Tarkle vs OneDrive: client portals and your own domain
OneDrive suits Microsoft 365 teams. Tarkle suits sending files to clients on your own domain, with a portal.
Tarkle vs OneDrive comes down to the job. OneDrive is better when your team lives in Microsoft 365, edits Word and Excel files together and wants a synced folder on every computer. Tarkle is better when the job is sending files to clients and getting files back: a branded client portal, links on your own domain, passwords, file requests and payments before a download.
We make Tarkle, so read this as one vendor's view and check the sources. Microsoft facts below come from Microsoft's own pages, as published in November 2026.
What OneDrive is
OneDrive is Microsoft's cloud storage and sync service. Personal OneDrive is for individuals. OneDrive for work or school sits inside a Microsoft 365 tenant, with storage per user. Microsoft describes it as designed for an individual's work files and recommends SharePoint for team and advanced content collaboration (OneDrive for Business service description).
People use it because it is already there. If your company pays for Microsoft 365, you have OneDrive, and files open straight in Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
What OneDrive offers
Plans and storage. OneDrive comes with Microsoft 365 plans. Microsoft's service description lists 1 TB per user on Business Basic, Standard and Premium. A free personal account has 5 GB (storage quotas). Prices change by plan, region and billing period, so read them on Microsoft's OneDrive plans page.
Files and sync. Microsoft lists a 250 GB limit per file for upload, download and sync (restrictions and limitations). The desktop app for Windows and Mac keeps folders in sync, and Files On-Demand keeps files online-only to save disk space (sync guide). Word, Excel and PowerPoint files can be co-authored.
Sharing with people outside. A link can be for anyone, for people in your organization, for people who already have access, or for specific people (share files and folders). Microsoft 365 subscribers can add a password and an expiry date to anyone links. Admins control external sharing for the whole organization: anyone links, guests only, or no outside sharing (external sharing settings). On the same page Microsoft notes that anyone links cannot be tracked for who has access or who opened them.
Requesting files. OneDrive has a file request link, but only for work or school accounts, and an admin has to allow anyone links first (create a file request).
What Microsoft's pages do not show. I found no custom domain, white label branding or client portal in the Microsoft pages I read. Links use Microsoft domains such as onedrive.com or 1drv.ms.
What Tarkle does
Tarkle gives freelancers, agencies and small teams one place to store files and share them with clients. You pick files or folders, set how people can open them and send one link. The person downloading needs no account.
Access control. A transfer can need a password or an email address before the download starts. It can be view-only, burn after the first download, expire on a date, or start downloading at once as a direct link. You can disable a link when plans change. See password protection and link expiration.
Client portal. On Pro and Agency, you switch on portal access for a contact. The client signs in on your workspace address with an emailed link, with no password to remember. They see Home, Files, Shared and Requests, and they can upload into a private folder. See the client portal.
File requests. You set a title, a destination folder and a deadline. The client uploads with a name and email, no account, and you get an email when files arrive. See file requests.
Your brand. Custom branding puts your logo and colours on transfer pages. On Agency, white label replaces Tarkle with your agency name on your own domain.
Paid transfers. On Pro and Agency you connect your own Stripe account and charge before the files open. See paid transfers.
Video, audio and feedback. Video and audio play in a built-in player. Images and PDFs can become a client feedback board.
Storage and limits. Folders, previews, a recovery bin (30 days on Free, 90 days on Pro and Agency) and file versions on Pro and Agency. You choose where files are stored: Europe, the United States, Hong Kong or Australia, or the default global region.
Plans, read on the Tarkle pricing page in November 2026: Free has 5 GB and 1 GB per upload. Pro is $29 a month, or $19 a month billed yearly, with 3 TB and files up to 200 GB. Agency is $59 a month, or $49 a month billed yearly, with 6 TB, 20 client workspaces and white label. There is no free trial.
OneDrive vs Tarkle
OneDrive | Tarkle | |
|---|---|---|
Built for | Per-user storage and sync inside Microsoft 365 | Sending files to clients and collecting files back |
Outside recipient | Link types depend on admin settings; guests may need to verify | Download with no account |
Password and expiry | Microsoft 365 subscribers, on anyone links | Password, email gate and expiry on transfers |
Client portal | None found in Microsoft's pages | Pro and Agency |
Custom domain and white label | None found in Microsoft's pages | Agency white label on your domain |
Request files | Work or school accounts, admin must allow | File requests with deadline and folder |
Tracking | Anyone links cannot be tracked | Transfer status and activity log |
Charge for files | None found in Microsoft's pages | Paid transfers on Pro and Agency |
Biggest file | 250 GB | 1 GB on Free, 200 GB on Pro and Agency |
Office co-authoring | Yes | Not offered |
Who should choose OneDrive
Stay with OneDrive if your team already pays for Microsoft 365 and works in Word, Excel and PowerPoint together. Co-authoring, Files On-Demand and the sync folder are what it was built for, and Tarkle does not replace Office co-authoring. Stay too if your clients are inside the same Microsoft tenant, or if IT wants one admin console for every file.
OneDrive is also the simpler choice when the files never leave your own company. Tarkle is not the right tool for that job.
Who should choose Tarkle
Choose Tarkle when the people on the other end are clients, not colleagues. A client with no Microsoft account can open a Tarkle link, enter the password you sent and download, with no Microsoft sign-in step in between.
It also fits when the files must look like yours. Links on files.yourstudio.com, your logo on the page and, on Agency, a portal on your domain show clients your brand. Clients sign in with an emailed link and see only what you shared with them.
Tarkle covers the return trip too. A file request brings back logos, signed documents or raw footage into the folder you choose, with a deadline. You can see whether a transfer was delivered, viewed or downloaded. And if you sell digital files, paid transfers take payment first.
The simplest test costs nothing: start for free and send one real transfer to a client.
Switching from OneDrive to Tarkle
Tarkle imports from Google Drive and Dropbox, not from OneDrive. From OneDrive you upload.
Download the client folders you share from OneDrive to your computer.
Create a Tarkle workspace and, if you have a domain, add it under Domains.
Upload the folders to the Library, or drag them in.
Add your logo and accent colour under Branding.
Create a transfer or a file request and send it to one client first.
On Pro or Agency, add your clients as contacts and switch on portal access.
Keep OneDrive for internal documents and move only what you send to clients. You get the portal and branded links without changing how your team edits files.
FAQ
Is OneDrive good for sharing files with clients? It works when clients can use Microsoft sign-in or anyone links are allowed by your admin. Branding, a client portal and tracking of anyone links are not part of what Microsoft's pages describe.
Can clients open a Tarkle link without an account? Yes. The person downloading needs no account. You can add a password or ask for an email address first.
Does Tarkle co-author Word and Excel files like OneDrive? No. If you need Office co-authoring or Files On-Demand, OneDrive is the better fit.
Can I use my own domain with Tarkle? Yes. Links and pages can be served from your own address, and on Agency white label replaces Tarkle with your agency name.
How big a file can I send? Free allows 1 GB per upload or transfer. Pro and Agency allow files up to 200 GB.
Can I import my OneDrive files into Tarkle? Not directly. Download them and upload to Tarkle. Import works from Google Drive and Dropbox.
Does Tarkle have a free trial? No. Free is a plan you can use as long as you like, with 5 GB of storage. Pro and Agency are paid plans.
