# Hightail review (2026): is the free plan enough?

> Large-file sharing with creative review and project tracking

Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA.

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.

- **Category:** File Storage & Sync
- **Made by:** Open Text Corporation
- **Website:** https://www.hightail.com
- **Runs on:** Web, iOS
- **Who should skip it:** Tight if you send big files free: Lite stops at 100 MB a file and links expire in 7 days.
- **Facts last checked:** Nov 12, 2026

## Pricing

As of Nov 12, 2026, Hightail has a free plan, and paid plans start at $12 per month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly).

- **Pricing model:** Free plan
- **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 | $12 per month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly) | Unlimited storage, 25 GB files, configurable expiry, password protection and 5 nested folders. |
| Teams | $24 per user / month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly) | 1 to 30 users, 50 GB files, version control, approval routing, dashboards and phone support. |
| Business | $36 per 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 https://www.hightail.com/pricing on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Hightail before buying.

## Ways to pay less

- **Roughly 20% off with annual billing** (Annual discount): 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. Source: https://www.hightail.com/pricing

## 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.

## Good for

- Creative teams collecting feedback on files inside Adobe tools
- Agencies that send large deliverables and want to know when they are opened
- Occasional senders working inside the small free limits

## 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.

## ToolGPA grades

**GPA: 2.2 out of 4**, graded Nov 12, 2026. 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.

- **Value for money: C.** Pro at $12 a month billed annually ($15 monthly) sits in the dearer quarter of the category but under its $16.50 dearest-tenth line.
- **Free plan and trial: C.** Lite is free with 2 GB, files up to 100 MB, 7-day links and limited previews.
- **Features: C.** Sending, review and project tracking are covered, but custom branding and Uplink are add-ons and sending is capped at 100 recipients a send.
- **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record, and review and project features to learn.
- **Platforms and integrations: B.** Web and an iPhone app, with 7 integrations listed and no desktop app.

These are ToolGPA's own grades. 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.

## Where it 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.

The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/file-storage

## Keep it, 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.

- You could make: Documents: an app builder makes this well.
- You could not: Storing and serving files for other people.
- You could not: A real app for iOS. Something home-made would be a web page.
- You could not: It plugs into other products, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and OpenText Core among them.
- You could not: Sharing with other people, which means accounts and invitations.

A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it.

## What people say

- **App Store rating of the iPhone and iPad app:** 4.1 out of 5 from 648 ratings in the United States, read Nov 13, 2026. This is the store's rating of the app, not a score from ToolGPA. Source: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1030972058

## Works with

Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, OpenText Core, Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Zapier

**Tags:** File sharing, Documents

## Alternatives

- [WeTransfer](https://toolgpa.com/tools/wetransfer): Send large files by email or link without recipient sign-up. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/hightail-vs-wetransfer)
- [Dropbox](https://toolgpa.com/tools/dropbox): Cloud storage and file sync with transfer and signing tools. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/dropbox-vs-hightail)
- [Box](https://toolgpa.com/tools/box): Business content storage with e-signatures, workflows and AI. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/box-vs-hightail)
- [ShareFile](https://toolgpa.com/tools/sharefile): Secure file sharing and client portals for business teams. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/hightail-vs-sharefile)
- [Smash](https://toolgpa.com/tools/smash): Browser-based file transfer with no sign-up and no paid size cap. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/hightail-vs-smash)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026:

- https://www.hightail.com/pricing
- https://www.hightail.com/
- https://apps.apple.com/us/app/hightail/id1030972058

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/hightail
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).