How to Send Work to Clients: 12 Tools Compared for Freelancers (Oct 2026)

The short answer

To deliver large files, use WeTransfer or Smash. To get a contract signed, use an e-signature tool such as DocuSign, Youtrust or Dropbox Sign. To present work to a client and know who opened it, or to have them accept an NDA before they see it, use a link tool such as SignToSee, Papermark, Peony, DocSend or Digify. For one person, SignToSee is the lowest-priced of the link tools for a branded link (€4.99 a month) and for an NDA before viewing (€14.99 a month), both billed yearly.

A note before you read: we make SignToSee, so read this with that in mind. Every price comes from the vendor's own pricing page, checked in October 2026, in the currency the vendor lists, per month on yearly billing unless we say otherwise. Vendors don't all show VAT the same way, so check the final price on their page. Where another tool is the better choice, we say so.

Sending work is four different jobs

Sending work to a client sounds like a single task, but it usually means one of four, and most tools handle only one of them well.

1. Delivering files. Final exports, video, print files. Size and speed matter most.
2. Getting a contract signed. A quote, a freelance agreement, an NDA you negotiate with the other side. Both parties sign.
3. Presenting work. A proposal, a deck, a set of concepts. You want it to look professional and to know it arrived.
4. Showing sensitive work under terms. Concepts before the deal is signed, where you want the client to accept an NDA before they see anything.

1. Google Drive and Dropbox: where your files live

Most freelancers already keep their work in Google Drive or Dropbox, and sharing from there costs nothing extra. For storing and working on files together, they are hard to beat.

They are less suited to the moment you actually send something to a client.

• Google Drive is free with a Google account. A shared link shows Google's page, not yours, and there is no email when your client opens it. Google's Activity dashboard lists viewers only for Docs, Sheets and Slides, and Google's own help says it is not meant for auditing. For a PDF or an image you send, it does not tell you who opened it. Google Workspace starts at €6.80 per user a month.
• Dropbox has a free plan with 2 GB. On Plus (€9.99 a month), shared links have no password, no end date and no way to turn off downloads. Those, along with watermarking and viewer history, start on Standard at €12 per user a month.

Pick them if you collaborate on files or need terabytes of storage.

Where SignToSee fits: you don't have to move anything. Put a SignToSee link in front of a Drive, Figma or Notion page: your client confirms their email with a code before they get through, and you see who opened it. There is one caveat: once they are through, they land on that service's own page, and its address can be passed on. Set its sharing to restricted, or upload the file itself when it matters.

2. WeTransfer and Smash: delivering files

Both are built to get a file from you to someone else, however large it is.

• WeTransfer. The Free plan is labelled for individual, non-commercial use: 3 GB and 10 transfers a month, expiring after 3 days. Starter costs €7 a month (€84 a year) with 300 GB a month, still 10 transfers, 3-day expiry and no branding. Ultimate costs €19 a month (€228 a year): unlimited transfers, your own branding, and transfers that don't expire.
• Smash. The Free plan sends up to 2 GB per transfer, kept for 7 days, and emails you when it is downloaded or when it isn't. Pro costs $6 a month ($72 a year) with unlimited transfer size, 1 TB of storage, your logo and view and download tracking. On every plan, transfers stay available for 30 days at most.

Pick them if you send large exports, video or print files. SignToSee's Share plan has 1 GB of storage. For 50 GB of raw footage, use one of these.

Where they fall short for presenting work: a transfer ends in a download. Unless you add a password, anyone who has the link can download the file, and a password travels with the link. The work ends up as a file on someone's computer, and on most plans the link expires within days or weeks.

Where SignToSee differs: on Share (€59.88 a year) your client confirms their email with a code, the file opens in the browser with downloads off and their email as a watermark, the link lasts as long as you choose, and every client's links sit in one overview. That makes it the better fit for proposals and concepts, while WeTransfer and Smash remain the better choice for raw delivery.

3. DocuSign, Youtrust and Dropbox Sign: signing contracts

These are built to get a document signed. You upload a contract, place signature, date and name fields on it, and send it for signature. Both sides end up with a signed copy and an audit trail.

Youtrust is French, hosts its service in France, and offers advanced and qualified signatures (AES and QES) as add-ons. DocuSign offers QES as a paid add-on and AES on its advanced plans. SignToSee offers neither.

Pick them if you need a contract signed: a quote, a freelance agreement, or an NDA you negotiate with the other side. For an occasional NDA, DocuSign Personal and Youtrust One are cheaper than SignToSee Sign (€108 against €179.88 a year).

Where SignToSee differs: these tools are built around the signature itself, whereas SignToSee is built around access to your work. Your client accepts your NDA, and only then does the file open. The record ties that acceptance to the exact file they opened, and you see when they came back to it. Beyond the NDA, the same plan gives you branded links, named recipients and a per-client overview, which signing tools are not built for.

4. DocSend, Papermark, Peony and Digify: links with tracking and NDAs

These are the closest to SignToSee: you share a link, see who opened it, and can ask for an NDA before viewing. They are built mainly for fundraising, sales and due diligence, with data rooms and team seats, and priced accordingly.

• DocSend (part of Dropbox) has no free plan. Personal costs $10 per user a month. Branding starts on Standard ($45 per user). Verifying the viewer's email, limiting a link to named people and NDAs start on Advanced at $150 a month, which includes 3 users.
• Papermark has a generous free plan with 50 links and page-by-page analytics, and hosts data in the EU by default. On Free and Pro the viewer types an email; verifying it starts on Business (€59 a month). Branding starts on Pro (€24). NDAs start on Data Rooms (€99 a month, 3 team members).
• Peony has a free plan with analytics and bills per admin. Business ($30) adds email authentication, branding and an acknowledge-only NDA. A signed PDF for both parties starts on Data Room ($52). Peony's documentation says files are stored in a US region.
• Digify starts with Pro at $140 a month billed yearly: 1 user, 3 data rooms, 50 guests, NDA and terms of access included. Watermarking starts on Team ($350 a month).

The same jobs, per year, for one person

Digify Pro, at $1,680 a year, also includes an NDA before viewing.

Pick them if you run a fundraise or a deal, want page-by-page analytics, need data rooms, or work as a team. SignToSee has none of those.

Where SignToSee differs: it covers the core of the same job at a price set for one person, without seats or minimum users, and it confirms the viewer's email on every plan.

5. Where SignToSee fits

SignToSee is built for one job: presenting your work to a client and knowing what happened. Your client opens a link with your name and a note on it, confirms their email with a code, and sees your work. They don't need an account or any software.

New accounts get the Sign plan free for 7 days, without a card. See all plans.

What a link records

The first time each person opens a link, SignToSee writes one entry: their confirmed email address, the time, their IP address and the country it points to, their browser type, a fingerprint of the file, and the exact terms or notice they saw. Each entry is chained to the one before it, so changing an old entry shows. A copy of the log is stored separately every day, and its fingerprint is timestamped by an eIDAS-qualified provider.

On Sign, you can download any entry as a PDF and a JSON file that anyone can check on their own computer, without an account and without relying on SignToSee.

Accepting an NDA on SignToSee is a simple electronic signature. Under eIDAS Article 25(1), a court cannot dismiss it solely because it is electronic; the regulation does not fix how much weight it carries. SignToSee records what happened, but it cannot promise an outcome. The details are on What a link records.

What happens to your file

Your file, or the address you link to, is encrypted in your browser before it leaves your device. The key travels in the link, never to our server, so we can't open what you share. SignToSee is hosted in the EU, on Scaleway infrastructure.

What SignToSee doesn't do

To help you rule it out quickly if it isn't the right fit:

• No page-by-page tracking. We deliberately don't record which pages your client read or for how long.
• No data rooms and no team seats. It is built for one person.
• No large file delivery. Storage runs from 10 MB on Free to 30 GB on Sign+.
• No advanced or qualified signatures (AES or QES).
• NDAs work on uploaded files only. A link to a Figma or Drive page gets the email check, not an NDA.
• It can't stop screenshots, photos or copying, because nothing can undo what someone has already seen. SignToSee records who opened what, when, and under which terms.

How to choose

• Sending 20 GB of footage or print files: WeTransfer or Smash.
• A contract both sides sign: DocuSign, Youtrust or Dropbox Sign.
• A fundraise, due diligence or a team sharing decks: DocSend, Papermark, Peony or Digify.
• A proposal or concepts, and you want to look professional and know who opened it: SignToSee Free or Share.
• Concepts before the deal is signed, and you want an NDA accepted first: SignToSee Sign.
• Your files live in Drive or Dropbox: keep them there and send them through SignToSee.

Frequently asked questions

Is WeTransfer free for client work?

WeTransfer's Free plan is labelled for individual, non-commercial use. For client work, its paid plans start with Starter at €7 a month, billed yearly.

Can I see who opened a file I shared from Google Drive?

Only partly. Google's Activity dashboard lists viewers for Docs, Sheets and Slides, and Google says it is not meant for auditing. For a PDF or an image, Drive does not show who opened it.

Is a click-to-accept NDA valid in the EU?

Accepting terms by click is a simple electronic signature under eIDAS. A court cannot dismiss it solely because it is electronic, but how much weight it carries depends on the case and the evidence behind it. For your own situation, ask a lawyer.

What is the cheapest way to have a client accept an NDA before viewing my work?

Among the link tools compared here, SignToSee Sign at €14.99 a month billed yearly (€179.88 a year). The next lowest with a signed copy for both parties is Peony Data Room at $52 a month.

Sources

Prices and features as listed on each vendor's own page in October 2026:

• Google Workspace pricing and Google Activity dashboard help
• Dropbox plans
• WeTransfer pricing
• Smash pricing
• DocuSign eSignature plans
• Youtrust pricing and Youtrust security
• Dropbox Sign pricing and Dropbox Sign free plan
• DocSend pricing
• Papermark pricing
• Peony pricing and Peony documentation
• Digify pricing
• SignToSee plans and What a link records