Send Anywhere Alternative: No 50 GB Limit, No App
BoltShare Team · Last reviewed
Send Anywhere is one of the best-known file transfer apps, especially on Android, and it does a lot well. BoltShare is a separate, free tool that works only in the browser. If you came here looking for Send Anywhere itself, it’s at send-anywhere.com. If you’re comparing the two, or you’ve hit one of Send Anywhere’s free limits, this page sets out the differences honestly so you can pick the right one for each transfer.
The short version
- Bigger than 50 GB, or no app wanted on either side: BoltShare. There’s no size limit, and both people only need a browser.
- Receiver will download later (up to 2 days), file under 10 GB: Send Anywhere’s share link. A live tool can’t do that.
- Two Android phones side by side with no internet: Send Anywhere’s Wi-Fi Direct mode.
How each one sends a file
Send Anywhere has several ways to send. The best known is the 6-digit key: the receiver types the key and the file transfers in real time. Send Anywhere describes the key as one-time use within 10 minutes. It can also make a share link, which stores the file so the receiver can download it later. That link is valid for 48 hours on the free plan.
BoltShare does one thing: a live link. You drop a file in, share the link or QR code, and the file streams from your browser to the receiver’s while you both have the page open. Nothing is stored, so there’s no size cap and nothing expires, but you must keep your tab open until they’re done.
Side by side
| Send Anywhere (free) | BoltShare | |
|---|---|---|
| Live transfer size limit | 50 GB (“1:1 real-time file transfer up to 50GB”) | None |
| Download-later link | Up to 10 GB, valid 48 hours, with 10 GB of link downloads per free account each month | Not available (live only) |
| Install needed | Website works for sending and receiving; apps for Android, iOS, Windows, Mac and Chrome add more modes | Nothing, in any browser |
| Account | Optional for 6-digit key transfers; signing in adds sending straight to your own devices | Never |
| Offline, no internet | Wi-Fi Direct between Android devices | No, needs internet on both sides |
| Strict office, school or mobile networks | Not documented | Bolt Tunnel relay mode connects on almost any network |
| Recovers from dropped connections | Not documented | Reconnects and resumes from the last confirmed byte |
| Ads on the free plan | Yes (removed on paid plans) | Yes (why we show ads) |
| Paid plans | Lite $5.99/month, Standard $9.99/month: bigger links (20–30 GB), custom expiry, passwords, no ads | None. Everything is free |
Send Anywhere details are taken from send-anywhere.com/pricing and its help center (“How to send files” and the 2023 free-user policy notice) as of 31 October 2026. Plans change, so check there before relying on a number. BoltShare isn’t affiliated with Send Anywhere or Rakuten Symphony.
Where Send Anywhere is the better pick
- The receiver will download later. A 48-hour share link (up to 10 GB, within a 10 GB monthly download allowance on the free plan) lets them download after you’ve switched off. BoltShare can’t do that, because nothing is stored.
- Android to Android with no internet. Wi-Fi Direct works with no network at all, for example while travelling. BoltShare needs internet on both devices.
- You want an app with transfer history and notifications. Send Anywhere’s apps can push a file straight to one of your signed-in devices. BoltShare is browser-only by design.
Where BoltShare is the better pick
- Files over 50 GB. Video projects, disk images and backups often go past Send Anywhere’s free 50 GB live limit. BoltShare has no limit. See how to send a 100 GB file.
- Nothing to install, on any device. The receiver taps a link and the file goes to their Downloads folder. That suits sending to someone who isn’t comfortable installing apps, or to a work PC where you can’t install anything.
- Office, college or mobile-data networks. BoltShare’s default Bolt Tunnel mode sends data through a relay on Cloudflare’s network over an ordinary secure web connection, so it connects where direct peer-to-peer connections are blocked. The relay passes data along in memory and never saves it.
- Long transfers on a shaky connection. If Wi-Fi drops mid-transfer, both sides reconnect and carry on from the last byte the receiver confirmed, instead of starting again.
- You’d rather nothing be stored at all. Choose Direct P2P mode and the file goes device to device with end-to-end encryption.
Sending with BoltShare instead
- Open BoltShare on the sending device.
- Drop in the files, or a whole folder (it arrives as one ZIP).
- Send the link, or let the receiver scan the QR code with their phone camera.
- Keep the tab open, and on a phone keep the screen on, until the receiver’s download finishes. Keeping a transfer running has the settings for each device.
For other options, see the best free ways to send large files, or the WeTransfer and ToffeeShare comparisons.