Share files privately with clients, partners, and teams — on your own server.
Built for freelancers, agencies, accountants, photographers, architects, NGOs, and any business that sends files to external people.
Maintained since 2011 · Website · Docs · Demo
Admin dashboard
Client portal with the Modern template
File editor with assignments and expiration
Multiple themes for the client-facing portal
| Feature | ProjectSend | Nextcloud | WeTransfer | Dropbox |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-hosted | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Open source | ✅ GPL v2 | ✅ AGPL | ❌ | ❌ |
| Dedicated client accounts | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | |
| Client groups | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Auto-expiring files | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | |
| Clients can upload back | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Download limits | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Encryption at rest | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Client portal themes | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Two-factor authentication | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| 70+ languages | ✅ | ✅ | ||
| S3 / object storage | ✅ | ✅ | — | — |
| Runs on shared hosting | ✅ | ❌ | — | — |
| Setup complexity | ✅ Low | — | — | |
| One-time cost | ✅ Free | ✅ Free | From $10/mo | From $10/mo |
| Data ownership | ✅ Full | ✅ Full | ❌ None | ❌ None |
Freelancers, agencies, photographers, accountants, lawyers, architects, NGOs, schools, government offices — anyone who needs to share files with external people without giving up control of their data.
- Client accounts with usernames and passwords
- Groups to organize clients and share files with multiple people at once
- Auto-expiration for time-limited file access
- Email notifications when new files are available
- Client uploads — let clients send files back to you
- Download tracking and full activity logging
- Categories and folders for file organization
- Multiple themes for the client-facing portal
- Two-factor authentication (2FA)
- S3-compatible storage support
- 70+ languages via community translations
- Custom branding with your own logo and colors
- Role-based permissions for team members
- Public file links for sharing without an account
Requirements: PHP 8.2+, MySQL 5.7+ / MariaDB 10.3+, Apache or Nginx
- Download the latest release
- Upload files to your web server
- Open the URL in your browser and follow the installer
ProjectSend is also available on Softaculous and Installatron for one-click installation on supported hosting providers.
Full installation guide: docs.projectsend.org
If you are using Nginx, you must add location blocks to block direct access to the upload directory. Apache deployments use .htaccess for this automatically, but Nginx ignores .htaccess files — without the proper config, uploaded files would be publicly accessible regardless of their permission settings.
A ready-to-use template is included: nginx.conf.example
The critical block is:
location /upload/files/ {
deny all;
}See the example file for the complete recommended configuration including PHP-FPM, X-Accel-Redirect support, and all other required security blocks.
Try ProjectSend without installing: www.projectsend.org/demo
ProjectSend is free and open source. If you find it useful, consider supporting development:
- Read the Contributing Guide
- Report bugs and suggest features via Issues
- Ask questions in Discussions
- Join us on Facebook
- Email: [email protected]
ProjectSend is available in 70+ languages thanks to the community.
Download translations or contribute yours on Transifex.
ProjectSend is licensed under GNU GPL v2.
