Hightail review (2026): is the free plan enough?
Large-file sharing with creative review and project tracking
Black Friday: is there a Hightail sale?
Hightail report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 12, 2026
Best for sending files and getting creative work reviewed
Hightail sends large files and adds review and project tracking, free for 2 GB, with Pro at $12 a month billed annually. The free plan caps files at 100 MB and sends expire in 7 days, and branding is an extra.
Who Hightail is for
- Fits if you send big creative files and want comments on them
- Works for freelancers who can live with 2 GB free
Who Hightail is not for
- Tight if you send big files free: Lite stops at 100 MB a file and links expire in 7 days
- Pricey if you pay monthly: Pro is $15 against $144 for the year
- Watch out: custom branding and Uplink are add-ons, not included on Pro, Teams or Business
- Watch out: Teams covers 1 to 30 users and Business starts at 3, so larger groups go to sales
Why Hightail gets a 2.2
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- CValue for moneyPro at $12 a month billed annually ($15 monthly) sits in the dearer quarter of the category but under its $16.50 dearest-tenth line.
- CFree plan and trialLite is free with 2 GB, files up to 100 MB, 7-day links and limited previews.
- CFeaturesSending, review and project tracking are covered, but custom branding and Uplink are add-ons and sending is capped at 100 recipients a send.
- CEase of useNo store rating on record, and review and project features to learn.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb and an iPhone app, with 7 integrations listed and no desktop app.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Hightail's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
Make Hightail? Put this grade on your site
Paste this where you want the badge. It links here and follows the grade if it changes. About badges
<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/hightail#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/hightail.svg" alt="Hightail: 2.2 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Hightail stands among file storage and sync services
Hightail's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 13 of the 45 other file storage and sync services we grade, and level with 4.
It stands best on platforms and integrations (B, above 12 of 45) and worst on features (C, above 1).
Its paid plans start at $12 a month, against a middle price of $6.32 for the category: 33 of the 37 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 22 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 46 file storage and sync services we grade, cut by the letter each got. Hightail’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 9 of 45, level with 23
- CFree plan and trialAbove 4 of 45, level with 29
- CFeaturesAbove 1 of 45, level with 33
- CEase of useAbove 9 of 45, level with 13
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 12 of 45, level with 15
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 40 file storage and sync services. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
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
Keep Hightail, or make your own?
Keep it
The plain part of Hightail you could make: documents. What surrounds it you could not. The 4 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 28 of the 45 other file storage and sync services grade higher. It costs $144 a year.
What you could make
- Documents: an app builder makes this well.
What you could not
- Storing and serving files for other people.
- A real app for iOS. Something home-made would be a web page.
- It plugs into other products, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and OpenText Core among them.
- Sharing with other people, which means accounts and invitations.
What this rests on. Hightail’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is Hightail?
Hightail, formerly YouSendIt and now part of OpenText, is a file sharing service with a free Lite plan and paid plans for creative teams. It sends large files with delivery tracking and passwords, and adds comments on files, version comparison and approval routing for review work.
Worth knowing
- The free Lite plan caps files at 100 MB and expires sends after 7 days.
- Online purchases are limited to 200 file-send recipients a day, and 100 per send on paid plans.
- Custom branding and Uplink are add-ons on Pro, Teams and Business rather than included.
- Teams covers 1 to 30 users and Business starts at 3 users; larger groups go through sales.
Key features
- Large file sending
- Send limits are 100 MB on Lite, 25 GB on Pro, 50 GB on Teams and 500 GB on Business, with send tracking and delivery notifications on paid plans.
- Expiry and passwords
- Lite sends expire after 7 days. Paid plans can set an expiration date or keep files indefinitely, and add password protection.
- Precise comments
- Reviewers can comment on a specific point in a file. Teams and Business add version control and side-by-side version comparison.
- Project management
- Teams and Business include to-dos, advanced approval routing and personal and team dashboards for creative projects.
- Adobe and cloud integrations
- Photoshop and Illustrator plugins are listed on every plan, along with syncing from Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive.
Hightail pricing
As of Nov 12, 2026, Hightail has a free plan, and paid plans start at $12 per month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly).
- Starts at
- $12 per month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly)
- Free plan
- Lite: 2 GB storage, files up to 100 MB, send links expire after 7 days, limited previews, and 30 recipients per send.
- Free trial
- None listed
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Lite | $0 | 2 GB storage, 100 MB files, 7-day expiry, limited previews and precise comments. |
| Pro | $12per month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly) | Unlimited storage, 25 GB files, configurable expiry, password protection and 5 nested folders. |
| Teams | $24per user / month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly) | 1 to 30 users, 50 GB files, version control, approval routing, dashboards and phone support. |
| Business | $36per user / month, billed annually ($45 billed monthly) | For 3+ users: 500 GB files, 30 nested folders, enterprise-grade security and a dedicated support team. |
Read from hightail.com on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Hightail before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- Annual discountRoughly 20% off with annual billing
The pricing FAQ gives Pro at $144 a year, Teams at $288 per user and Business at $432 per user, and says annual billing saves about 20% a month.
Stated on hightail.com
How people rate the Hightail app
4.1
out of 5 for the iPhone and iPad app
- 5 stars62%
- 4 stars16%
- 3 stars5%
- 2 stars4%
- 1 star13%
648 ratings on the App Store in the United States, read Nov 13, 2026. It rates the app, not everything the product does. See the listing
Works with
- Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe Illustrator
- OpenText Core
- Dropbox
- Google Drive
- Microsoft OneDrive
- Zapier
Hightail alternatives
- Hightail vs WeTransfer
Free plan · from $8/mo
- Hightail vs Dropbox
Free plan · from $9.99/mo
- Hightail vs Box
Free plan · from $5/mo
- Hightail vs ShareFile
Free trial · from $16.50/mo
- Hightail vs Smash
Free plan · from $6/mo
Common questions
Does Hightail have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Hightail is listed for Web and iOS.
Does Hightail have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Hightail is listed for Web and iOS.
Is Hightail open source?
Hightail is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 12, 2026.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026. What people say is linked where it appears.