MediaFire Review: The Multimedia Cloud Service

MediaFire is one of a cluster of consumer file hosting services that could be considered the pioneers of cloud storage. Their users were uploading, storing, and sharing files online two years before Dropbox came around.

But now that file sharing has been delivered to the masses in the form of “the cloud,” these services are adapting to the new feature model of cloud storage. MediaFire chose to center the service around multimedia by focusing on streaming, which sets it apart when the rest of the industry focuses on productivity.

But the service isn’t perfect, nor is it a one-trick pony. Is this what you’re looking for? Read on to find out.

MediaFire logo

Editor's Rating:
VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
Rate It Now
User Rating:
Rating: 3.5/5 (8 votes cast)

Pros

  • Easy user interface
  • Robust sharing features
  • Keeps multiple file versions and deleted files
  • Document viewer in web and app UIs
  • Stream music and videos in Web and apps
  • Optional selective sync
  • “Followed” folders sync in desktop
  • Screenshot tool built into desktop software
  • Fast uploads and downloads
  • Public file drop available as paid feature
  • Advanced download statistics and reporting in Business plan
  • Customized branding and logos available in Business plan
  • Up to 50 GB available for free (10 GB standard)
  • Great pricing on paid plans

Cons

  • Ads and captchas in free version
  • 20 GB file upload limitation in web browsers
  • Photo viewer needs work
  • Free accounts must login once / year to keep account and files
  • No bandwidth controls
  • Cannot choose sync folder location
  • Android app offers limited features
  • MediaFire does not disclose any server security information
  • No apps for Linux or Windows stores
  • Free users get weaker support options

Bottom Line

MediaFire is a great option if you’re looking to store, stream, and share photos, music, and videos. Its business plan makes it an intriguing collaboration and sharing tool, especially for creative professionals, but there are better services if you mainly work with documents. Regardless, the company’s lack of security transparency means you shouldn’t store sensitive data.

Web Interface

Web UI

MediaFire’s web interface is a great mix of attractive design and familiarity with its file system view. But that’s my opinion. Should you prefer a grid-pattern, you can choose that as well. There are big obvious buttons on top and an options button to the right that opens the above interaction options.

Notice that there is the inclusion of a trash can, which is accessible should you want to recover files, as well as the ability to revert files to previous versions.

To the far left are MediaFire’s “apps,” which is really just a Recent Files viewer and a place to see folders you’re following, which I’ll talk about later. Apparently, a photos app named Pool and an unnamed music app are coming.

Web Download

Uploads are a simple drag-and-drop operation. However, you can’t upload everything, as you are limited to a 20 GB file size on 64-bit web browsers, a limitation that MediaFire says they are looking into workarounds for.

Upload from Web

The upload dropdown box also has a nifty “upload from the web” option, which lets you enter the URL of a hosted file or image and it will download it to the folder of your choice.

Ads on Web

If you have a free account, you and anyone else you send download links to will be bombarded by ads as shown above. Thankfully, unlike many file hosting sites, the download link is big, bold and hard to confuse. Paid subscribers’ links will be ad free.

 

In addition, you cannot download multiple files or entire folders with a free account on the web UI. Paid subscribers can download either and will get them as compressed Zip files.

Multimedia

Music Streaming

MediaFire is all about music and videos, so of course you can stream them from the web. You can stream from your folders, other’s folders, or share links to your friends. Of course, the music player is ad supported if you’re on a free subscription, but not the video player, thankfully.

Video Streaming

The video player has some limited controls like looping, setting resolution, and a full screen mode.

Picture Viewer

The photo viewer leaves a bit to be desired, though. There’s no slideshow mode or even a “next” or “previous” button. You have to open each photo separately from the web UI. Oddly, there are a few editing controls here like rotation, zooming, and a few different views.

Doc viewer

I was most surprised to see a file viewer built into the Web UI as well, supporting Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, and TXT docs. Unfortunately, there’s no editing, so any updates will need to be completed via a full file upload.

Sharing and Following

Web Sharing

MediaFire’s sharing options are quite robust. Files and folders can both be shared via download or straight-to-viewer links and do not require an account to view.

But, there are a ton of sharing options. You can share via Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Blogger. You can add an e-mail address to send a “Follow” link, or even retrieve contacts by connecting your MediaFire account to your Facebook, Gmail, or Twitter. You can generate a website embed code, an embed code for a web forum, and a 1-time download link.

Following Folder

MediaFire’s “Followers” feature works very similarly to Shared Folders with most cloud services. “Adding followers” allows those people to access to the link until remove them. Should you add additional files, MediaFire will notify the followers of the new available content.

Access permissions can be assigned, changed, or revoked easily within the web UI. Registered MediaFire users with full-edit access can upload their own files, which will update you and anyone else following.

Change folder access

While file uploads on shared folders are generally restricted to MediaFire users only, a public FileDrop is available to paid subscribers. It’s a shame, but considering many services don’t offer a public file drop, it’s nice to see it as an option.

Finally, paying for the Business account allows you can track sharing statistics and download history. This includes information like:

  • Referrer information
  • Geography information
  • Unique downloader counts
  • Total transfer counts
  • Bandwidth usage information.

You can even generate custom reports using reporting filters and even set your own custom branding and logos on your download sites.

Desktop Software

MediaFire desktop software installs a folder with your MediaFire files and automatically syncs any changes made to the files or in the cloud. It will automatically download your entire MediaFire storage, but you can choose a selective sync option. Unfortunately, the user cannot choose a different place to install the folder other than C:\users\YourName directory.

