With the growing trend towards digitalization and cloud computing, more and more companies are looking for ways to efficiently and safely transfer their files. Being able to share files with ease lets businesses function more efficiently and keep teams informed regardless of where they are. Citrix ShareFile is one of the most popular solutions for this, as it is an EFSS (Enterprise file synchronization and sharing service) letting large businesses mobilize their data.

If your business is looking for a Citrix ShareFile alternative due to its flaws or price point, today we’ll be looking through some of the best on the market. Alternatively, maybe you’re an SMB that doesn’t need the extensive enterprise-oriented features of Citrix ShareFile and want a simpler solution.

In our testing, the best Citrix ShareFile alternatives are:

1. SolarWinds Serv-U MFT – FREE TRIAL Made by the reputable SolarWinds company, Serv-U MFT brings you all of Citrix ShareFile’s most important features and more. Its automation features alongside its sleek UI help you streamline the file sharing process. If you’re looking for a deep file-sharing solution for enterprises, look no further. Get a fully functional 14-day free trial today!
2. Files.com A sleek, cloud-native Citrix ShareFile alternative that easily integrates with pretty much all 3rd party software commonly found in larger business environments.
3. Egnyte A comprehensive content governance tool with machine learning features.
4. Microsoft OneDrive Business An excellent Citrix ShareFile alternative for businesses that already rely on Microsoft tools.
5. Google Workspace for Business A package of a variety of tools, one of which is Google Drive which can let you store an unlimited amount of files alongside quality security measures.
6. Hightail An extremely easy-to-use Citrix ShareFile alternative excellent for SMBs.

Why Use A File Sharing Software?

Any file-sharing tool aims to help you quickly and securely transfer files from one device or user to another without losing data or facing complications. Naturally, since this is a relatively narrow niche, most file-sharing tools will provide additional features like data protection, remote file access, or similar.

The main reason businesses use file-sharing software is that they help you avoid unintended consequences of sending files through other means. Sending large files directly via USB or HDD takes time and physical resources, while media like email can be limited by file size. Alternatively, large file transfers can cause latency issues, and your data might even change in transit or get attacked by malicious users.

To avoid these issues, businesses rely on file-sharing tools to bear their file’s load and ensure they’re safely transmitted.

The Kinds of File Sharing Software

There’s a variety of file-sharing software, each of which can fall into one or more of these three categories.

• Cloud Storage Tools Tools like Dropbox and Google Drive fall completely in this category. These tools will let you upload your files to a cloud storage space. Sometimes, these tools will be specialized SaaS applications that allow remote access. With that being said, these are often expensive when sending large files over a couple of GB. These tools also often have limited storage and you might face access issues. These tools usually find their place in smaller businesses or medium-to-large businesses as an additional method of file transfer.
• File Compression Tools These tools like WinRAR or 7ZIP help you compress a file so that you can send it through email or store it easier in a cloud solution. These tools also usually provide some file encryption and password locking features to boot. With that being said, although you might be able to compress a file down to a size that can be sent by email, this comes at the cost of family quality.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) Tools

FTP or the File Transfer Protocol is the best way to share files for enterprise applications. The FTP is designed to make sharing files extremely quick while not compromising file quality. While FTP doesn’t provide any additional security by itself, using an FTP client lets you use HTTP/S, SSL/TLS, or another method to ensure your files are secure. Because of its power, and because there has recently been an upswing in more affordable tools like Files.com using FTP, most tools on this list will have at least some FTP sharing capabilities.

1. SolarWinds Serv-U MFT – FREE TRIAL

SolarWinds Serv-U MFT is a file-sharing tool designed to ensure quick file sharing, transfers, and folder synchronization remotely. The tool can easily encrypt files larger than 3GB and transfer them through a variety of protocols including FTP. Using the Serv-U MFT you can also take advantage of its permission denial features. By using certificates and defining access file-sharing permissions you can ensure only the correct people at your company receive the files you want them to receive.

Main Features:

• As a self-hosted solution, you can deploy it either on-prem or on the cloud
• Peer-to-peer sharing capabilities
• Excellent UI
• Enables file transfers and folder synchronization from anywhere to anywhere.
• Helps you meet regulatory compliances
• Excellent automation features that let you automate tedious tasks
• Geared towards enterprises.
• Integrates seamlessly with the rest of the SolarWinds suite

The tool has an extremely intuitive web-based console that lets you drag and drop widgets onto the dashboard to let you customize your experience. The tool is designed to help you instantly send and receive files on the web or a mobile device.

