Files.com vs. Sharetru

Overview of Files.com

Files.com is a U.S.-based cloud-native Managed File Transfer (MFT), automation, and integration platform that enables organizations to securely store, transfer, and share files between users, teams, and organizations. MFT technology provides the secure transfer of data efficiently and reliably compared to insecure technologies such as FTP and HTTP. Files.com provides a cloud-centric approach to file-based automations and integrations while emphasizing security, compliance, and data residency for business-critical file transfers and exchanges.

Figure 1.0 | Screenshot of Files.com home page

Files.com is primarily designed for business-critical MFT workloads. And it has been providing these services to enterprise customers for over 10 years now, servicing 6500+ global customers across key industries like healthcare, finance, media, technology, and more. Files.com acts as both a client and a server for SFTP, FTP, and Applicability Statement 2 (AS2) protocols. This allows you to easily connect to any partner, customer, or system without compromising security.

Some of its features and capabilities include but are not limited:

Full custom domains, with custom SSL certificates and dedicated IP address
Real-time and scheduled sync integrations with third-party storage services such as Amazon S3, Azure, Google Cloud, SharePoint, Box, Dropbox, and more.
Bi-directional FTP/SFTP—which means Files.com can act as an FTP/SFTP client in addition to a server, enabling complex workflows.
Out-of-the-box integration support for various third-party services and technologies
Native apps for high-performance internal transfers.

Files.com offers a free 7-day trial with full access to the entire platform, including all integrations, automations, protocols, and APIs. When you’re ready to buy, your trial environment will seamlessly convert into your paid environment.

Overview of Sharetru

Sharetru (formerly FTP Today) is a U.S.-based online managed file transfer (MFT) service that enables individuals and organizations to securely share and transfer files over the internet. The service is designed for fast and easy file transfer via FTP and related protocols while absorbing all bandwidth costs associated with potentially heavy usage. The service can be hosted on your preferred private cloud platforms. Sharetru comes in two flavors: FTP CLOUD and GOVFTP CLOUD.

Figure 2.0 | Screenshot of Sharetru home page

The FTP CLOUD is designed to allow the secure sharing and transfer of confidential and private data that requires strong security protection. FTP CLOUD meets most compliance requirements such as HIPAA, GDPR, PCI-DSS, GLBA, and SOX. This makes it ideal for business-to-business (B2B) workloads and workflows.

The GOVFTP CLOUD is designed to support the secure sharing and transfer of sensitive data with the most stringent U.S. Government security and compliance requirements such as ITAR, DFARS, FedRAMP Moderate, CMMC, and DoD workloads. This service is targeted at government agencies, contractors, and subcontractors.

Sharetru supports all common encrypted file transfer protocols, including FTP/SSL, HTTP/SSL, and SFTP (SSH). This makes the service compatible with your legacy system and operating platform.

Files.com Vs Sharetru: How They Compare

Installation and Setup

Files.com is a cloud-based MFT application, which means there are no installation hassles other than the usual sign-up process using an internet-connected device with a supported browser. Once the sign-up process is completed, your account will be activated instantly, and you can dive in and start exploring. The admin portal makes onboarding easy and allows you to email invitations to new users. During this process, you can add users to groups with global share settings or define individual share access permissions. Desktop apps are available for Windows and macOS, and after users log into their account, it creates a mapped drive for swift access to shared cloud folders. Desktop apps extend your Windows or Mac devices with a Files.com drive, so you can open and save files in any application. A personal web portal provides access to private and shared folders, with options to upload and download files and folders.

Just like Files.com, Sharetru is also an online-based file transfer service, which means there’s nothing to install other than the usual account signup process. Users are also not obligated to install any FTP client software. However, Sharetru provides a web application as part of its hosted FTP service. But you are also free to use any third-party FTP client software of your choice.

Cloud Storage and Backup

Files.com isn’t designed for online storage and backup, but it performs this function indirectly. It is primarily a cloud-based MFT application, which means its focus is on the secure transfer of files. This also implies that the huge amount of file data that passes through the Files.com network for file transfers is also securely stored on their cloud storage servers. Uploading files, copying files, creating, or updating new versions all contribute to an addition in storage usage. In addition, Files.com also allows you to schedule sync integrations with 3rd party storage services such as Amazon S3, Azure, Google Cloud, SharePoint, Box, Dropbox, and more.

Again, just like Files.com, Sharetru isn’t a full-scale online storage and backup service. But by its file transfer functions, it provides “temporary” storage. This means maintaining backups that take up several times the amount of storage you subscribe to on the platform. Sharetru provides a backup of every file you put on the FTP site and keeps 5 days of backups. Sharetru can also provide daily and a full backup of your entire site on all plans. This allows it to keep multiple recovery points for accidentally deleted files or related disasters. The FTP Cloud offers 7 days of offsite backup; while the GOVFTP Cloud offers 30 days of onsite backups plus offsite disaster recovery. But if you’re looking for a dedicated backup service, check out our best online backup services.

