# Turn a PDF into a shareable link Go from PDF to link in one upload: drop the file and get a clean HTTPS address for it in seconds. Nothing to install, no viewer wrapped around it, and the same link keeps working after you replace the file. ## What does it mean to turn a PDF into a link? It means putting the file at a public web address, so that opening the URL opens the document. The alternative most people are used to, attaching the file or sharing it out of a cloud drive, gives the recipient a copy of the file or a viewer around it. A hosted link gives them the document itself, at an address you chose, that you can change the contents of later. The practical difference shows up in three places. Attachments get stripped by mail filters or bounce for size, and every recipient ends up with a separate copy that is out of date the moment you fix a typo. A drive link opens inside that drive's interface, sometimes behind an access request, and its URL is an opaque file identifier rather than anything readable. A hosted link is a normal web address that works in any browser, on any device, with nothing installed. The property that does the most work is that the address is separate from the file. Replace the PDF and the address is unchanged, which means a link in a printed brochure, an email signature, a QR code or a job application keeps pointing at the current version rather than at whatever you uploaded first. If you would rather people read the document in the page instead of in their PDF reader, see publishing a PDF as a web page. ## How it works 1. **Upload the PDF.** Drag the file onto the page. There is nothing to install, no template to complete and no conversion step in between. 2. **Pick the address.** Choose the subdomain so the link reads like the document. It is live over HTTPS in seconds, ready to send, post or embed. 3. **Replace the file, keep the link.** Upload a corrected version and it is published at the same address, so everyone who already has the link sees the new document. ## What you get ### It opens the document, not a viewer around it The link resolves to your PDF at your address. There is no branded shell, no sign-in prompt and no request-access screen between the reader and the file. - Opens in the browser built-in PDF reader on desktop and mobile. - The reader can still download or print it; nothing is locked. - No account needed by whoever you send it to. ### One address, many revisions Documents get corrected. Because the address belongs to the site rather than to a file, a correction does not invalidate anything you already sent. - Upload the new PDF and it replaces what the address serves. - Printed material, QR codes and email signatures keep resolving. - From Pro, returning to a previous revision is one click. ### Control over who reads it Some documents are meant to be public and some are meant to be reachable only by the people you sent them to. Both are supported explicitly rather than by obscurity. - Password protection from Starter, checked at the edge before the file is served. - Expiring links from Starter: six hours, a day, a week, a month, or a date. - Free sites are served noindex, so a document does not turn up in search results. ### Your own domain, when the link is the brand A price list sent by a company reads differently at a shared subdomain than at that company's address. - Connect a domain you own from Pro, $15 a month. - Certificates are issued and renewed for you, on your domain as well as ours. - DNS guides for the common registrars. ## What the free plan includes Everything below is on the free plan, with no card and nothing to claim after you publish. - 1 live site on a real free plan, not a trial of a paid one, and no card to start. - Up to 25 MB per upload and 25 MB of storage across the account. - 5,000 visits and 5 GB of traffic a month. - HTTPS with a real certificate, issued and renewed for you. - Up to 15 publishes a day, so you can iterate without asking permission. - The deploy-time security check, which reads what you published and warns about a stray .env file, a .git folder, a private key or an API key left in your JavaScript. - A small Droply badge in the corner of the page. Removing it starts on Starter. - Free sites are served noindex, so search engines do not list them. Search visibility starts on Starter. - PDFs specifically are capped at 512 KB on the free plan, below the 25 MB limit that applies to everything else. Paid tiers raise every limit. - A downloadable QR code for the link, so it can go on something printed. ## Compared with Google Drive link Almost nobody arrives here choosing between static hosts. The real comparison is with the drive link you would otherwise paste, so these rows describe how the two behave rather than what anyone charges. - **What the address looks like.** Droply: A subdomain you choose, so the link can read like the document. Google Drive link: An opaque file identifier you cannot choose. - **What opens.