The SolarWinds Serv-U MFT is also incredibly scalable. It can easily be integrated with external database servers and file storage options. It also fits right into security policies and controls, meaning you’ll need to make minimal adjustments to get the most out of the tool in your business. It’s also simple to enable peer-to-peer sharing using the tool to simplify ad-hoc file sending and requests.

One of the most attractive parts of the Serv-U MFT is that it’s home to a bevy of automation features that make file transfer management a breeze. The tool allows you to automatically perform certain tedious tasks like leftover file deletion, email sending, and the like. This lets you focus your personnel on the tasks that matter. The tool also writes Windows event log messages, which makes troubleshooting a lot easier. It’ll also track all activity connected to important files and generate reports to help inter-team communications.

Alongside creating troubleshooting reports, the Serv-U MFT can set up automatic compliance reporting. This means it can create reports to help you meet compliance standards which you can then forward to teammates or import to other tools to better collaborate. Although the Serv-U MFT is primarily a file-sharing tool, it’s also an excellent tool to ensure reliable communication within an enterprise.

SolarWinds Serv-U MFT’s breadth of features can be a bit overwhelming for SMBs. Take the 14-day free trial to find out if it’s the tool for you!.

Download the 14-day FREE Trial

https://www.solarwinds.com/serv-u-managed-file-transfer-server

2. Files.Com

As per their LinkedIn page: “Files.com is a cloud-native, secure, SaaS file-based automation and integration platform“. Files.com is an extremely versatile, security-oriented, and management-focused tool.

Main Features:

• Extremely flexible and user-friendly
• Industry-first security features
• Very high-speed servers
• Supports large files up to 5TB
• Amazing automation features with support for a variety of languages
• A wide variety of integrations with 3rd party software
• Flexible pricing

While Files.com functions best in conjunction with another tool, for many businesses it’ll be more than enough by itself to facilitate quick and secure file transfers. It’s incredibly user-friendly, and even inexperienced users won’t take too long to get to grips with Files.com.

The tool enables you to easily share files, folders, or groups of files through a secure link it generates. This is done by simply clicking “New Share” after selecting the folders or files you want to share. Then, Files.com creates a secure link working as a bearer key. Only users with the exact link can gain access to the files. To enhance security, you can set it up so that the keys expire after a set amount of time, or delete them manually. Once the link is created, you can share it anywhere, whether that be SMS, email, Slack, or your platform of choice.

Files.com uses extremely high-speed servers(100 Gbit) spread out across seven different regions. It also provides mobile, on-prem, and desktop applications to ensure the smoothest experience.

One of the main advantages of using Files.com is that it has the best automation features on this list. It has a bevy of automation features allowing you to set up complex scripts and templates to create extremely sophisticated workflows. With that being said, if you’re an SMB with little to no need for automation, they aren’t hard to go around.

The tool has deep integration through different SDKs for JavaScript, Python, .NET, Java, PHP, and Go. Furthermore, it integrates with a wide variety of common SaaS software used today like Google Drive or Dropbox. It also works seamlessly with transfer protocols like SFTP, FTP< or WebDAV. Files.com also seamlessly integrates with Azure, Amazon S3, and pretty much any 3rd party on-prem file server.

Files.com supports extremely large files up to 5TB in size. It combines this with its industry-leading security features like 2FA, encryption, and extremely customizable security and permission settings. The tool also provides site administrators with a great deal of sharing permission settings for site-wide and individual levels. You can also restrict which users and groups can get access to your shared files at all. Your site admin can also set up a site-wide limit for the maximum duration of a share link.

For troubleshooting, Files.com keeps track of all activity around your links and saves it in the activity and user history sections.

Files.com has a relatively short free trial, sitting at only 7 days.

3. Egnyte

Egnyte is a comprehensive content governance tool letting you share and collaborate on different files. This file-sharing software is designed with remote work environments in mind, letting you access all of the files on Egnyte from anywhere, even from within 3rd party apps. Egnyte allows you to sync large files quickly without wasting a bit of bandwidth or slowing down productivity. Egnyte allows you to only synchronize certain parts of files to the cloud, letting you save up even more bandwidth resources.

