The best WeTransfer alternative for photographers

What WeTransfer does well

Credit where it is due. A transfer service is simple: drop the files, type an address, press send. Nobody needs an account to download, recipients can preview many files in the browser first, and for a one-off handover of a large folder, such as raw files for a retoucher or a project for an editor, it does the job. If that is all you need, you may not need anything else.

Where a transfer link falls short for client work

Things get harder when the transfer link becomes the delivery itself. Based on WeTransfer's own pages, as of October 2026:

• On the free plan, links expire. Free transfers expire after up to 3 days. A client who opens the email late, or wants to download again months later, may find nothing there. Transfers that do not expire on their own come with the paid Ultimate plan.
• A preview page is not a gallery. Recipients can browse and preview the files in the browser, but they see a transfer page, not a designed gallery with a cover, an order and chapters.
• Video preview has a size cap. In-browser preview covers MP4 and MOV files up to 300 MB, so a full-length film in high quality usually has to be downloaded before it can be watched.
• Branding needs a higher paid plan. A custom background, your logo and a branded page are offered on Ultimate and above, not on the Free or Starter plans.

Plans and features change, so check WeTransfer's site for the current details before you decide.

What to look for in an alternative

Before comparing tools, write down what your clients should experience and what you need to control. For most photographers and videographers, the list looks like this:

1. Full resolution, untouched. Files arrive exactly as you exported them, with no recompression along the way.
2. One link that just opens. No account to create and no app to install, on a phone or a computer.
3. A gallery, not a folder. A cover, an order, and photos that load quickly, with the originals still there to download.
4. Films that play in the browser. The client can press play before deciding to download.
5. Favourites. A simple way for the client to pick photos, so the album or print conversation starts from a list rather than a screenshot.
6. Control. A password when the work is private, and your name or logo on what is shown, if you want it.
7. A link that lasts. Delivery is not a one-week event. Clients come back to their photos.
8. Fair pricing. Watch for fees per gallery or per client, which add up as you take on more work.

Doing it without a special tool

You can get part of the way with tools you already have. Google Drive, or any shared cloud folder, solves the expiry problem: the files stay for as long as you keep them in your storage and keep the link shared.

• Create one folder per client, with a subfolder for each part of the job, and number the files so they sort in order.
• Set the folder so anyone with the link can view it, rather than adding each guest's address.
• Add a short text file or PDF with download instructions and, if there is one, the date you will remove the files.
• Export a lighter web-size copy next to the full-resolution files, so clients have something easy to share.
• Upload films as their own files and test playback from the link on your phone before you send it.

The limits are real, though. The client sees file names and thumbnails rather than a gallery, the storage counts against your own account, there is no simple way to collect favourites, and your clients are browsing your filing system rather than your work. It works, but it does not present the work the way you shot it.

How Aurant does it

Aurant was built for the part of the job after the shoot, for photographers and videographers. A delivery works like this:

1. Upload once, at full resolution. Files keep their names and are never recompressed. Galleries are built from the same files, not from copies.
2. Build a gallery. Choose a cover design; you can open each one as a sample gallery on the templates page. Some designs come with the paid plans.
3. Decide who sees what. Add a password that clients enter before the gallery opens and, if you like, your name or logo on every image they see. The originals stay clean.
4. Send one link. Your client opens it in any browser, on a phone or a computer, with no account and no app. They browse lighter previews so the gallery opens quickly, and download the originals when you allow it.
5. Let them choose. Clients pick their favourites, and you see every choice.

For files that do not belong in a gallery, such as a ZIP for an editor, send them by link instead. Films play straight from the link, in HD on any connection, and you see who downloaded what.

If you stop paying, nothing is deleted: your galleries, files and portfolios stay online, read-only. And the free plan does not expire.

So which should you use?

Keep a transfer service for quick handovers between professionals. For anything a client will open, share and come back to, use a gallery. For a complete walkthrough of a wedding delivery, read how to deliver wedding photos and films without WeTransfer or Google Drive.