File Transfer and Sharing

Files.com’s stand-out capability is its ability to handle business-critical managed file transfer workloads, content collaboration, and file sharing with ease. Some Files.com customers deploy the service to their entire organization, unifying MFT and file sharing. Others leverage the built-in integrations with SharePoint, Box, Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, and others to build workflows and automations around content stored in another platform. Files.com allows you to share individual files, groups of files, or entire folders via a unique secure link that functions as a bearer key. Once the link is generated, you can send it to the chosen recipient via email, chat, or any other method.

One unique feature that makes Files.com stand out among the rest is the share link inbox, which is designed for receiving files uploaded by anonymous users from anywhere in the world. Imagine the simplicity of providing a hyperlink in an email or on your organization’s website for anyone needing to upload documents such as invoices, receipts, legal documents, reports, and more. All these are designed and executed in a way that does not compromise the security of other files or your site as a whole.

On the other hand, the real power of Sharetru becomes apparent when it comes to secure file transfer workloads (both small and large files) between sites, teams, or organizations. File transfer is its strength, and it does it well. However, unlike Files.com, it does not offer any form of file collaboration capabilities. But that’s understandable going by its business model. Sharetru’s proprietary file transfer feature known as InfiniShare allows users to send or receive files from guests, while still requiring guests to provide an email address and (optionally) a link-specific password.

Integrations and Extensions

Files.com does not intend to replace your existing cloud file-sharing and collaboration solutions, rather, it wants to work with them. This is why it comes with out-of-the-box integrations with all key cloud providers such as Microsoft (Azure, SharePoint, OneDrive, Active Directory & Office), AWS (S3 & SNS), Google (Cloud & Drive), Box, Dropbox, Zapier, and dozens of others. Developers can also leverage Files.com native SDKs, API, and CLI tools to build custom integrations, and connect to any folder located almost anywhere. and extend the capabilities of the application.

Sharetru’s compatibility with legacy file transfer protocols allows you to integrate and automate the flow of data directly into and out of your on-premise systems. It also provides an API facility that among other things allows you to pull event and audit logs into your Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) tool. But this is a far cry from the integration capabilities of Files.com.

Security and Privacy

Files.com is loaded with lots of security features to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of data. The security features include encryption for data-at-rest and data-in-transit, four types of two-factor authentication, nine enterprise identity (SSO) integrations, and support for customer-managed GPG keys, SSH keys, and SSL certificates, built-in integrations with Yubikey, FIDO/U2F, Google Authenticator, Duo, Authy, and SMS. Highly configurable security settings include password policies, session policies, two-factor authentication (2FA) policies, and brute force rules. Files.com has servers across the globe and provides the option to configure the geographic region (and by extension, political jurisdiction) where your files will be stored to meet regulatory requirements.

Sharetru is also loaded with essential security features such as Geo-fencing by country, encryption for data at rest using AES-256, encryption for data in motion using TLS, virus protection, intruder IP blacklisting, vulnerability scanning, multi-factor authentication (MFA), and single sign-on (SSO). But some of these features depend on the plan you subscribe to. However, Sharetru and Files.com do not implement the most trusted type of data encryption: zero-knowledge encryption. That means they have the power to decrypt and access your files if law enforcement agents come knocking. If privacy is a concern during file transfers, you may consider encrypting your data before uploading them using our best third-party data encryption tool. This renders your data meaningless to any prying eyes. We also recommend using a VPN service to mask your location. For more on this, please check out our best VPN services.

Licensing and Price Plans

Files.com offers affordable pricing options for businesses of all sizes. Its pricing plans are broken into Starter, Power, and Premier price plans as shown in the table below. Plan pricing is partially based on user count, which means that you must commit to a minimum number of users. Charges are based on one total monthly number called “Usage,” representing your total billable usage of the Files.com service. This “Usage” number is the sum of your “Storage Usage” and your “Transfer Usage”.

Features	Starter	Power	Premier
Minimum User Commitment	5	Minimums Apply	Minimums Apply
Monthly Usage Included	1 TB	5 TB	10 TB
Daily API Request Limit	50,000	250,000	2,000,000

Table 1.0 | Files.com Price Plans

Sharetru comes in three price tiers: Growth, Performance, and Enterprise. A free 14-day free trial is available. Your subscription will then automatically renew at the end of your free trial unless canceled. You have to contact sales directly to access the free demo. The table below is a summary of the various price tiers: