ShareFile alternative: 6 tools for small agencies (2026)
Six tools compared for small agencies leaving ShareFile, with published prices, file limits and what to check first.
Tarkle is the first tool below. We make it, so read this as one vendor's view and check the sources linked under each tool. The best ShareFile alternative for a small agency depends on the job. Tarkle suits agencies that want to send files, collect files and get client approval under their own domain. Dropbox suits teams that already live in shared folders, Filemail suits agencies that mostly send large files, Hightail suits creative teams that send large files and review them, Clinked suits firms that want a full client workspace, and Box suits teams that want content management.
Why small agencies look for a ShareFile alternative
Progress, the maker of ShareFile, launched ShareFile Enterprise on 29 September 2026 for larger and regulated organizations, with enterprise identity management, native data loss prevention and AI-driven threat detection (Progress press release). That is useful for a firm with a security team, and more than most small studios need.
On its pricing page, ShareFile charges per user with a minimum of three users on Advanced, Premium and Enterprise. Advanced shows $18.15 and $16.50 per user per month, Premium shows $28.59 and $26.00, and Enterprise shows $42.00 and $35.00. Advanced lists basic document collaboration. Premium adds client collaboration tools (e-signature, requests, tasks, forms and workflow automation) and an enhanced client portal. The plans also list unlimited client users.
None of that is a flaw. It is a different shape: per-user pricing, a feature set that grows with the plan, and a regulated-industry focus. If you want the detailed side-by-side, read Tarkle vs ShareFile. The rest of this page is about what else fits a small team.
What a small agency usually needs
This page checks four needs: sending finished work and large files with one link, collecting files from clients without chasing email attachments, having the link or portal carry your own name, and letting clients comment or approve without creating an account.
Pricing shape matters as much as features. A tool priced per user gets more expensive with every designer, editor or freelancer you add. A tool priced per client or per member pool can jump sharply between its first and second plan. Check which shape you are buying before you compare feature lists.
If you are unsure whether you need a sharing tool or a storage tool, file sharing vs cloud storage explains the difference.
Six ShareFile alternatives compared
Tool | Published price | Largest file | Client portal | File requests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Tarkle | Free $0, Pro $29 and Agency $59 per month | Free 1 GB upload, Pro and Agency 200 GB | Pro and Agency | Yes, on Free |
Dropbox | Standard $15 and Advanced $24 per user per month | Up to 100 GB per transfer | Not listed | Yes, on all plans |
Filemail | See Filemail's comparison page | Pro 250 GB, Business any size | Pro and Business | Pro and Business |
Hightail | Lite free, with Pro and Teams on paid plans | Lite 100 MB, Pro 25 GB, Teams 50 GB | Not listed | Not listed |
Clinked | See Clinked's pricing page | Not listed | Yes, the core product | Yes, File Request |
Box | See Box's pricing page | Not stated here | Not stated here | Not stated here |
Prices are as published on each vendor's own page when this article was checked. Not listed means the vendor's published plan page does not show that feature. Not stated here means this article gives no detail for that cell.
Tarkle: best for sending, collecting and approval on your own domain
Tarkle is for freelancers and small teams. The Free plan includes one workspace and 5 GB of storage. It includes file sharing by link, file requests to collect files from clients, and client feedback, where clients comment on PDFs and images with one link and approve them. Reviewers do not need an account. A custom domain is on Free too, so links can come from an address like files.yourstudio.com. Recipients can open or download shared files without creating a Tarkle account.
The client portal, where each client signs in with their email address and sees what you shared with them, is on Pro and Agency. There is no password to set up, and each contact has an upload limit you set, 5 GB by default. Pro is $29 a month, or $19 a month billed yearly ($228 a year). It includes 3 TB of cloud storage, uploads up to 200 GB and a fully branded client portal. Agency is $59 a month, or $49 a month billed yearly ($588 a year). It adds 6 TB of cloud storage, 20 workspaces for your clients, a client provisioning portal and a white-label platform, where Tarkle is replaced with your own name, logo, colours and domain. Agency includes everything in Pro.