Main Features:

• You can merge large folders or files to reduce complexity
• Machine learning capabilities
• Capable of creating comprehensive audit reports
• Integrates with Slack, Google Workspace, Office 365, and a variety of other apps.
• Comprehensive content governance tool

Egnyte is set up so that you can easily share large files and download links through email by using password protection. If you’re looking to upload files for others to access, then you can use its upload folder that permits password protection. The tool comes with a centralized control panel allowing you to visualize and manage all of your content regardless of where it is stored.

The tool has a content intelligence engine powered by machine learning. This lets you automate a significant amount of repetitive tasks and garner deeper insights into your entire content infrastructure. The tool can also find malware on your devices, and will automatically detect strange behavior.

If you’re looking for a focused file-sharing software, Egnyte might have a little too much versatility for you. The tool comes with a 15-day free trial.

4. Microsoft OneDrive Business

Microsoft OneDrive is a cloud-based SaaS software that allows you to access, store, and secure your files from any location or device. Microsoft OneDrive Business is used by businesses due to being a simple, secure file-sharing solution with cross-platform and security features.

Main Features:

• Flexible pricing plans
• Cloud storage, synchronization, and file backup features
• Integrates with pretty much all other Microsoft software
• Machine Learning-based functionalities using Microsoft Graph and Delve
• Helps with meeting compliance regulations

One of the tool’s biggest advantages is how easily it works with other Microsoft products. It’ll allow you to integrate seamlessly with Microsoft Teams, Office 465, Exchange, or any other Microsoft software. Even if you’re not a Microsoft-centered business, the OneDrive business has its place.

Whenever your data is in transit, it’ll be encrypted with SSL, and all of your data at rest will have AES 256-bit encryption keys. These keys are then stored and managed through the SharePoint Content Database.

If your business isn’t tied up with Microsoft tools you might find a few of these features redundant. You can get a month-long free trial of the tool’s Basic version for free.

5. Google Workspace for Business

Google Workspace, formerly known as G Suite is a set of storage, productivity, communication, and collaboration software designed for business applications. While tools like Gmail, Chat Meet, Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drive are all available for free, the Workspace Business edition gives you a variety of premium features.

Main Features:

• Provides a wide range of tools
• Google Drive provides from 30GB to 5TB or even unlimited storage
• 150+ participant video meetings are possible
• Excellent administration dashboard
• Flexible payment structure
• Excellent for SMBs moving on from Google’s free tools

One such feature is that free users can only store up to 15GB on Google Drive, while Google Workspace for Business users can get up to unlimited storage. Besides this, you gain access to a Google Workspace administration panel that lets you manage all of your Google Workspace settings, accounts, and services. You can also configure specific access policies at will.

There are advanced Citrix ShareFile features that are extremely difficult to replicate with Google Workspace. You can try the toolkit as a 14-day free trial.

6. Hightail

Hightail is a cloud-based Citrix ShareFile alternative that allows you to receive, store, and send files through the cloud in a secure way. The software lets you easily upload files from your device or cloud services like Dropbox or Google Drive. In case you want to collect files from sources outside of your network, Hightail lets you make an Uplink URL that anyone can have access to even if they don’t have a Hightail account.

Main Features:

• Hightail’s ease of use is a cut above the rest
• Spaces are a very innovative idea to bring to the table
• A variety of security features
• Uplink URLs are very useful when quickly sharing files

Hightail has the simplest interface on this list, being composed of “Spaces” each one of which is a visual folder where you can store files including rarer file types like PDFs and CAD files. Hightail spaces provide you with an easy way to look at high-res previews and streams of files. Hightail also allows you to link to your Space so that someone can see multiple files at once.

Hightail secures all of the files on it by using encryption, and you can also set up security measures like access codes, link expiration dates, and link protection.

Hightail is lacking some more in-depth, enterprise-focused features. The tool offers a 14-day free trial.

Closing Words

As always, the best Citrix ShareFile alternative for you depends on your exact needs. Depending on your needs, any of the tools on this list might be your best fit, however, we’ve tried to ensure that at least the top 3 entries are ones you can’t go wrong with.

In our testing, most businesses will want to go for either SolarWinds Serv-U MFT for the in-depth features and enterprise focus or Files.com for its extensive versatility and the sheer amount of integrations available.

Is there any feature of Citrix ShareFile you haven’t found in other tools?

What is your favorite file-sharing tool?

Let us know in the comments below!