Plans

Photon Transfer moves files. Photon Vault keeps them. Vault is a private cloud drive for your complete collection, divided into independent privacy boundaries.

Ephemeral by default. Persistent by choice.

Choose by intent

Start with the product model that matches what you want to happen to the file.

Relay plans Vault plans File Passes
Need live delivery

Choose a Relay plan when both sides are online and you want PhotonFile's live, encrypted relay.

Need a private cloud drive

Choose a Vault plan to keep and sync your complete collection in isolated Vaults, share selectively, or collect uploads.

Relay plans

All Relay plans use the same live, in-memory relay architecture. The main differences are scale, concurrency, queue priority, collaboration, and resume behavior.

Feature Lite Pro Studio
Intended use Daily, frequent transfers Team workflows and large projects Production and high-throughput workflows
Monthly relay bandwidth 250 GiB 1 TiB 3 TiB
Transfer size policy 250 GiB No fixed transfer-size cap with valid Additional usage billing; otherwise 400 GiB while included usage remains, then 10 GiB until reset No fixed transfer-size cap with valid Additional usage billing; otherwise 400 GiB while included usage remains, then 10 GiB until reset
Concurrent uploads (shared) 1 Up to 3 10+
Queue priority Standard Priority Never queued
Teams (count) — 1 team Unlimited teams
Team members (per team) — Up to 25 Unlimited
Desktop app Download desktop app Lite mode available Pro+ mode available Pro+ mode available
Resume support Session-based Durable Durable
Vault storage included 50 GiB included 150 GiB included 350 GiB included
Additional Vault storage pricing $0.04/GiB-month $0.04/GiB-month $0.04/GiB-month
Maximum Vault storage No fixed storage cap No fixed storage cap No fixed storage cap

Vault plans

Vault Free provides time-limited storage with 10 GiB included and a 10 GiB limit. Files expire seven days after upload, and paid overage is not available. Paid Vault plans are a persistent, client-side encrypted private cloud drive with multiple isolated Vaults, scalable storage beyond the amount included at $0.04/GiB-month, and no fixed capacity limit. Paid Photon Vault has no per-file upload size restriction, so you can upload files of any size.

Vault Intake and Desktop Vault Sync are included with Relay Pro, Relay Studio, and Vault Standalone.

Vault Free

Included

$0 / month

Available to every PhotonFile account.

Vaults 1 included
Storage included 10 GiB included
Maximum storage 10 GiB limit
Retention 7 days after upload
Vault Intake Not included
Desktop Vault Sync Not included

Best for trying Vault or keeping a small amount of encrypted storage without a subscription. No paid overage is available.

Vault for Relay subscribers

Best fit

$0 base / month

Available with an active Relay Lite, Pro, or Studio subscription.

Relay Lite
Vault included
50 GiB included
No Vault Intake or Vault Sync
Relay Pro
Vault included
150 GiB included
Vault Intake + Vault Sync
Relay Studio
Vault included
350 GiB included
Vault Intake + Vault Sync
Additional storage pricing $0.04/GiB-month
Maximum storage No fixed storage cap

Best for Relay subscribers who want a private cloud drive with storage by plan, plus Vault Intake and Desktop Vault Sync on Pro or Studio.

Vault Standalone

Standalone

$9.99 / month

Full Vault access without needing a Relay subscription first.

Included storage 350 GiB included
Vault Intake Included
Desktop Vault Sync Included
Additional storage pricing $0.04/GiB-month
Maximum storage No fixed storage cap
Access Full Vault features

Best for users who want a private cloud drive, secure intake, desktop sync, and full Vault access without a Relay subscription.

Feature Vault Free Vault with Relay Vault Standalone
Monthly price $0 $0 base with Relay $9.99 / month
Storage included 10 GiB included 50 GiB included (Lite)
150 GiB included (Pro)
350 GiB included (Studio) 		350 GiB included
Vault count 1 vault Unlimited vaults Full Vault access
Vault Intake No Lite: No
Pro and Studio: Yes		 Yes
Desktop Vault Sync No Lite: No
Pro and Studio: Yes		 Yes
Retention Files expire seven days after upload Persistent storage Persistent storage
Additional storage pricing Not available (no paid overage) $0.04/GiB-month $0.04/GiB-month
Maximum storage 10 GiB limit No fixed storage cap No fixed storage cap

Vault storage by plan

Free

1 vault with 10 GiB included, files expire seven days after upload, and no paid overage. Vault Intake and Vault Sync are not included.

