YouSendIt Now Offering Cheap, Unlimited Dropbox-style Storage

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Despite a smattering of bad press thanks to some security loopholes, Dropbox remains one of the most widely used services on the web, now with over 25 million users. The way they got there is simple, really: Not only were they one of the first to offer free cloud-based storage, but they streamlined the process to make storing and sharing files unequivocally easy.

Now YouSendIt, the popular service that offered a way to circumvent large attachment limits in emails, is offering their own cloud-based storage program to compete with Dropbox.

(MORE: Dropbox Drops the Ball: How to Secure Your Files for the Cloud)

YouSendIt is offering a three-tiered plan similar to Dropbox with varying degrees of functionality (read more here). Their free plan offers 2GB of storage that can be accessed through their desktop sync app à la Dropbox and through iOS devices like the iPhone or iPad, though the current desktop version is Windows-only. Users concerned with security can utilize a pay-per-use security protection program to further safeguard their files.

In addition, users will have access to a new service that allows you to sign and send documents directly via email (meaning no messy faxes) and supports PDFs and Word docs, sort of like DocuSign. Also, you’ll be able to send files from your cloud folder directly via email — something handy that Dropbox doesn’t offer. However, file sizes are capped off at 2GB with a maximum of 100 downloads per file.

Additionally, their Pro Plan is priced $5 cheaper than Dropbox’s top-tier plan at $15 and offers unlimited storage versus the latter’s 100GB cap. You’ll have unlimited downloads, no file size limits, and additional file security built in, plus a hosted file page where others can submit documents to you.

There’s also a Corporate Suite offered for companies with five users or more. Mac OS X and Android apps aren’t available, but are planned to be unveiled in the coming months.

(MORE: Some of the Best Clouds are Personal Clouds)

If you already have a Dropbox account it might be worth signing up to YouSendIt’s the free service for the document signing alone (though it doesn’t support Word 2007 .docx files; earlier versions and PDFs worked fine). If you’re a heavy cloud user on Windows, their unlimited storage plan is a better deal than Dropbox, plus it has some nice additives like extra security, an inbox folder, and a direct to email tab to make actual sharing easier.

[via The Next Web]

Chris Gayomali is a writer-reporter at TIME. Find him on Twitter at @chrigz, on Facebook, or on Google+. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.