pCloud vs WeTransfer: free limits, paid plans and link controls for client files

pCloud vs WeTransfer: the short answer for client delivery

pCloud fits client files that should also live in storage, and WeTransfer fits large transfers with tracked downloads. pCloud is cloud storage with shared links plus a free send-a-file service; WeTransfer is a transfer service whose storage holds your live and recoverable transfers. On pCloud's US pricing page on 3 October 2026, Premium 500 GB was $4.99 a month, billed monthly. WeTransfer's Starter was $10 a month, billed monthly (WeTransfer's US price list, 5 October 2026).

Free sending: pCloud Transfer against WeTransfer Free

pCloud Transfer sends up to 5 GB a transfer at no cost, and the recipient needs no pCloud account; check the per-file limit shown on its page, covered on pCloud Transfer.

WeTransfer Free allows 10 transfers or 3 GB in any 30-day window, with links up to 3 days. Its pricing page, as read on 6 October 2026, marks the Free card "For individual, non-commercial use only", and its FAQ recommends a paid plan for business or professional work, so by its own wording Free is not meant for client delivery. Anyone sending needs a WeTransfer account, free after an email check.

Paid plans: pCloud storage against WeTransfer Starter and Ultimate

Billed monthly, Premium 500 GB at $4.99 is lower than Starter at $10; billed yearly, $49.99 is lower than $84. The products differ: Premium 500 GB is storage with 1000 GB of link traffic a month, the cap on what others download or stream through your links, while Starter allows 300 GB of transfers per 30 days. Ultimate, WeTransfer's plan for professionals, was $25 a month, billed monthly, or $228 a year, billed yearly.

WeTransfer's help center says Ultimate allows unlimited transfers of up to 1 TB each, while its pricing page says Ultimate has no limits on the transfer size, so ask WeTransfer for the transfer-size limit before you plan a delivery bigger than 1 TB. The Starter and Ultimate cards both say "For individual use only".

pCloud has no trial of a personal plan, only a 14-day money-back window on a written request, which it can decline on a discounted purchase. WeTransfer says a free trial may be offered at checkout.

Passwords, expiry and download tracking

pCloud's help center lists link passwords and expiry dates as Premium features, which means a paid plan, and the owner can see who viewed or downloaded a shared link. On WeTransfer, password protection, custom expiration and branded pages start at Ultimate, and its Access Control adds tracked downloads, where the downloader verifies their identity first.

For client links that need a password and an expiry date, pCloud needs a paid plan's shared link, from $4.99 a month, billed monthly, for Premium 500 GB on 3 October 2026; WeTransfer needs Ultimate, $25 a month, billed monthly.

Collecting files from clients on pCloud and WeTransfer

A pCloud file request is a link that lets anyone upload into one folder of yours, with no pCloud account and no view of the folder's contents. WeTransfer's Request files asks the uploader to verify an email and keeps files 30 days on Ultimate or Teams, 3 days on Free or Starter. WeTransfer emails the requester when files arrive; pCloud's pages do not say whether pCloud does.

Pick pCloud when client files should also live in storage, or when you want to pay once: Premium 500 GB Lifetime was $219 one-time on 3 October 2026, and Lifetime lasts for the account owner's lifetime or 99 years, whichever is shorter. Pick WeTransfer Ultimate for large transfers with tracked downloads, or Teams for a team. The WeTransfer alternative page sets other services beside both, and pCloud share link settings cover passwords and expiry dates.