With the launch of SendNow, Adobe becomes the newest vendor to offer cloud based file sending solutions for mega files. The most well-known competitor –YouSendIt –  has also amped up its services with a suite of corporate plans. Check out other service providers here.

So how do the newcomer and the tried and true sevice provider stack up side-by-side? Let’s take a look: 

Questions About Security?

Review the YouSendIt security statement here. Read Adobe’s security statement on the System Requirements page.  

The Devil is in the Details 

So who wins?  Well, it’s a little bit like comparing apples to oranges, with a few fruit bugs here and there.  Adobe offers two complimentary months with each paid subscription, YouSendIt does not.  Return receipt, password protection and other security-related services are on a pay-per-use basis with YouSendIt, thus ramping up the cost of the basic plan.  (Comparable services are free with SendNow.) 

The most glaring difference?  The potential deal-breaker?  SendNow’s limited support of file types – CAD, Zip, Microsoft Office, and PDF are permitted, but no native audio or video files are supported.  (See footnote 1 for other file type restrictions.)

Now What?

You can certainly try each service for free – a real plus, since there’s nothing like actually taking a product for a test drive to see how it really works.  Like any other selection process, each user will be guided by his or her own preferences. For example, Linux lovers may have an easier time with YouSendIt (see footnote 5.)  Business users may not care that SendNow only supports limited file types.  In either case, I welcome Adobe’s entrance to the field.  We should all benefit from the competition. 

Copyright 2011 Beverly Michaelis

Postcript: YouSendIt has clarified they do support Safari. You can find more information here.  Kudos to the YouSendIt team for quickly fixing this broken link 😀

Author’s note:  This review was conducted at the author’s own initiative and represents the author’s opinion only.  The author was not compensated or influenced in any way by Adobe, YouSendIt, or the other providers of file sending services.