

Drop a file in and it is online at a public link with no account: 48 hours anonymously, or until you go 3 months without signing in with a free account, after which the URL simply stops resolving. file.io needs no account either, but deletes the file after a single download, so the first person to click gets the only copy. Here the link keeps working for everyone you sent it to until the window ends.
Any supported file works. Documents: PDF · DOCX · XLSX · PPTX · EPUB · TXT · MD · ODT · ODS · ODP · ODG · OTT · OTS · OTP · OTG · ODM · ODC · ODF · ODB
Drag any file onto the box above. No account, no email address and no expiry setting to get wrong. The window is fixed before you share the link.
The file is reachable at its own URL for the whole window, by as many people as you send it to. Opening it does not consume it and downloading it does not delete it.
When the window ends the URL stops resolving and the file is gone. Nothing to remember to delete, and no dashboard to go back and tidy up.
The link is an ordinary URL and it survives being opened. file.io's free tier deletes the file after one download, which means the second person on your list gets an error and asks you to send it again.
The lifetime is fixed at upload and stated up front, so you can tell people how long they have. An expired link shows a plain expired-link notice rather than a broken page or, worse, somebody else's file.
Temporary is the default here, not a setting to remember. The file goes when the window ends, 48 hours anonymously or when you go 3 months without signing in on a free account, and you never sign in to a dashboard to delete anything.
48 hours if you upload with no account; with a free account, until you go 3 months without signing in; and as long as you like on a paid plan. The window is fixed when you upload, so the link cannot expire earlier than you told people it would.
No. It stays reachable for the whole window however many times it is opened. Services that delete on first download hand the only copy to whoever clicks first, which is rarely the person you meant. file.io does exactly that on its free tier.
No. Drop the file in and the link is ready: no email address, no password, no card. An account is optional, and only lengthens the window and lets you take a link down before it lapses.
The URL stops resolving and visitors see a plain expired-link notice. The file is removed: there is no read-only remnant, no preview stub, and nothing left in a dashboard for you to clear out.
Sign in free and you can remove a link whenever you want. An anonymous upload has no owner to authorise that, so it runs its 48 hours and then goes. That is the trade for not having to sign up at all.
Need it to last longer? Free file hosting with no sign-up. Sending rather than storing? Share files with no account.
| Feature | uploadthefile.com | file.io |
|---|---|---|
| Link permanence | Permanent on paid plans; free pages stay online until you go 3 months without signing in | Free tier: "Files auto-deleted after 1 download"; paid plans lift it |
| Password protection | Included from the Pro plan | Not listed on file.io's plans |
| QR codes | Free on every plan | Not listed on file.io's plans |
| Click analytics | Free: click history for 7 days | Not listed on file.io's plans |
| Ads on free links | No third-party ads. Free and anonymous links carry a small uploadthefile.com banner. | Yes: file.io's pages carry ad slots |
| Account required | Not needed for a basic upload | Not needed (anonymous upload) |
| Paid plans start at | See our pricing page | See file.io's pricing page |
Feature comparison as of August 2026. All product names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners; details reflect each provider's public pricing and may change.