ProjectSend

ProjectSend is an open-source client portal for private file exchanges between organizations and their clients, partners or teams. It is best suited to people who want control over access rules and infrastructure, while its hosted plans serve teams that prefer a managed service. The core trade-off is substantial control and automation versus the operational work of self-hosting and a current lack of encryption at rest in version 2.0.

Overview

Each client receives a focused portal for downloading files and, when permitted, uploading files in return. Roles, client groups, detailed permissions, download limits and storage quotas let administrators separate audiences and control how files are used. Automatic access expiry, comments and replacement uploads—with notifications to recipients—support an ongoing exchange rather than a one-time transfer. Detailed activity records show uploads, access and downloads, giving administrators a useful audit trail.

The open-source edition runs on infrastructure you choose and is licensed under GNU GPL v2. The maker recommends Docker Compose; installing a release archive requires PHP 8.4 or newer, MySQL 8.0 or newer, nginx with PHP-FPM and shell access. Self-hosted help is community-based through guides, GitHub bug reports and Discord, so organizations must be prepared to operate and maintain the service themselves.

Key features

Sign-in can use email and password, TOTP two-factor authentication, LDAP with automatic provisioning or single sign-on. That range suits both small deployments and organizations integrating an existing identity directory. A REST API with scoped tokens automates files, clients, groups and comments, and the application generates its API documentation, making it practical to connect file exchange to internal workflows.

Supported object storage, including S3-compatible storage in the free core, can extend where files live without abandoning the portal model. Self-hosters choose the data location and infrastructure, but version 2.0 does not encrypt stored data at rest. ProjectSend Cloud encrypts hosted files in transit and at rest, and its Business plan can enforce two-factor policies.

Pricing

ProjectSend Open Source: $0.00 USD, free forever and self-hosted. There are no caps on users, clients, files or storage. This is the strongest value for organizations with technical capacity and a suitable hosting environment, but it comes with community support and your own operational responsibilities.

Free: $0.00, free forever. It includes 2 GB of storage, private links retained for 30 days and community support. It is appropriate for light, short-lived sharing, not a growing client operation. The Cloud Free space is personal: it has no separate client accounts, branding or team seats, and you must sign in at least monthly to keep the account.

Pro: $19.00 per month. It includes 25 active client accounts, then charges $0.40 for each additional account; 100 GB of storage, then $0.02 per extra GB; three team seats, then $4 per seat; and one year of audit history. This fits a small professional team with predictable usage, but expanding clients, storage or staff increases the monthly bill.

Business: $49.00 per month. It adds unlimited active client accounts, SSO, enforced two-factor policies, audit-log export and priority support to Pro. Choose it when identity enforcement, exportable records or a larger client base justify the premium.

Enterprise: custom pricing on annual contracts. Dedicated regions or deployment in your own cloud account, assisted migration and commercial licensing are available for organizations with deployment or procurement requirements beyond the standard plans.

Platforms

ProjectSend is available as a web application, a self-hosted deployment and an API. The platform mix favors browser-based client access and organizations able to run server infrastructure; no desktop or mobile application is part of the stated offering.

Who it's for

Choose it for client-facing file delivery where granular permissions, expiring access, return uploads and activity records matter. It also suits teams that need LDAP, SSO or API automation, and organizations that want to decide where self-hosted data resides. It is a weaker fit when work tracking is central, when you need a turnkey installation without maintaining servers, or when stored-file encryption at rest is a requirement for a self-hosted version 2.0 deployment.

Pros and cons

• Pro: The open-source plan has no user, client, file or storage caps, which removes artificial growth limits for capable self-hosters.
• Pro: Client groups, quotas, download limits and expiry rules provide more controlled sharing than a single public folder.
• Pro: Scoped API tokens, generated documentation and SSO/LDAP options support integration and centralized identity.
• Con: Self-hosting requires a specific PHP, MySQL and nginx environment plus ongoing administration and community-led support.
• Con: Version 2.0 does not encrypt self-hosted data at rest.
• Con: The Cloud Free space lacks client accounts, branding and team seats, limiting it to personal use.

Alternatives

For a broader client-portal directory, see Customer Portal Software. For transfer-focused tools, compare File transfer services and File Sharing Software.

FuseBase is the better choice if you need Android, iOS, Windows or macOS access alongside web and API support, plus a free client portal and workspace. Pick Assembly when a legal-oriented portal with a free tier for five active contacts is a closer match. Kitchen.co suits agencies wanting mobile apps, unlimited clients and projects on its free plan. Choose Dock when workspaces, playbooks, courses and order forms matter more than a self-hosted file portal. OnBrio, SuperOkay and Tarkle Portal offer other web-based client-portal approaches. Xpand Portal is worth considering when a paid platform with self-hosting and a 30-day trial is preferable.

Verdict

ProjectSend is a strong recommendation for technically capable organizations that need controlled client file exchange, return uploads, automation and unlimited scale in a free self-hosted edition. Look elsewhere if you need built-in work tracking, native mobile or desktop apps, hands-off hosting, or encrypted-at-rest storage in the self-hosted version.