Relay Lite

50 GiB included across unlimited vaults. Additional storage is $0.04/GiB-month, with no fixed storage cap. Vault Intake and Vault Sync are not included.

Relay Pro

150 GiB included, then $0.04/GiB-month for additional storage. No fixed storage cap. Includes Vault Intake and Desktop Vault Sync.

Relay Studio / Vault Standalone

350 GiB included, then $0.04/GiB-month for additional storage. No fixed storage cap. Includes full Vault access, Vault Intake, and Desktop Vault Sync.

Every paid Vault plan has scalable storage with no fixed capacity limit. Storage beyond the included amount is billed at $0.04/GiB-month. Charges are based on the average amount stored during the billing period, not just month-end usage.

Vault storage is based on stored capacity. Files in your private cloud drive count toward included storage or overage instead of Relay transfer tiers.

About resume support

Resume behavior depends on both your plan and the environment used for the transfer.

Not signed in? Relay is a best-effort transfer and cannot resume if interrupted. Sign in before starting to unlock resume support.

Signed-in Free and Lite transfers use session-based resumes. They can continue through temporary disconnects while the relay session remains active.

Pro, Studio, and File Pass transfers use durable resumes. They can preserve eligible transfer progress and continue across disconnects and client restarts in supported environments when both sender and recipient use PhotonFile Desktop.

Teams without the per-seat tax

Most collaboration platforms charge more every time work involves another person. PhotonFile does not turn every collaborator into another seat inside eligible team workspaces.

A team is a shared workspace where members operate under the team owner's entitlements while working inside that team. The owner's plan determines capabilities like concurrency, priority, and durable resume behavior.

There is no per-seat billing. You can invite teammates, contractors, or collaborators without your cost increasing for every additional person.

For contractor access, read the Teams guide for owner-powered team workspaces and Vault-by-Vault access.

  • • Team members inherit the owner's plan benefits while working in that team
  • • The team owner is the only paid account required for team benefits
  • • Members can still use PhotonFile outside the team under their own limits
  • • Creating teams is reserved for eligible plans, but joining a team does not require an upgrade
Team limits by plan
  • Pro: 1 team up to 25 members
  • Studio: unlimited teams and unlimited members

Teams are a collaboration feature, not a meter running in the background.

Desktop app access

PhotonFile provides a single native desktop app that adapts to your entitlements. Use it for the same secure send, receive, and Vault workflows in a richer desktop surface with added capabilities.

Desktop sync is Vault-scoped: map different local folders and data sets to separate Vaults so clients, projects, teams, and personal data stay isolated.

Download desktop app

File Passes

File Passes are per-transfer purchases designed for occasional large transfers. One File Pass. One transfer. One or multiple files. They provide full priority and retry protection for the transfer-size tier purchased, without requiring a subscription.

File Passes and Relay plans are transfer workflows with transfer-size rules. Photon Vault is the private cloud drive for files you choose to keep, sync, and divide into isolated Vaults.

File Passes are completion-gated: incomplete transfers do not consume the pass.

Using File Passes with subscriptions

File Passes can be used alongside any subscription for qualifying oversized transfers that exceed your plan's limits.

This lets you stay on the right subscription tier for your regular workflow while still handling occasional oversized transfers without upgrading.

Queue priority and routing

Queue priority determines how transfers are admitted and routed when relay capacity is constrained.

Standard priority transfers may be queued during periods of high demand. This ensures fair access across all users while protecting overall system stability.

Priority transfers are admitted ahead of standard traffic and are less likely to be queued during peak usage.

Never queued transfers are admitted immediately and are not placed behind other traffic. Studio plans are designed to avoid queueing even during periods of high demand, making them suitable for production and time-critical workflows.

Queue priority affects admission and routing order, not file inspection or data handling. All transfers use the same encrypted, in-memory relay architecture.

View pricing Vault overview