SendSafely

Overview

SendSafely is an encrypted file and message transfer service for people and teams sharing sensitive material. It suits organizations that need to verify recipients and manage access after sending; casual users may find its free allowance too small for regular transfers.

Its strongest distinction is that encryption happens on the sender’s device, while senders retain controls over who can access a transfer and for how long. That combination makes it a better fit for managed, sensitive exchanges than for simple file hosting.

Key features

Encryption and recipient access

Files are encrypted on the sender’s device using OpenPGP with AES-256. A split-key design keeps SendSafely from decrypting their contents. Recipients can open files in a modern browser without an account, but must verify with a one-time passcode sent by email or SMS. That makes external sharing less burdensome than requiring recipients to sign up, without removing an identity check.

Controls and integrations

Senders can set custom expiration dates, revoke access, limit views or downloads, and choose view-only mode or watermarking. Password protection, audit logs, and admin controls add useful oversight for sensitive exchanges. These controls are more compelling when a team needs to govern access than when it only needs a temporary download link.

Native integrations cover Outlook, Gmail, Slack, Salesforce, Zendesk, Freshdesk, and Intercom, bringing transfer into tools teams may already use. A REST API and client libraries for Python, Java, .NET, and Node.js support custom workflows, but API access starts at Business, excluding lower-priced plans.

AI workflows, compliance, and hosting

HALO collects files in AI chatbot workflows with client-side encryption, but it is available on Enterprise. SendSafely lists support for SOC 2 Type 2, PCI DSS, GDPR, and CCPA; HIPAA business associate agreements are available on Enterprise plans. The service runs on AWS, with optional hosting in the United States, European Union, or Australia on Business and Enterprise. Those options matter to organizations with compliance or regional hosting requirements, but some are gated to higher tiers.

Pricing

SendSafely uses a freemium model, with a 14-day trial. Trial users are limited to 2 GB of uploads, so the trial is useful for evaluating transfers within that ceiling, not for testing larger upload volumes.

• Personal: Free, with 50 MB per month. It can cover occasional small exchanges, but is a tight allowance for routine file sharing.
• Basic: $10 a month, with 250 MB per month, expiration controls, a personal upload URL, and an Outlook plug-in. This is a modest step up for light use, but remains constrained by its monthly quota.
• Pro: $20 a month, with 100 GB per month, files up to 10 GB, expiration controls, a personal upload URL, and an Outlook plug-in. The much larger allowance makes it the stronger fit for an individual with regular transfers; it still does not include API access.
• Team: $120 a month, billed annually, with 5 users, 10 GB bandwidth per month, and 200 packages per month; the plan is for 5–25 users. It suits small teams needing shared capacity and online support, though the published bandwidth and package quotas should be weighed against expected volume.
• Business: $232 a month, billed annually, with 8 users, 30 GB bandwidth per month, and 500 packages per month; the plan is for 8–50 users. It is the entry point for API access and regional hosting, making it the relevant tier for teams building integrations or needing those hosting options.
• Enterprise: Custom pricing, with 100 GB bandwidth per month and 1,000 packages per month. It is the tier for HALO, HIPAA BAAs, and optional premium 24x7 support with named contacts and guaranteed SLAs.
• Consumption — Bandwidth: Custom pricing by volume tier, billed per GB transferred, with a usage dashboard and no seat licensing. This suits metered transfer use where seat licensing is undesirable.
• Consumption — Packages: Custom pricing by volume tier, billed per package, with a usage dashboard. It fits teams that prefer package-based billing over seat licensing.

The consumption plans avoid fixed seat licensing, but their custom, volume-based pricing means the monthly cost depends on usage. Team and Business prices are billed annually; the supplied plan details do not state a separate monthly-billing option.

Platforms

SendSafely supports Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows, and web, alongside an extension and API. Its browser-based recipient access is useful when sending to people who do not have an account.

Who it's for

SendSafely is strongest for teams handling regulated or otherwise sensitive data that need device-side encryption, verified recipients, and post-send access controls. Its integrations make it relevant to teams that want secure transfer inside email, collaboration, or service tools. The Personal allowance and lower tiers’ quotas make it less suitable for sustained, high-volume sharing; API-based workflows require Business or above.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Device-side OpenPGP and AES-256 encryption with split keys means the provider cannot decrypt file contents.
• Pros: Recipients can access files in a browser without an account, while email or SMS passcodes provide a verification step.
• Pros: Expiration, revocation, view and download limits, view-only mode, and watermarking give senders meaningful control after sharing.
• Cons: Personal is limited to 50 MB per month, and Basic to 250 MB per month, restricting regular use on the lower-cost tiers.
• Cons: API access, regional hosting, HALO, and HIPAA BAAs require higher plans, with API access starting at Business and several capabilities reserved for Enterprise.
• Cons: Team and Business have stated bandwidth and package quotas, so their seat counts alone do not indicate how much transfer volume is included.

Alternatives

File transfer services and secure file transfer software are useful categories to compare if SendSafely’s combination of recipient verification and access controls is not the right fit.

• AWS Transfer Family is worth considering when a paid service with a free plan and web platform fits better; its SFTP, FTPS, or FTP endpoint pricing example is $0.30 a month at an hourly rate in US East (N. Virginia).
• rclone is the free, open-source alternative for readers who want a no-cost project rather than SendSafely’s paid plans.
• ExaVault offers a free self-hosted appliance for up to 50 users, making it a candidate for readers prioritizing self-hosting.
• pCloud is a freemium storage alternative with 10 GB on its free plan, for readers seeking storage rather than SendSafely’s controlled transfer workflow.
• Wing FTP Server has a free edition with one domain, 10 user accounts per domain, 10 connections per domain, and FTP/HTTP file transfer; consider it when those server-oriented limits match the use case.
• Send Anywhere offers free transfers with stated share-link and key-transfer size limits and 48-hour share-link expiration, for readers who prefer those transfer terms.
• FileFast offers a free plan for occasional personal transfers, with up to 5 GB per transfer and 10 GB storage.
• WeTransfer has a free plan with 10 transfers, 3 GB total, and three-day link expiry, for readers whose transfer needs fit those caps.

Verdict

Choose SendSafely if your priority is sharing sensitive files with device-side encryption, recipient verification, and controls that remain useful after sending. It is particularly compelling for teams working in supported integrations or needing regulated-data workflows. Look elsewhere if you need generous free capacity, lower-tier API access, or transfer volumes that exceed the published team quotas without moving to custom-priced consumption or Enterprise plans.