, a text. It's three short words, so you can read it out too.
Keep the tab open
The file comes from your browser, so it only flows while your tab is open. They start receiving the moment they open the link.
How long it takes
Your upload speed sets the pace. These are best-case times at full speed; real transfers run a little slower.
| Upload speed | 1 GB | 10 GB | 50 GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Mbps | 7 Min. | 1h 7 Min. | 5h 33 Min. |
| 50 Mbps | 3 Min. | 27 Min. | 2h 13 Min. |
| 100 Mbps | 1 Min. | 13 Min. | 1h 7 Min. |
| 300 Mbps | 27 Sek. | 4 Min. | 22 Min. |
| 1.000 Mbps | 8 Sek. | 1 Min. | 7 Min. |
Another size? Try the download time calculator.
Tips
Your upload speed sets the pace, not your download speed. Most home connections upload far slower than they download: the FCC's US benchmark is 100 Mbps down and only 20 up.
Plug the laptop in and stop it sleeping. A sleeping computer stops sending.
A cable beats Wi-Fi when you can use one, especially through walls.
Sending a folder? Zip it first so it arrives in one piece. The zip tool does it in your browser.
Copying it to a USB stick afterwards? Sticks formatted FAT32 can't hold a file over 4 GiB. Use exFAT.
If they can't be online while you are, buy a pass and the same link keeps working for 14 or 30 days.
Questions
What's the largest file I can send for free?
There's no cap on a live transfer. The file streams from your browser to theirs, so the limits are your connection, your patience and the free space on their side.
Do they need an account or an app?
No. They open the link in a browser and the download starts. Neither of you signs up for anything.
Is it private?
A live transfer is encrypted end to end between the two browsers. If it has to go through our relay, the relay only passes along encrypted bytes it can't read. How it works has the details.
What if I can't stay online until they've downloaded it?
Buy a pass. The file uploads, encrypted in your browser, and the same link keeps working: 14 days and up to 100 GB for $5, or 30 days and up to 500 GB for $9.
How long will it take?
Divide the size by your upload speed. 10 GB at 50 Mbps is about 27 minutes at full speed. The table above has more, and the download time calculator does any size.
Related guides
Sign up. Upload. Wait. Just drop it.
No account and no size cap. Your link is ready the moment you pick a file.
Send a file