PairOnce

LARGE FILES · NO ACCOUNT

Send a large file for free: no account, no sign-up, no upload first

Open paironce.com on both computers, pair them once with the six-digit code, then choose the file on the sender and click Accept and Save on the receiver: free, no account, nothing uploaded first.

A file can be up to 2 GB when the receiving browser is Chrome, Edge or Firefox on a computer (or Chrome or Edge on Android, or Safari on iOS 26 or later), and one transfer holds up to 100 files; PairOnce Pro lifts a single file to 10 GB.

Both computers must be online at the same time, because the file goes straight across; to hand over something that is picked up later, a cloud drive is the better tool.

Step by step

  1. Open PairOnce on both computers. For files over 50 MB, the receiving computer uses Chrome, Edge or Firefox.
  2. Pair them once. One computer shows a QR code and a six-digit code; on the other, click Enter a code and type the six digits. Check that both screens show the same safety code, then click Approve device on the computer that showed the code. On the same Wi-Fi you can skip the code: with PairOnce open on both, the other computer appears under On this Wi-Fi; select Connect and check the safety code as usual.
  3. Choose the file. On the sending computer click Choose files, or drop the file on the page. A file over 2 GB needs PairOnce Pro on one of the two devices.
  4. Keep both pages open until it finishes. The progress shows on both sides. Keep both pages open until it is done; if the connection drops, a big file can carry on from where it stopped (see below).
  5. Accept and save. On the receiving computer click Accept, then Save, and check Downloads. Click I saved it so the sender knows it arrived.

If the connection drops

A file over 16 MB that is being written to disk continues where it stopped: keep both pages open and reconnect the same two devices within 30 minutes. This works when the receiver is Chrome or Edge on a computer or an Android phone, Firefox on a computer, or Safari on iOS 26 or later. The progress shows “Interrupted · continues when the connection is back”.

Big files travel best on a direct connection

Put both computers on the same Wi-Fi, or on a phone’s hotspot, and the file goes straight across with no limit on how much passes. When a network does not allow that, PairOnce uses an encrypted relay, which carries 200 MB a month per device (5 GB with PairOnce Pro).

What “no upload” means

There is no cloud storage, so the file does not wait on a server first. If a relay is used it only forwards encrypted data and keeps nothing. The received file waits in the receiving page until you save it.

More than 2 GB: PairOnce Pro

PairOnce stays free up to 2 GB per file. If one of the two devices has PairOnce Pro, a single file can be up to 10 GB; the receiving computer needs room on its disk for it. Pro also raises the relay allowance from 200 MB to 5 GB a month per device. Details: PairOnce Pro.

Limits, and when this is not the right tool

  • A file can be up to 2 GB over a direct connection when the receiving browser saves straight to disk (Chrome or Edge on a computer or Android, Firefox on a computer, Safari on iOS 26 or later). Other browsers take up to 50 MB per file and hold 100 MB of received files at a time.
  • Files over 2 GB need PairOnce Pro on one of the two devices. Then a file can be up to 10 GB, received the same way, and the relay carries 5 GB a month.
  • When the two devices cannot reach each other directly, an encrypted relay carries the data. Each device can send and receive 200 MB a month that way, counted together; a direct connection has no monthly limit.
  • Both pages must stay open until everything has arrived: keep the phone’s screen on and the browser in front.
  • PairOnce moves things between two devices that are open at the same time. It is not cloud storage: nothing waits on a server for later.

Other ways to do it

  • A transfer website. Upload, then share a link; works when the other person is offline, but you wait for the upload and the file sits on a server for a while.
  • A cloud drive. The same idea; usually needs an account on at least one side, and the storage is limited.
  • Email. Attachments are limited to a few tens of MB on most services.
  • A USB drive. Needs no network and is limited only by the drive; but you have to hand it over.
  • LocalSend. Free and open source. It works through an app on both devices, over the local network.

Common questions

Does the other person need an account or an app?

No. They open paironce.com in Chrome, Edge or Firefox on a computer; there is no account and no app.

What is the biggest file I can send?

2 GB per file, and up to 100 files at a time, when the receiving browser is Chrome, Edge or Firefox on a computer (or Chrome or Edge on Android, or Safari on iOS 26 or later); with PairOnce Pro on one of the two devices, a single file can be up to 10 GB. A receiver that is an older browser takes up to 50 MB per file.

Can I send it now and let them download it later?

No. Both computers must be online at the same time; PairOnce has no cloud storage for a file to wait in. For that, use a cloud drive or a transfer website.

Is it free and private?

Free, with no account, up to 2 GB per file; larger files need PairOnce Pro. The file is encrypted between the two browsers, so a relay, if one is used, cannot read it.