The Kiteworks Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Kiteworks in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Kiteworks
The Insider’s Guide
Compliance-focused secure file sharing, email and file transfer
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among file storage and sync services, read from Kiteworks’s own pages.
Made by Kiteworks · checked Nov 13, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Kiteworks’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Kiteworks’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Nov 13, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.0
GPA, above 13 of the 91 other file storage and sync services we grade
Kiteworks is a platform for exchanging sensitive files with people outside an organization, covering secure email, file sharing, SFTP and managed file transfer under one policy and audit layer. It is aimed at regulated industries and is delivered as a hardened virtual appliance. It offers Business and Enterprise editions.
To get you started, here are 8 things to know about Kiteworks, taken from its own pages and our grades.
No price is published and the trial terms are not stated, so you find the cost out by talking to sales.
- 1
Best for regulated companies sharing sensitive files with outsiders
Kiteworks bundles secure file sharing, email, forms and file transfer with policy and audit controls for regulated organizations.
- 2
You can try it first
Free trial offered on the vendor's site; terms not stated
- 3
It runs on Web
Web.
- 4
Secure file sharing
Folders, version control, desktop sync and external collaboration with retention and expiration policies.
- 5
Secure email and forms
Email protection with DLP scanning, encryption enforcement, link expiration and content withdrawal, plus secure web forms.
- 6
Managed file transfer and SFTP
Scheduled workflows, an SFTP server for outside parties and air-gapped configurations are described on the site.
- 7
A 2.0 GPA, above 13 of 91
That is against the other file storage and sync services we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 8
Keep it
The plain part of Kiteworks you could make: reports. What surrounds it you could not. The 4 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.
Kiteworks at a glance
- Pricing
- Free trial
- Free plan
- No
- Free trial
- Free trial offered on the vendor's site; terms not stated
- Runs on
- Web
- Made by
- Kiteworks
- Category
- File Storage & Sync
- Our grade
- 2.0 GPA, fair
The report card
Best for regulated companies sharing sensitive files with outsiders
Kiteworks bundles secure file sharing, email, forms and file transfer with policy and audit controls for regulated organizations. No price is published and the trial terms are not stated, so you find the cost out by talking to sales.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C | No prices are published: Enterprise is call-for-pricing and Business shows only a Buy Now button. Nothing on record to set against the category's $7 middle. |
| Free plan and trial | D | The site offers a free trial, but its terms are not stated, so we cannot say it is card-free or longer than a week. There is no free plan. |
| Features | C | It covers sharing, secure email, SFTP transfer, policy engine and audit log. The listing shows gaps: Business caps files at 2 GB, and bring-your-own-keys and forms are Enterprise only. |
| Ease of use | C | A compliance platform that takes setting up, with policies and integrations to configure. No store rating is on record. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | Web, with integrations for Outlook, Office, Google Workspace, Salesforce, iManage and Splunk. No desktop or phone apps are listed. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Kiteworks is for
- Fits if you must show auditors how sensitive files leave your company
- Works for teams that need data kept on-premises or in a private cloud
Who it is not for
- Not for you if you want to see a price before talking to anyone, as none is published
- Too light for large files on Business, which stops at 2 GB a file against 16 TB on Enterprise
- Skip it if you are a DoD supplier chasing CMMC 2.0 Level 2, where the vendor itself does not recommend Business
- Watch out: bring-your-own-keys, forms and the enterprise integrations are Enterprise only, and Business is 5 to 500 users
Good to know
Good for
- Regulated organizations sharing sensitive files with outside parties
- Teams that must keep data on-premises or in a private cloud
- Companies consolidating email security, file sharing and file transfer
Worth knowing
- No prices are published: the Enterprise edition is call-for-pricing and the Business edition shows only a Buy Now button.
- Business covers 5 to 500 users with a 2 GB file limit; Enterprise is unlimited with 16 TB files.
- Bring-your-own-keys, forms and the enterprise integrations are Enterprise only.
- Business is not recommended by the vendor for DoD suppliers seeking CMMC 2.0 Level 2.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
Kiteworks's current pricing could not be confirmed from its own site.
No prices are published: Enterprise is call-for-pricing and Business shows only a Buy Now button.
We could not confirm Kiteworks’s current prices from its own site, so this guide lists no plans. kiteworks.com has them.
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
1
Place it runs: Web
Compliance-focused secure file sharing, email and file transfer. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: file sharing, reports.
It covers sharing, secure email, SFTP transfer, policy engine and audit log.
- Secure file sharing
- Folders, version control, desktop sync and external collaboration with retention and expiration policies.
- Secure email and forms
- Email protection with DLP scanning, encryption enforcement, link expiration and content withdrawal, plus secure web forms.
