Netlify Drop without an account: anonymous deploys
Yes, Netlify Drop deploys your files without an account, or ship.page publishes a .html file, folder or .zip for free with no signup, no credit card, and a public link live in seconds. While an unclaimed Netlify Drop stays behind a temporary password, ship.page gives you an open HTTPS link right away for HTML files up to 10 MB and ZIPs up to 25 MB (100 files per upload).
A file. A folder. A fresh start.
Your static site, one link away.
Uploading publishes your file. The link is public but unlisted, not password-protected, so leave out secrets and confidential content.
- On unclaimed Netlify Drop links until you sign in
- Password
- Claim window on Vercel Drop and Cloudflare Drop
- 60 min
- Free upload limit on ship.page (100 MB unpacked)
- 25 MB ZIP
- Free forever on ship.page, no signup or card
- $0
How to publish a website folder without an account
Check your homepage file
Put your site files in a folder or a .zip with index.html as the homepage, or prepare a single .html file up to 10 MB. If your folder is larger than roughly 7 MB of files, compress it into a .zip up to 25 MB (100 MB unpacked) first.
Drop your files into the browser
Drag your .html file, .zip, or folder onto ship.page, or paste raw HTML straight into the uploader. You do not need to create an account or enter an email address.
Share the public link or QR code
Your page is live in seconds over HTTPS on its own subdomain with no visitor password, plus a downloadable PNG QR code. You can stop here, or sign in later with a free account (Google or email link, no card) to claim the upload in your dashboard.
What happens when you drop a site without signing in
| Tool | Account needed | Link before you sign up | Catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| ship.page | No account to publish | Public HTTPS link right away | Static files only, 25 MB ZIP and 100 files on free |
| Netlify Drop | No account to start | Locked behind a temporary password | Unclaimed drops expire; free accounts run on 300 monthly credits |
| Vercel Drop | No account for static sites | Public link for 1 hour | Expires after 1 hour unless you sign in and claim it |
| Cloudflare Drop | No account to start | Public workers.dev link for 60 minutes | Must claim within 60 minutes with a Cloudflare account |
What happens when you use Netlify Drop without an account
When you open app.netlify.com/drop and drag in a folder, ZIP, or single HTML file without signing in, Netlify uploads your files as-is with no build step. The site goes online at a name.netlify.app address, but Netlify puts the live link behind a temporary password until you claim it with a Netlify account.
According to Netlify's documentation, deploys under 50 MB work best and single files over 10 MB may get stuck during the upload. Netlify's blog also states that an unclaimed drop expires on its own if you never create an account to keep it.
If you plan to sign up for Netlify anyway, claiming the site removes the temporary password and puts the project into your dashboard. Keep in mind that Netlify's free plan runs on a hard limit of 300 credits a month (15 credits per production deploy and 20 credits per GB of bandwidth), and when credits run out every project on the account is paused and shows Site not available. For a deeper look at the credit system, read our Netlify Drop comparison.
How Vercel Drop and Cloudflare Drop handle anonymous uploads
Netlify is no longer the only major platform with a drop page. Both Vercel and Cloudflare let you drag and drop a folder, ZIP, or HTML file in the browser before signing in, and neither puts a password on the preview link, but both run a strict one-hour clock.
If you want to send a link to a client, teacher, or coworker and walk away without creating an account, a 60-minute timer gets in the way. You can compare more browser uploaders in our guide to Netlify Drop alternatives.
- Vercel Drop (vercel.com/drop): since October 19, 2026, static sites deploy without an account, and those deployments expire after one hour unless you sign in and claim the project (framework projects require a signed-in account from the start).
- Cloudflare Drop (cloudflare.com/drop): accepts a folder, ZIP, or single HTML file without an account and publishes it on a workers.dev address running on Cloudflare Workers, not Pages, with a 60-minute deadline to claim it with a Cloudflare account.
- ship.page: publishes your HTML file, ZIP, or folder to its own subdomain with no visitor password and no 60-minute signup countdown.