Selective Sync

Unlike the website, you can upload and download multiple files and folders, there are no ads, and there is no file upload limit. For that reason, the desktop software might be the preferred experience for free users, as long as they login to the website once a year.

Should you be “Following” any folders, you’ll be notified of any new files or changes right in the desktop interface. You can also turn off notifications in the settings.

Desktop UI

Annoyingly, followed folders will only show up in the software once you’ve selected them for “sync to desktop” in the web UI.

Add Following Folder to Desktop

 

Presumably, this is a security restriction, since you wouldn’t want anyone to prompt automatic downloads to your computer. That said, it would be nice to have the option to configure this in the desktop interface.

I also take issue with the lack of any detailed syncing status. The notification pop-up shows how many files are syncing, but there’s no way to see progress or what files are syncing.

Capture Screenshot

The software does have one more random trick. You can take screenshots of your computer.

Screenshot Editing

Once you’ve dragged your box and selected your screenshot area, the above UI appears, giving you a surprising amount of editing options. You can draw arrows, boxes, text boxes, highlight, blur objects, and choose colors. When you’re done editing, you can upload it to your cloud drive, or just copy to clipboard, save and even print the screenshot.

Their desktop software is available on Windows and MacOS, but not Linux unfortunately.

Mobile Apps

Android App iOS app

MediaFire includes mobile apps for iOS, Android, and Roku. With Android and iOS, you can upload, download, move, and delete files and folders. Your “Following” folders update and notify you just like the desktop software. The photo viewer is just a viewer, but at least you can swipe from photo to photo.

Sharing is handled like any other interface in iOS or Android and allows you to share using any applicable apps.

Android Sharing iOS Sharing

What sets these and the Roku app apart is the fact that you can stream music instead of having to download it. The iOS app will even let you stream the music in the background like other music streaming services, but unfortunately the Android app’s stream will not play in the background. iOS and Roku apps will stream videos, but the Android app requires a download.

iOS Music Stream iOS Video Streaming

There are no apps for Windows 10 or Windows Phone, but there is a third-party app called MediaPower.

Performance

The service was quite fast in my performance testing. On a network rated at 15 Mbps download and 5 Mbps upload, the service had no problem maxing out both metrics.

MediaFire Performance

Average Download

15.3 Mbps

Max Download

16.7 Mbps

Average Upload

6.22 Mbps

Max Upload

6.36 Mbps

Security

A recent blog post from the company indicates that they are using SSL encryption for transfers, but beyond that, the company does not appear to disclose any information regarding the digital security of their servers. I have asked the company to clarify, and should I get a response, I will update this review.

On the bright side, their privacy policy promises not to sell any of your information or data to advertisers or third parties. That said, if you’re worried about government surveillance, know that MediaFire will provide data to the government in the event of a legal warrant or high-level request.

Pricing and Storage

MediaFire gives you 10 GB of storage for free. Should you want more storage, you can get up to 50 GB by installing apps, connecting social networks, sharing posts, and referring friends. You also have to login to the website once a year to keep a free account, but they will send two e-mails to remind you before they cancel it.

But should you want to spend money, you’ll get some good rates and some added features.

MediaFire Features Free Pro Business
Storage

10 GB

1 TB

1 TB / User

Monthly Price

$0.00

$4.99

$49.99

Users

1

1

100

Ads & Captcha

Yes

No

No

Download Multiple Files & Folders

No

Yes

Yes

File Drop Public Folder

No

Yes

Yes

Direct File Links

No

Yes

Yes

Priority Support

No

Yes

Yes

Detailed Download Statistics

No

No

Yes

Fully Customizable Branding

No

No

Yes

The benefits of the Pro plan are clear, but the business plan is very interesting. Not only do you get detailed download stats and 1 TB for each of your 100 users, but you also get to customize your branding for your download pages, which is surprisingly rare in the cloud storage world.

Support

Free users get short shrift when it comes to support. Pro and Business users get priority support.

They have a single support center located just north of Houston, Texas, but support is only available through an automated ticket system (e-mail) or through their Knowledgebase forums.

Specifications

Product Name MediaFire
Version 1.4.29.10845
Operating Systems WindowMac
Storage 1 TB
Monthly Price $4.99
Average Upload Speed 6.22 Mbps (5 Mbps connection)
Average Download Speed 15.3 Mbps (15 Mbps connection)

General Features

Free Trial yes
Free Online Storage 10 GB
Mobile Apps Android, iOS, Roku
Bandwidth Controls no
NAS Support yes

Backup Features

File Versioning yes
Keep Deleted Files Until storage filled
Back Up to Local Drive no

Sync and Share Features

File Sync yes
Selective Sync yes
Public File Sharing yes
Collaborative Invites yes

Security

Encrypted Storage no
Encrypted Transfer yes
Personal Encryption no
Zero-knowledge Encryption no
Two-factor Authentication no

Support

Phone Support no
Email Support yes
24/7 Support yes
Live Chat yes

Infrastructure

Data Center Location(s)

Mike Lohnash

Mike Lohnash

Mike has nurtured a passion for all things tech for over ten years as a hobbyist, retailer, tech supporter, and spreadsheet jockey. He’s been an optimistic evangelist for the power of the cloud since the days of server-aided file sharing. In his spare time he loves reading and writing about faraway lands, playing games within them, and has a slightly unhealthy obsession for Star Wars.

Mike Lohnash

Mike Lohnash

Latest posts by Mike Lohnash (see all)