4shared vs Pixeldrain (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Pixeldrain grades higher than 4shared: 2.8 against 2.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
4shared grades higher on value for money. Pixeldrain grades higher on ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan and features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
4shared
File storage and sharing with 15 GB free and annual premium plans
Pixeldrain
File hosting and sharing with a free tier and paid plans in euros
Which one is for you
Pick 4shared if
- Fits if you want a big free account for sharing
- Works for people who want 100 GB cheaply
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a desktop or phone app, as only the web is listed
- Tight if you send big files: free uploads stop at 2 GB
- Watch out: ads, direct links and file statistics are Premium
- Watch out: the pricing page we read was in Malay and only the annual price was visible
Pick Pixeldrain if
- Fits if you send large files and do not want an account
- Works for developers who want an API to upload to
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need files kept for good on the free plan, as they expire after 60 days without a download
- Tight if you share to many people, as free downloads stop at 6 GB a day per IP
- Watch out: Pro is billed through Patreon, which adds fees and sales tax
- Watch out: the home page gave us little text, so some terms come from the listing
How we grade them
| 2.6GPA4sharedGood | 2.8GPAPixeldrainGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | APremium 100 GB is $14.99 a year, about $1.25 a month, under 60% of the cheapest quarter. 1 TB is $39.99 a year. | BPro is EUR 4 a month or EUR 40 a year, inside the cheapest quarter. Prepaid is EUR 4 per TB stored plus EUR 1 per TB downloaded. |
| Free plan and trial | B15 GB free with 2 GB uploads and 100 GB of bandwidth a month. One person can live on that. | BFree uploads up to 10 GB a file with a 6 GB daily download cap per IP. Files expire after 60 days without a download. |
| Features | CStorage, sharing and direct links. Ad-free browsing and direct links are Premium. | CUpload, share, filesystem and an API. No sync app or editing is listed. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. It is a web account, but there is plenty to read on what each plan limits. | BNo store rating on record. Upload a file in the browser and share the link. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only on record, and no integrations are listed. | BWeb with an API. No desktop or phone app is listed. |
| Best for | cheap file storage and sharing with a 15 GB free account | quick file uploads with no tracking |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: 4shared and Pixeldrain. How we grade
Price against what you get
4shared starts at $1.25 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Pixeldrain starts at about $3.72 a month and scores 2.7.
Pixeldrain scores higher, and starts $2.47 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other file storage and sync services on the chart, 7 score higher than 4shared for less, and 6 score higher than Pixeldrain for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- 4shared also covers file management.
At a glance
| 4shared | Pixeldrain | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $14.99 per year (Premium 100 GB, annual billing) | €4 per month or €40 per year (Pro) |
| Free plan | 15 GB of free storage, priority downloads, 2 GB maximum upload size and 100 GB monthly bandwidth. | Free: 10 GB per file, 6 GB per day of downloads per IP, files expire after 60 days without download. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | 4shared | Fornaxian Technologies |
| Price read from | 4shared.com | pixeldrain.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
4shared
- The free plan caps uploads at 2 GB and bandwidth at 100 GB a month.
- The pricing page was read in Malay; the dollar figures are shown per year in the annual view and the monthly price was not read.
- The page states a 15% saving with annual plans.
- Refunds may be requested within 30 days of the first subscription.
Pixeldrain
- Free files expire after 60 days without a download.
- Pro is billed through Patreon, which adds its own fees and sales tax.
- Prices are in euros; a prepaid minimum of €0.01 a day applies.
Key features
4shared
- 15 GB free storage
- Free accounts get 15 GB and can share links to files.
- Direct download links
- Premium plans share links that download immediately, without an intermediate page, and allow file embedding.
- Ad-free browsing
- Premium members browse without advertisements.
- Multi-file transfers
- The 500 GB and 1 TB plans upload or download multiple files at once as a ZIP archive.
- File and account statistics
- Premium plans show statistics about files, downloads and account activity.
Pixeldrain
- Large file uploads
- Free uploads up to 10 GB per file; paid plans allow 100 GB per file.
- Hotlinking and embedding
- Paid plans let you embed files in other sites and link them directly.
- Filesystem storage
- A filesystem feature for longer storage, with a 2 TB limit on Pro.
- API
- Documented API with keys and permissions for uploading and managing files programmatically.
- Customizable download pages
- Prepaid users can change the theme, background, header and footer image of download pages.
Plans
4shared
Free$0
15 GB storage, 2 GB maximum upload size and 100 GB monthly bandwidth.
Premium 100 GB$14.99
per year, annual billing view shown
100 GB storage, ad-free browsing, direct download links and file statistics.
Premium 500 GB$29.99
per year, annual billing view shown
500 GB storage plus multi-file upload and download.
Premium 1 TB$39.99
per year, annual billing view shown
1 TB storage with the 500 GB features.
Pixeldrain
Free$0
10 GB per file, 6 GB daily download limit, 60-day file expiry and no hotlinking.
Pro€4
per month, or €40 per year, excl. tax
100 GB files, 4 TB transfer per 30 days, hotlinking, embedding and 120-day expiry; managed by Patreon.
Prepaid€4
per TB per month stored, plus €1 per TB downloaded
Pay for what you use with no limits; files do not expire while the plan is active.
Ways to pay less
4shared
- Annual discount
15% off with annual billing
The premium page advertises 15% off when paying yearly instead of monthly.
Pixeldrain
- Annual discount
€40 a year instead of €4 a month
The Pro plan is listed at €4 a month or €40 a year, excluding tax.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, 4shared or Pixeldrain?
As of Nov 13, 2026, 4shared is cheaper to start with: $1.25 a month when paid by the year, against about $3.72 a month for Pixeldrain. 4shared starts at $14.99 per year (Premium 100 GB, annual billing), and Pixeldrain starts at €4 per month or €40 per year (Pro).
Which has a free plan, 4shared or Pixeldrain?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both 4shared and Pixeldrain have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.