Best File Hosting Services of 2024

Edited by Michael Levanduski

Updated


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File hosting is essential to your data integrity and management strategy. Read on to learn more about the best file hosting services.

Best File Hosting Services: Our Shortlist

Looking for the best file hosting service? Options range from subscription-based services like Google Drive and Dropbox, or self-hosted file sharing apps, like BlueHost and InMotion Hosting.

The type of file hosting that will work best for you depends on how many files you’re saving, their sizes, the type of security you need, and how much control you want over your files.

We have outlined the different types of file hosting, what you should consider when choosing a file hosting service, and our recommendations for the best file hosting services.

Our Top Picks

4shared

Best File Hosting Service

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iCloud

Best For Those on Apple OS

Jump to Review

Box

Best For Large Businesses

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Dropbox

Best For Feature Variation and Availability

Jump to Review

ElephantDrive

Best For Increased Storage

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Digital.com dives deep into every topic it covers to offer trusted and reliable recommendations for the best business tools. See how we review file hosting services.

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The Top File Hosting Services

4shared logo

4shared

Best File Hosting Service

Features

  • Live support
  • Direct download links
  • Ad-free sharing

#1 Top Pick

Why it’s best: Low costs and high value, SSL encryption, and recovery

Price
$9.99 per month

Free Trial
Free Version

24-7 Support
No

Billing Options
1, 3, 6, or 12 months

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Reasons to choose 4shared

  • Generous free plans for users on a budget
  • Compatible across all common operating systems such as BlackBerry, Safari, Chrome, FireFox, Opera, iOS, and Android

Reasons to avoid

  • No unlimited storage option

4shared offers 15 GB of free storage and a max upload file size of 2 GB. It also offers a variety of features for this free version of their platform, including multiple file upload, video streaming, and antivirus and password protection for folders.

Upgrading to the premium version, which costs $9.95 per month, will provide you with 100 GB of storage and a maximum upload file size of 100 GB. Plus, you get bonus features such as ad-free sharing, SSL data encryption, direct-download links, file recovery, and the ability to edit text files within the app.

4shared is compatible with the iOS, Android, and BlackBerry operating systems for mobile devices, as well as the Chrome, FireFox, Opera, and Safari web browsers.

4shared homepage
iCloud logo

iCloud

Best For Those on Apple OS

Features

  • Two-factor authentication
  • Harvests all file types from devices
  • 24/7 phone support

Price
$0 per month

Free Trial
Free Version

24-7 Support
Yes

Billing Options
Monthly

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Reasons to choose iCloud

  • Automatic Apple syncing features for data protection and management
  • Free version available for users on a budget

Reasons to avoid

  • Some may encounter limited functionality if not using Apple ecosystem
  • No unlimited storage option

iCloud is built into every Apple device, providing users with 5 GB of free storage. More storage is available for an additional fee.

This file-hosting option will be particularly appealing to Apple users. With iCloud Drive, you can access your files from the Files app on iOS and the Finder on your Macintosh. And whenever you make a change to a file on your drive, the update is automatically shared across all devices. Information in your Apple apps, such as phone numbers in Contacts and saved bookmarks in Safari, will be updated across all your devices as well.

This service is compatible with Windows PCs and the web, although some features are only available on Apple devices.

And with features such as automatic backup and two-factor authentication, you can protect yourself from unauthorized access and data loss.

iCloud homepage
Box logo

Box

Best For Large Businesses

Features

  • Native data loss protection
  • Advanced security features
  • 24/7 customer support (with purchase)

Price
$20 per month

Free Trial
14 Days

24-7 Support
Yes

Biling Options
Monthly or Yearly

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Reasons to choose Box

  • Unlimited storage options available
  • Free trial to “try before you buy”

Reasons to avoid

  • No free plan

Box offers four plans for file hosting: Starter, Business, Business Plus, and Enterprise.

The Starter plan provides 100 GB of storage, collaboration with up to 100 users, and built-in integrations for Office 365 and Google Suite.

With the Business plan, you get unlimited storage, data loss protection, and custom branding. And the extra features that come with the plans above include unlimited external collaborators, document watermarking, and password policy enforcement.

Box 14-day free trial sign up page
Dropbox logo

Dropbox

Best For Feature Variation and Availability

Features

  • 24/7 phone support available (paid plan)
  • Advanced security and encryption
  • 30-day money-back guarantee

Price
$9.99 per month

Free Trial
30 Days

24-7 Support
Yes (paid)

Billing Options
Monthly or Yearly

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Reasons to choose Dropbox

  • Feature-rich file hosting plans
  • Stronger security practices than average tools in the space

Reasons to avoid

  • No free plan available
  • Phone support is an extra, paid feature

Dropbox is one of the biggest names in file hosting, thanks in large part to their feature-rich and ultra-secure services. You won’t be able to access those high-end services for free, though. And even if you’re paying for a plan, you’ll need to be paying for the most expensive one in order to get 24/7 phone support (the Standard and Advanced plans get 24/7 live chat support and phone support during business hours).