** Droply: The PDF itself, in the browser reader. Google Drive link: The drive viewer, wrapped in its own interface. - **Recipient needs an account.** Droply: No. Google Drive link: Not on an anyone-with-the-link share. On a restricted one, yes. - **Replacing the file.** Droply: Upload a new version; the address is unchanged. Google Drive link: Manage versions, then Upload new version, keeps the link. Uploading it as a new file does not. - **Your own domain.** Droply: From Pro, $15 a month. Google Drive link: Not available for a share link. - **Password on the document.** Droply: From Starter, one shared password checked at the edge. Google Drive link: No shared password. Access is per Google account, so everyone you want in needs one. - **Expiring access.** Droply: From Starter: 6 hours, a day, a week, a month, or a date you pick. Google Drive link: An expiry date can be set per person, and only on work or school accounts. It is not available on an anyone-with-the-link share. - **Search engines.** Droply: Free sites are noindex; indexing from Starter if you want the document found. Google Drive link: Not designed to be indexed. Google Drive rows checked 8 September 2026 against Google's own Drive help pages: managing versions (Manage versions, then Upload new version; a version may be deleted after 30 days or once there are 100 newer ones unless you choose Keep forever), sharing and expiration (an expiry date is set per person, under the options for work or school accounts, not on an anyone-with-the-link share), and the You need access screen a person sees without permission. The rows describe how each approach behaves rather than what anyone charges. Product behaviour can change. ## When Droply is the wrong choice Hosting a PDF is a publishing step. It does not manage the document, and there are cases where a drive or a document platform is the better answer. - Several people need to edit the source document and see each other's changes. That is a collaboration tool, not a hosted file. - You need per-person access control, revocation and a log of who opened it. One shared password is the level of control available here. - The document is confidential in a regulated sense. A hosted URL is reachable by anyone who has it unless you add a password. - You need a database, a login system, or code that runs on the server. Droply serves files; it does not execute your application. - You want a build to run on every push to a repository. Droply has no Git integration and no CI: you build locally and upload the result. - You are running WordPress or another PHP application. A static export of it can be hosted here, but the application itself cannot. ## Frequently asked questions ### How do I turn a PDF into a link? Drop the PDF on the uploader, pick a name for the address and publish. The file is live at its own HTTPS link in seconds, with nothing to install at either end. ### Is hosting a PDF free? Yes. The free plan publishes 1 PDF to its own HTTPS link, with no card. PDFs specifically are capped at 512 KB on the free plan, below the 25 MB limit that applies to everything else. Paid tiers raise it along with storage. ### How large can the PDF be? PDFs specifically are capped at 512 KB on the free plan, below the 25 MB limit that applies to everything else. The pricing page lists the limit for every tier, and paid tiers raise it substantially. ### Is the link secure? It is served over HTTPS with a valid certificate, so the connection is encrypted and the browser shows a padlock. Anyone with the address can open it unless you add password protection, which is available from Starter. ### Can I update the PDF and keep the same link? Yes. Upload the corrected file and it is published at the same address, so everyone who already has the link sees the new version without you resending anything. ### Can I use my own domain? Yes, from Pro at $15 a month. Point a domain you own at the site and the PDF is served from your address instead of a Droply subdomain. ### Can I stop people finding the PDF in Google? Free sites are served with a noindex header, so they are not listed. On paid plans indexing is allowed, so if a document must stay out of search either keep it on a free site or add a password. ### Can the link expire automatically? Yes, from Starter. Set it to lapse after six hours, a day, a week, a month, or on a date you choose. It flips to an expired page rather than breaking, and you can restore it. ### Do people need an account to open it? No. They open a normal web address in any browser. An account is only needed by the person publishing the file. ### Can I get a QR code for the PDF? Yes. Publish the PDF first, then download a QR code for its address from your dashboard. QR codes are included on every plan, including the free one. See PDF to QR code for the whole flow. ## Related - [PDF to Website](https://droply.host/pdf-to-website) - [PDF to QR Code](https://droply.host/pdf-to-qr-code) - [Resume to Link](https://droply.host/resume-to-link)