When to use ship.page vs claiming a Netlify account
Use ship.page for drag and drop website hosting when you want a link anyone can open right away without typing a temporary password or racing a one-hour claim timer. The free plan is free forever with no ads, unlimited uploads, and no bandwidth limits, supporting single HTML files up to 10 MB, ZIPs up to 25 MB (100 MB unpacked), 100 files per upload, and 10 deploys a minute.
You can publish without an account, or claim the page with a free account (no card) to manage it from a dashboard. On the free plan, a page cannot be updated in place, so uploading a new version creates a new link. If you need permanent links you can update in place, Pro is $4 a month (cancel anytime): Pro pages don't expire while you're on Pro, let you re-upload or edit and keep the same link, add optional password protection, include up to 5 custom subdomains like yourname.ship.place, and raise limits to 100 MB ZIPs (400 MB unpacked) and 10,000 files.
Pick Netlify Drop and sign in for a Netlify account if you want a name.netlify.app address tied into a full Git workflow later, or if your uncompressed folder is close to 50 MB and you are comfortable managing the 300 monthly free credits (or upgrading to Netlify Personal at $9 a month for 1,000 credits, or Pro at $20 a month for 3,000 credits).
Tip: If you only have a single .html file from ChatGPT or Claude, see our guide on free HTML hosting to publish it directly by dragging the file or pasting the code.
Static file rules to know before you drop a folder
Browser drop tools serve static files only. On ship.page, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, images, fonts, audio, video, WebAssembly, and JSON all work out of the box, while server runtimes like PHP, Node.js, Python, databases, and WordPress do not run.
- Homepage and ZIPs: name your entry file index.html; if your ZIP has a single top folder, ship.page unwraps it automatically.
- Clean paths and routing: about.html opens at /about.html, while /about only works if you save the file as about/index.html; single-page apps should use hash routes like #/about because there is no SPA fallback.
- Case-sensitive paths: file names and folder paths must match the exact uppercase and lowercase letters in your HTML links.
- Uncompressed assets: files are served as they are with no Content-Encoding header, so turn off pre-compressed .br or .gz output in your build tool.
- Privacy by default: every page sends a noindex header so search engines leave it out, and uploads are never listed publicly.
Questions
Can I use Netlify Drop without making an account?
Yes. You can drag a folder, ZIP, or single HTML file onto app.netlify.com/drop without signing in. However, Netlify locks the deployed site behind a temporary password until you claim it with a Netlify account, and unclaimed drops expire on their own.
Why is my Netlify Drop site password protected?
Netlify places a temporary password on every site uploaded through Netlify Drop when you are not signed in. To remove the password so other people can view the link normally, you have to sign in and claim the deployment with a Netlify account.
Do Vercel Drop and Cloudflare Drop work without an account?
Yes, for static sites, but both enforce a one-hour claim window. Vercel Drop expires anonymous static deployments after one hour unless you sign in and claim the project, and Cloudflare Drop requires you to claim the workers.dev deployment within 60 minutes with a Cloudflare account.
How do I drop a static site without a password or a 60-minute claim deadline?
Upload your HTML file, ZIP, or folder to ship.page. It publishes your site over HTTPS in seconds with no signup, no credit card, and no visitor password. You can publish without an account, or claim the page with a free account (no card) to manage it from a dashboard.
What are the file size limits on ship.page compared to Netlify Drop?
Netlify's documentation says deploys under 50 MB work best and single files over 10 MB may get stuck. On ship.page, the free plan accepts single HTML files up to 10 MB, folder uploads up to roughly 7 MB of files (10 MB encoded request), and ZIP files up to 25 MB (100 MB unpacked) with up to 100 files, while the $4 a month Pro plan raises ZIP limits to 100 MB (400 MB unpacked) and 10,000 files.
Can I password protect a page on ship.page if I want to?
Free pages on ship.page are open to anyone who has the link and are hidden from search engines with a noindex header. If you want to lock a page behind a password, the $4 a month Pro plan includes password protection, pages that stay online while you're on Pro, in-place updates on the same link, and up to 5 custom subdomains like yourname.ship.place.
Keep reading
Drop your folder for an open link
Drag in an HTML file, folder, or ZIP and get a live HTTPS URL in seconds with no account and no temporary password.