Dropbox homepage highlighting 700 million users registered
Elephant Drive logo

ElephantDrive

Best For Increased Storage

Features

  • End-to-end encryption
  • Automatic backup
  • Easy to use for beginners and novices

Price
$10 per month

Free Trial
No

24-7 Support
No

Billing Options
Monthly or Yearly

Read More

Reasons to choose ElephantDrive

  • Unlimited storage options available to suit personal and business needs

Reasons to avoid

  • No free plan available

ElephantDrive offers more storage than many other providers at similar price points. They would ideally also offer a free plan and 24/7 support, though.

ElephantDrive homepage

Compare File Hosting Services

File Hosting Service

Best Features

Pricing

4shared logo

4shared

Best File Hosting Service

  • Live support
  • Direct download links
  • Ad-free sharing

$9.99 per month

iCloud logo

iCloud

Best For Those on Apple OS

  • Two-factor authentication
  • Harvests all file types from devices
  • 24/7 phone support

$0 per month

Box logo

Box

Best For Large Businesses

  • Native data loss protection
  • Advanced security features
  • 24/7 customer support (with purchase)

$20 per month

Dropbox logo

Dropbox

Best For Feature Variation and Availability

  • 24/7 phone support available (paid plan)
  • Advanced security and encryption via AES and SSL models
  • 30-day money-back guarantee

$9.99 per month

Elephant Drive logo

ElephantDrive

Best For Increased Storage

  • End-to-end encryption
  • Automatic backup
  • Easy to use for beginners and novices

$10 per month

What You Need to Know

What is file hosting?

File hosting is any service that allows you to upload and maintain your files on someone else’s server. Whether they’re hosted on a physical server or use cloud storage, the effect is the same. You upload your files to the server, and there they stay until you take them off (unless the company removes them for some reason).

Wondering if file hosting is right for you, or considering other types of hosting like secure hosting or small business hosting? Consider this: When we say “files,” we’re not talking about storage for the files for your website, but rather personal files, documents, image files, and the like.

What is file deletion?

File deletion usually only happens if your account is terminated or if your files are deemed to violate someone else’s intellectual property rights.

For example, suppose you upload a file containing copyrighted music to which you do not own the rights or a license, and the copyright holder — usually the musician or a licensing agency — registers a complaint with your hosting provider. In that case, the company can delete the file from its servers.

What are the disadvantages of manual file hosting?

Permissioning in this context is a bit crude. It’s not easy to decide who specifically gets to see which files if you have a mix of things that you want to be public or private.

There are no built-in sharing features to send file links to people. There’s also no syncing capability; it’s easy to get version mismatch if you’re frequently accessing and editing files from different locations.

What are the benefits of using file-sharing services?

The benefit of using these apps is that they are completely yours. You control everything about them. This is good for privacy and ensures you’ll always have access to your files.

On the other hand, this also means more responsibility for setting up and managing your file system.

How We Review File Hosting Services

We’ve reviewed hundreds of hosting companies, shortlisting the best file hosting services based on security, storage space and file size limits.

Then, we consulted our database of thousands of customer reviews, studying their feedback on the best services to store and share files.

It’s important to compare companies and plans carefully. For example, many companies may offer file hosting and file sharing. However, these companies may provide vastly different configurations of basic features and tools.

Keep the following criteria in mind when researching hosts:

  • Comparison by value: Simply comparing one company to another on price and total available storage won’t tell you very much. Instead, look closely at the targeted user for each provider, as well as the features and pricing.
  • File hosting security options: While file-sharing services are useful applications of digital technology, they can be used for improper or even illegal purposes. Doing your research keeps you protected and proactive. The government has shut down more than one file-sharing site for violating anti-privacy and intellectual property laws.
  • Password protection: The front line of digital security for storage and hosting services is the password. Strong passwords are essential to protect your files. Most file hosts require a combination of a unique username and a password.
  • File encryption: Encryption is a significant aspect of digital data security.Your files should ideally be encrypted not only for sharing services but also for cloud storage. Encryption is a feature to check for in any potential file-hosting company.
  • Private SSL certificates: Your host company must provide a secure connection between its server and your web browser while you’re accessing your files.. HTTPS is the secure, encrypted version of HTTP or hypertext transfer protocol.

Learn more about our review methodology.

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