- Managed file transfer and SFTP
- Scheduled workflows, an SFTP server for outside parties and air-gapped configurations are described on the site.
- Policy engine and audit log
- One attribute-based policy engine covers every channel, with a single audit log that can feed a SIEM.
- Encryption and compliance claims
- The vendor says it uses TLS 1.3 and AES-256 with FIPS 140-3 validated modules, and states FedRAMP certification.
- MCP server for AI agents
- A Model Context Protocol server lets AI agents reach governed data under the same access rules as employees.
Where it runs
- Web
What it works with
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft Office
- Google Workspace
- Salesforce
- iManage
- Splunk
Kiteworks is made by Kiteworks.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
13/91
Other file storage and sync services it is graded above
Kiteworks's GPA of 2.0 is higher than 13 of the 91 other file storage and sync services we grade, and level with 20.
It stands best on platforms and integrations (B, above 31 of 91) and worst on free plan and trial (D, above 9).
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 92 file storage and sync services we grade, cut by the letter each got. Kiteworks’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 14 of 91
- DFree plan and trialAbove 9 of 91
- CFeaturesAbove 2 of 91
- CEase of useAbove 22 of 91
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 31 of 91
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
The plain part of Kiteworks you could make: reports. 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: 58 of the 91 other file storage and sync services grade higher.
What you could make
- Reports: an app builder makes this well.
What you could not
- Storing and serving files for other people.
- It plugs into other products, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Office and Google Workspace among them.
- What a company asks for before it lets staff use something: audit logs.
- Sharing with other people, which means accounts and invitations.
What this rests on. Kiteworks’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.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Egnyte, ShareFile, Box and Files.com
The 4 tools Kiteworks is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.0GPA
Egnyte
Free trial · from $10/mo
Business file sharing with governance and AI tools.
- Only Egnyte lists Windows, macOS, iOS and Android apps.
- Kiteworks also covers reports.
- Egnyte also covers AI search, workflow automation and file sync.
- 1.8GPA
ShareFile
Free trial · from $16.50/mo
Secure file sharing and client portals for business teams.
- Kiteworks also covers reports.
- ShareFile also covers workflow automation and forms.
- 2.8GPA
Box
Free plan · from $5/mo
Business content storage with e-signatures, workflows and AI.
- Box has a free plan. Kiteworks does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Box lists macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps.
- Kiteworks also covers reports.
- 2.0GPA
Files.com
Free trial · from $199/mo
Cloud SFTP, managed file transfer and automation platform.
- Kiteworks also covers reports.
- Files.com also covers workflow automation.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
10
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Kiteworks free?
No, Kiteworks is a paid product, but you can try it first. Free trial offered on the vendor's site; terms not stated.
What platforms does Kiteworks work on?
Kiteworks is available on Web.
Does Kiteworks have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Kiteworks is listed for Web.
Does Kiteworks have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Kiteworks is listed for Web.
Is Kiteworks open source?
Kiteworks is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 13, 2026.
What does Kiteworks integrate with?
Kiteworks's listing names Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, Salesforce, iManage and Splunk.
Who makes Kiteworks?
Kiteworks is made by a company of the same name.
What are the alternatives to Kiteworks?
The closest alternatives to Kiteworks in our directory are Egnyte, ShareFile, Box and Files.com.
How does Kiteworks compare with other file storage and sync services?
Kiteworks's GPA of 2.0 is higher than 13 of the 91 other file storage and sync services we grade, and level with 20.
Could I make my own version of Kiteworks?
The plain part of Kiteworks you could make: reports. What surrounds it you could not.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Kiteworks’s own pages on Nov 13, 2026, and the grades were given on Nov 13, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Kiteworks's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Kiteworks. Prices change, so check kiteworks.com before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
7,721
Tools graded, in 95 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
7,721
tools graded
95
categories
739
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Kiteworks, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/kiteworks
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Kiteworks: The Insider's Guide", checked Nov 13, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/kiteworks
Know someone choosing between file storage and sync services?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/kiteworks/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded file storage and sync services after Kiteworks, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- File Storage & Sync Insider's GuideEvery one of the 92 file storage and sync services we grade, compared
- Google Drive Insider's GuideCloud storage tied to Google Docs, Gmail and Photos3.6 GPA
- Filen Insider's GuideEnd-to-end encrypted cloud storage from Germany with open source apps3.4 GPA
- Microsoft OneDrive Insider's GuideMicrosoft's cloud storage, bundled with Microsoft 365 plans3.4 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Kiteworks’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Kiteworks is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Kiteworks. Prices and plans change: check kiteworks.com before you buy.