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Last updated on November 13, 2024 by Formidable Team
5 Best WordPress File Sharing Plugins for Exclusive Content
Want to drive conversions? Try offering exclusive members-only downloads or accepting submission uploads. Transform your WordPress site with these five WordPress file sharing plugins.
Approximate read time: 5 minutes
Want to add file hosting and sharing to your WordPress website?
File hosting and file sharing in WordPress allow you to accept and give users digital content. Adding file sharing to your website has many benefits.
This post will cover five of the best WordPress file sharing plugins. And to fit every budget, we’ve included a mix of free and paid WordPress file hosting/sharing plugins.
Let’s get started!
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Can WordPress share files?
Unfortunately, WordPress doesn’t support downloadable media without WordPress plugins or add-ons.
You can upload files to your WP media library, but it simply acts as a file manager in WordPress.
So, you need a WordPress plugin to help bridge the gap between you and your visitors. And that’s why we have the best plugins here for you.
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Best WordPress file sharing plugins
1. Formidable Forms
Rating: 4.8 stars (1,220+ reviews) | 400,000+ active installations
First, we have Formidable Forms, the best WordPress form builder.
With over 400,000 trusted users, Formidable handles much more than building forms. Its multi-file uploader makes uploading and sharing multiple files easy. You can upload your files to WordPress and then use Formidable's file management capabilities to organize, secure, or show them on the front end with Formidable Views.
This makes Formidable Forms the perfect WordPress plugin for gated content and membership websites offering file downloads as a lead.
And the best thing about Formidable is that the plugin's features go far beyond managing gated content with a file explorer. You can build countless forms and landing pages that store member data straight from your WP admin.
Features:
- Upload documents, files, music, and photos for avatars, galleries, or email attachments.
- Password-protect your files.
- Display downloaded files after successful form submission.
- Monetize your gated content by placing it behind a payment form.
- Convert form entries to PDFs for payment forms, survey forms, and more.
- Integrate with WooCommerce.
Pricing: An annual Formidable Forms license starts at $39.50 per year.
2. Download Monitor
Rating: 4.5 stars (490+ reviews) | 90,000+ active installations
Next is Download Monitor.
This file management plugin provides a user-friendly interface to share files easily. It's also easy to insert a download link for uploaded files on your website's pages or posts.
It also logs your total number of successful downloads and download attempts to see your best-performing content. You can then change your strategy to get better results.
In addition, Download Monitor has everything you need to sell access to your downloadable files if you want to monetize your content. For example, if you’re running a membership site, you might restrict downloads to logged-in users only.
Features:
- Add, edit, or remove downloadable files using WordPress.
- Offer multiple versions of each file.
- Provide ‘mirror’ links for each version.
Pricing: You can download the plugin for free. There are also several paid extensions.
3. WordPress File Upload
Rating: 4.5 stars (115+ reviews) | 20,000+ active installations
WordPress File Upload lets users submit files to a WordPress website.
Add a shortcode to any page, post, or widget. Then, your visitors can upload files from that location. You can also display files on the back end of your WordPress dashboard. It also gives you a file browser to access and manage all private files in your document library.
It's a relatively straightforward file sharing plugin for WordPress.
Features:
- This plugin is General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliant.
- It supports additional form fields, including checkboxes and dropdowns.
- Automatically redirect to another URL after upload.
Pricing: WordPress File Upload starts with a free version.
4. Easy Digital Downloads
Rating: 4.7 stars (540+ reviews) | 50,000+ active installations
Fourth on our list is Easy Digital Downloads (EDD).
If you want to monetize your content, EDD is perfect for you. This e-commerce plugin helps you sell many file types, including PDFs, music, software, and e-books.
The free Easy Digital Downloads plugin supports Stripe and Amazon Payments. With free and premium extensions, you can add other payment gateways.
Even when you’re monetizing your files, it may make sense to offer some content for free. For instance, you may want to provide teaser content or a complimentary gift. But if you want to skip standard checkout forms, you'll need the Free Downloads extension.
Features:
- A complete e-commerce system.
- Place file restrictions on your content.
- Track your downloads, sales, and refunds with detailed e-commerce reports.
Pricing: You can download this plugin for free. A pro version is also available, starting at $99.50 per year.
5. Download Manager
Rating: 4.1 stars (955+ reviews) | 100,000+ active installations
Download Manager is fifth on the list.
This plugin is handy for digital content. It lets you restrict access to your files for gated content.
Download Manager lets you control the download speed and limit the number of downloads per user.
You can use this plugin's CAPTCHA lock and IP blocking features. This prevents malicious third parties and bots from accessing your content or uploading some of their own.
Download Manager also supports many popular file-sharing services for hosting your content, including Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive.
A downside to this plugin is that it is limited to downloading and managing content. It doesn't allow you to build forms like other plugins. However, you can access more features using WordPress Download Manager Pro, which requires a subscription.
Features:
- Integrated document viewer.
- Attach files directly from your server using the file browser.
- Use an easy drag-and-drop file upload.
- View your total download count, thanks to the built-in counter.
Pricing: You can download this plugin free from official WordPress.
Which WordPress file sharing plugin will you pick?
As you can see, countless reasons exist to give visitors a WordPress file sharing portal.
You can offer gated content on your membership site or accept resumes on your job board.
Either way, a file-sharing plugin is a fantastic choice for offering digital content freebies or selling digital downloads on WordPress!
No matter the circumstance, you'll need a dependable tool. And with this list, you've got everything you need to start. Of course, we recommend using Formidable Forms for its powerful features.
But let us know what your choice is in the comments below!
See more about downloading files in WordPress
How To Create Gated Content on WordPress (In 3 Easy Steps!)
How To Require Email To Download Files in WordPress
5 Best WordPress Gated Content Plugins To Get More Leads!This article may contain affiliate links. Once in a while, we earn commissions from those links. But we only recommend products we like, with or without commissions.
