Free file sharing for agencies: what works and when to upgrade
A free setup for sending work and collecting client assets, where Free stops and when Pro or Agency fits.
Free file sharing for agencies can work for a small studio: you send finished work with one link, collect assets from clients with another, and both sit on your own domain. Tarkle Free covers that for one person at $0. This article shows the setup, then where Free stops and when Pro or Agency is the better fit.
What does free file sharing for agencies need to cover?
An agency does two jobs with files. It sends work out (proofs, deliverables, final files) and it pulls material in (logos, copy, photos, signed documents). A free tool that only does the first leaves you chasing attachments for the second.
Tarkle Free includes one workspace, 5 GB of cloud storage, file sharing and file requests, client feedback and approval, custom branding and a custom domain. Uploads go up to 1 GB each. Free is for one person, so it suits a freelancer or a studio owner who handles client files alone. For a broader checklist that applies to any free tool, read free file sharing for business.
A free setup that works for client work
Set this up once and every client project follows the same pattern.
Put links on your own address. Connect a subdomain such as files.youragency.com with the custom domain feature. You add one DNS record and the certificate is issued for you. Every workspace can connect one domain, including Free.
Add your logo and colours. Custom branding puts them on your transfer and request pages. On Free the "Powered by Tarkle" line stays on your pages and cannot be removed.
Make one folder per client. Inside it, use the same subfolders every time, for example
01-brief,02-from-client,03-proofs,04-final. You find anything in seconds, and so does a colleague you hand the job to later.Send work as a transfer link. Pick the files or folder, get one link, and send it. The client needs no account to download. Add a password and an expiry date for anything sensitive; see link expiration.
Collect assets with a file request. Create a request, write the instructions, choose the destination folder and send the link. The client uploads without an account and files land in the folder you picked, so nothing arrives as attachment number nine in a thread.
Get feedback on proofs. For images and PDFs, client feedback turns a proof into a review board the client comments on and approves with one link.
Create the file request before the kickoff call and put the link in the kickoff email. Clients upload brand assets while the project is still exciting, not three days before the deadline.
How should you name files and links?
Good names do the work a version system would do. Free has no file versions, and uploading a file with a name that already exists saves it as a second copy, such as name (2).ext, rather than replacing the first. So put the version in the name.
A pattern that holds up: client_project_asset_v03_2026-10-30.pdf. Client first, so a folder sorts well. Version as a number, never "final-final". Date last. Send only the latest version to the client and keep the older ones in your own folder.
For links, a name with the client and the stage ("acme-logo-proofs") tells you what is behind the link when you read your sent email months later. Choosing your own link names is part of custom transfer links, a Pro feature. On Free, name the transfer and the folder clearly instead.
Set an expiry date on every proof link, and send a new link for each round. A client who opens an old link by mistake then sees that it has expired, not a stale file.
Where does free client file sharing stop?
Free stops in six places that matter to an agency.
One person, one workspace. There is no second seat, and every client lives in the same workspace. A teammate who needs to upload or share files needs Pro.
1 GB per file, 5 GB in total. Video, large design files and photo sets reach that quickly. The Terms of Service say that when you reach a limit, uploads may stop until you free up space or upgrade, and that reaching a limit does not delete existing files. They also say each plan has limits on storage, file size, transfers and team members.
No client portal. Clients get links, not a signed-in place of their own. The client portal is on Pro and Agency.
"Powered by Tarkle" stays on your pages. Your logo, colours and domain show, and so does that line.
No file versions and no AI file names. Both come with Pro. See file versions.
Shorter recovery. A deleted file waits in the recovery bin for 30 days on Free and 90 days on Pro. See file retention and recovery.
One more rule: under the Terms of Service, Free accounts with no sign-in or workspace activity for 6 consecutive months may be deleted, after at least one notice. Do not use Free as your only archive.
When does Pro make sense for an agency?
Pro costs $29 a month, or $19 a month billed yearly ($228 a year). It includes everything in Free, plus 2 workspaces, 3 TB of cloud storage, uploads up to 200 GB, file versioning, team members and team folders, a fully branded client portal, 90-day file recovery and priority support.
Move to Pro when one of these happens: a second person has to work in the account, a client sends or expects files over 1 GB, you want each client to sign in and find their own files, or you want the "Powered by Tarkle" line gone. The portal lets a client sign in with an emailed code, see only what you shared with them and send files back. It is the step that turns a pile of links into one place per client. If you are unsure whether you need it, client portal vs file sharing walks through the choice.
When is Agency the better fit?
Agency costs $59 a month, or $49 a month billed yearly ($588 a year). It includes everything in Pro, plus 20 workspaces for your clients, 6 TB of cloud storage, a 100% white-label platform and a client provisioning portal. Your clients log in and manage their files and team on your own domain, such as cloud.acme.com, and the "Powered by Tarkle" backlink becomes your agency name.
That is a different job from Pro. Pro gives you a branded portal for your own clients inside your workspace. Agency gives each client a workspace of their own under your name, with their own storage, sharing and portal. It fits an agency that runs file sharing as a service for clients and wants them to see only your brand. If you only deliver work and collect assets, Pro is enough. Read white label for agencies and a workspace for every client before you decide.
Plans belong to your organization, and the pricing page lists every plan with its limits.
Next step: test the free setup on one project
Run the setup on your next real project, not a test file:
Connect your custom domain and add your logo and colours.
Create the client folder with the same four subfolders.
Send the kickoff email with a file request link.
Share the first proof as a transfer with a password and an expiry date.
Note the first moment Free gets in your way: size, a second person or a client who wants a login. That is your signal to move to Pro or Agency.
If you want to try it, start for free and send one real file to a client.