export const meta = {
  title: "Aspect vs. WeTransfer",
  description: "WeTransfer sends files through a link that expires in a few days. Aspect is a durable media workspace where the same files stay live for streaming, review, and reuse, with real permissions around them.",
  slug: "aspect-vs-wetransfer",
  competitor: "WeTransfer",
  hero: "WeTransfer sends a file once. Aspect keeps your media working.",
  category: "Transfer and delivery",
}

<Tldr>
WeTransfer is the fastest way to send a big file to someone once, and it is very good at that. The catch is that the transfer is the whole product: the link expires, the files disappear, and nothing lives on afterward. Aspect is a persistent workspace where the same media stays streamable, reviewable, and searchable for as long as you need it, with granular permissions instead of an open link. Choose Aspect if sending media is something your team does constantly, not just once.
</Tldr>

---

## How they compare

| Feature | WeTransfer | Aspect |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Send a file quickly with a link | Yes, WeTransfer generates a download link in seconds with no account required. | Yes, Aspect creates a branded share link for any asset, directory, or collection just as fast. |
| Files stay live after delivery | No, the link expires within a few days and the files disappear from the service. | Yes, media stays in a durable workspace so it remains available for review and reuse indefinitely. |
| Stream and mount media into your NLE | No, recipients must download the full zip before they can open a single clip. | Yes, Aspect mounts the project as a drive and streams media into your NLE so your editors can work with large files without downloading them. |
| Review and approval built in | No, feedback happens elsewhere in scattered email and Slack threads. | Yes, timestamped comments, annotations, and version stacking keep every note attached to the exact frame. |
| Granular permissions (view to full access) | No, anyone holding the link can grab the files until it expires. | Yes, each person gets a specific level from view only through full access. |
| Password, expiry, and audit logs on shares | Limited, paid plans add password and expiry but no per-recipient audit trail. | Yes, share links carry a password and expiry, and audit logs show who opened or downloaded each asset. |

---

## What is WeTransfer?

WeTransfer is a service for sending files. You drop in a file or a folder, enter an email or generate a link, and the recipient downloads a zip before it expires, usually within a few days. There is nothing to set up and no account required for the basic flow, which is exactly why it became the default way to hand off a deliverable.

That simplicity is also the boundary. WeTransfer is built around a single event, the transfer, and once the files arrive or the link lapses, the product is done with them. It is not a place your media lives, gets reviewed, or gets found again later.

## How Aspect is different

### The files stay live instead of expiring

A WeTransfer link is a one-off: it exists to move a file from A to B, and then it expires and the media is gone from the service. Aspect treats the same media as something durable, so once it is in your workspace it stays streamable, reviewable, and searchable indefinitely, and the people you shared it with keep working from the current version instead of a stale download sitting in someone's folder. You stop re-sending the same assets every time someone needs another look.

### Built for large video, not zip-and-download

WeTransfer's model is package everything, upload it, then have the recipient pull the whole thing back down before they can open a single clip. Aspect mounts your project as a drive and streams bytes on demand into Finder and your NLE, so people open and play large media without waiting on a multi-gigabyte download first.

### Real control, not an open link

A WeTransfer link is essentially open: anyone who has it can grab the files until it expires, and you get little say over what happens after. Aspect gives you per-level permissions, so each person gets exactly view, download, comment, edit, or full access. Add a password and an expiry date to your branded share link, and check the audit log to see who actually opened or downloaded what.

### Collaboration lives with the media

With WeTransfer the conversation happens somewhere else entirely, in email and Slack threads that quickly lose track of which file and which video anyone is talking about. In Aspect the feedback lives on the asset itself: timestamped comments, annotations, version stacking, custom metadata, and a Premiere Pro panel keep every note attached to the exact frame and version it belongs to.

---

## When to choose WeTransfer

- You need to send a file to someone one time, they download it, and neither of you ever needs it again.
- You want zero setup and no account, just a link to hand off a single deliverable.

## When to choose Aspect

- Sending and sharing media is a constant part of your work, and re-uploading the same assets every time has gotten old.
- Your recipients should stream and review media in place instead of downloading terabytes just to look at it.
- You need control over who can see or download what, with passwords, expiry, and an audit trail instead of an open link.

---

<BlogFAQ items={[
  {
    question: "Can I still send someone a quick link with Aspect?",
    answer: "Yes. Aspect creates branded share links for an asset, directory, or collection, and you can add a password and an expiry date. The difference is the files stay live in your workspace afterward instead of vanishing when the link expires.",
  },
  {
    question: "Does Aspect charge egress or ingress fees for file transfer?",
    answer: "No. Aspect does not charge egress or ingress fees for moving media in or out, so sending or pulling large files does not add per-gigabyte transfer costs.",
  },
  {
    question: "Do recipients have to download everything like they do on WeTransfer?",
    answer: "No. Aspect streams media on demand, so your recipients can play and review large video in the browser without pulling a full zip down first. They can still download when they need the originals.",
  },
  {
    question: "Does Aspect control who can access a shared file?",
    answer: "Yes. Every person gets a specific permission level, from view only through full access, and share links can carry a password and expiry. Audit logs show who opened or downloaded each asset, which an open WeTransfer link cannot.",
  },
  {
    question: "Is Aspect overkill if I only send files occasionally?",
    answer: "If a true one-off transfer is all you ever need, WeTransfer is simpler. Aspect is built for teams who send, review, and reuse media constantly and want it to stay in one durable, searchable place.",
  },
]} />