The limits to check are the upload size and e-signature. Free is for one person, with 5 GB of storage and a 1 GB upload limit. The features on Tarkle's pricing page do not include e-signature. If you need e-signature inside the file tool, ShareFile Premium lists it, and Dropbox lists 3 signature requests a month on each plan.
Dropbox: best for teams that already share folders
Dropbox sells team plans on its plans page: Standard at $15 per user per month and Advanced at $24 per user per month, with Advanced for three people or more. Both transfer files up to 100 GB. Standard and Advanced add branded transfers, password-protected transfers and custom expiration dates. File requests work for people without a Dropbox account, and Standard and Advanced can accept files up to 250 GB. Every plan lists 3 signature requests a month.
The limit is cost and shape. Pricing is per user, and Standard starts at 3 TB for the team. A studio that wants clients to sign in on its own address should check Dropbox's plan details first.
Filemail: best for sending and receiving large files
Its plan comparison page lists a custom subdomain, private file requests and a client portal on Pro and Business, with 250 GB per transfer on Pro and any size on Business. Recipients do not need an account to download. Yearly billing gives two months free.
The limits are on the entry plan and on the address. Personal is capped at 5 GB per transfer, and its files stay available for 30 days. Its branded address is a subdomain of filemail.com, not your own domain. We compared the two in more detail in Tarkle vs Filemail.
Hightail: best for creative teams that send big files
Hightail lists Lite free, with files up to 100 MB that expire after 7 days, on its pricing page. Pro sends files up to 25 GB. Teams is for 1 to 30 users. Hightail is aimed at teams that send large files and review them.
Tarkle vs Hightail covers the difference between branded delivery and creative review.
Clinked: best for a full client workspace
Clinked is a branded client portal and collaboration workspace. Its pricing page shows Start Up with 2 GB and no custom URL, Standard with 100 members and 1 TB, and Premium with 250 members, 3 TB, white-label email notifications and enforced two-factor sign-in.
The strength is that a portal with tasks, calendar and discussions is the core product. The limit is the price step: Start Up has no custom URL, and the first plan with your own domain is Standard. Our Tarkle vs Clinked page covers it in detail.
Box: best for teams that want content management
Box describes itself as AI-powered content management for your business, and its plan prices are on its pricing page. A PCMag review on Yahoo Tech, dated 30 March 2026, says the Business tier "might seem like a relatively bare-bones package" and notes that you "must pay extra for external collaborators" (Yahoo Tech). That is the main thing to check if clients will be outside collaborators in your account. See Tarkle vs Box for how it differs from branded client sharing.
Which ShareFile alternative fits which team
You mostly send large files and want a simple branded address: Filemail or Hightail, checking the price and the file size for the plan you need.
You already store everything in shared folders: Dropbox, with the per-user cost in mind.
You want clients to sign in to a portal with tasks and discussions: Clinked.
You need e-signature, workflows or HIPAA support inside one tool: ShareFile Premium lists e-signature, workflows and HIPAA support.
Run one real client job through each shortlisted tool before you pay. Send a finished delivery, request a file from a client who has never used it, and ask a client to approve something. Note how many steps the client needed and whether they had to create an account.
What to check first
Price at your headcount. Multiply the per-user price by everyone who will upload, then compare the total with the plan price on each vendor's page.
Minimum users. ShareFile and Dropbox Advanced both set a minimum of three users.
Largest file on your plan. The headline number is often on a higher plan than the one you buy.
Your own domain. Ask whether the client sees your address or the vendor's, and whether the vendor's name is removed.
What clients need to do. An account to download, to upload or to approve is friction.
What is missing. E-signature and HIPAA terms matter to some firms and not to others.
What to remember about Tarkle
Tarkle's Free plan includes one workspace, 5 GB of storage, file sharing and file requests, client feedback and approval, and a custom domain, so you can run a real client job before you choose a paid plan. The client portal is on Pro and Agency. Start for free or compare the plans on pricing.