WeTransfer file too big? What the limits are and what to do

How big a transfer does each WeTransfer plan allow?

WeTransfer's plan limits page, last updated 30 May 2026, sets the limits as totals over a rolling 30 days, not per file. Link lifetimes come from their page on transfer availability.

Two caveats. WeTransfer's pricing page says Ultimate has no limits on transfer size, which disagrees with the 1 TB on the plan limits page. We'd plan around 1 TB. And the pricing page only shows prices after you sign in, so we can't quote them here.

What does "too big" actually mean?

It means the transfer won't fit in what's left of your 30-day allowance. That's a different problem from a file that's simply huge. On Free, a 2 GB file goes through on Monday, and a 1.5 GB file on Wednesday doesn't, because together they pass 3 GB. The allowance comes back as old transfers fall out of the 30-day window, not on the first of the month.

WeTransfer's help pages don't publish the exact wording of the error, so go by the numbers. To see what you have left, hover over your account email in the top right, or open the Transfers tab and check Sent. Since November 2024 every sender needs an account, even on Free.

What are my options, in order?

1. Split the files. This helps less than people hope. On Free and Starter the cap is a total, so three transfers of 1 GB count the same as one of 3 GB. Splitting is useful in one case only, a single delivery over Ultimate's 1 TB. Zipping won't help either. Video, RAW photos and compressed audio barely shrink.
2. Wait or upgrade. If you're just over, waiting for an old transfer to age out of the window is free. Otherwise Starter lifts the total to 300 GB in 30 days, still capped at 10 transfers and 3-day links. Ultimate drops the transfer count and allows 1 TB per transfer.
3. Use another tool. If you send big files once in a while, a monthly WeTransfer plan for a single job is poor value. The WeTransfer alternatives page ranks the options with prices and sources.

Will a big WeTransfer upload finish?

Size isn't the only risk. WeTransfer's upload troubleshooting page says sleep mode cancels an upload, warns about a known Safari issue where uploads hang anywhere between 0% and 99%, and tells you not to move, rename or edit files after selecting them. It suggests restarting your computer and router for stalls. It says nothing about resuming an upload that stopped.

That matters at Starter sizes. 300 GB on a 50 Mbps upload takes 13 hours 20 minutes with the line flat out, and closer to 17 hours at a realistic 80%. Run your own numbers in the upload time calculator. Our guide to resuming an interrupted upload covers why long uploads die near the end.

When does Tranzfer fit?

We count capacity differently. A Tranzfer plan sets how much is live at once, not how much you send in a month. When a link expires or you cancel it, the space comes back for the next delivery. There's no separate per-file cap, so one file can be as big as the plan holds.

So a 15 GB edit that WeTransfer Free refuses goes through Tranzfer Free, and you can send another once the first link ends. Free is rate limited to 20 new deliveries an hour and 100 a day. Every plan resumes. A dropped connection retries by itself, a sleeping laptop carries on when it wakes, and after a crash or closed tab you pick the same files and only the missing parts upload. Details are on how resume works.

You sign in with Google to send. The recipient opens the link and downloads, with no account and nothing to install. Folders keep their structure.

When is WeTransfer the better pick?

• Your recipient already knows WeTransfer and the files are small. A 500 MB export doesn't need anything else.
• You want files to stay up. Ultimate keeps transfers for as long as you like and stores up to 2 TB. Tranzfer links end after 14 days at most and the files are deleted.
• You need a single delivery over 3 TB. That's the most Tranzfer holds at once, on Studio.

For the general playbook by file size, start with how to send large files.