An upload page and a client portal solve different halves of the problem

Q: What is the difference between File Request Pro and Droplana?

File Request Pro is an upload page. You publish a branded form, people upload to it, and the files are delivered into cloud storage you already use, such as Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive or SharePoint. It is a funnel into your existing storage. Droplana is a destination rather than a funnel: each client gets their own private, persistent portal holding both what they sent you and what you sent them, with a document checklist, per-file comments, status tracking and in-browser PDF signing.

Q: Can clients see what they sent me, or what I sent them?

With an upload form, generally no. The client uploads and the transaction ends; there is nothing to return to and nothing travels back down. With Droplana the client opens the same private link at any time and sees their whole history with you, what is still outstanding on their checklist, and any documents you have sent down for them to read, approve or sign.

Q: Does Droplana put files into my Google Drive or SharePoint?

No. Delivering uploads into storage you already run is exactly what File Request Pro is for, and Droplana does not do it. There is no public API and no integrations. Files stay in the portal, which is deliberate, because the portal is also where the client reads them. If your requirement is that documents land in an existing folder structure automatically, File Request Pro is the better fit.

Q: Does Droplana support custom branding?

Only partly. Branded upload pages carrying your logo and colours are a headline feature of File Request Pro. Droplana lets you upload a logo that replaces ours in the portal header, free on every plan, but there is no accent colour customisation and no custom domain. Paid plans also get a clean subdomain slug without a random suffix. If the client-facing page needs your full brand, colours included, this is still a gap.

Q: When is an upload form no longer enough?

Usually at the point where you start answering the same three questions: what did you still need from me, can you re-send the thing you sent in March, and where do I sign this. A form answers none of those, because it has no memory of the client. Droplana costs 19 EUR per month for Solo with unlimited clients and 50 GB, or 49 EUR for Practice with 250 GB and 5 seats, plus tax, with a free plan for 3 clients and 2 GB.

File Request Pro gives you a branded upload page. Send someone the link, they drop files on it, and the files arrive in the Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive or SharePoint folder you already use. It is a narrow tool that does one job cleanly and cheaply. Droplana is a client portal: one private space per client, persistent, two-way, with a checklist, per-file comments and signing. If a form is all you need, buy the form.

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What File Request Pro is for

It is worth being precise, because this is a narrow product and narrowness is its virtue.

File Request Pro gives you a branded page that accepts uploads. You send the link, someone drops files on it, and those files are delivered into the cloud storage you already use. No account for the person uploading, your logo on the page, and the files end up where the rest of your work already lives.

For a lot of situations that is the whole requirement. A photographer collecting raw material for one job. A firm gathering documents for a single application. Anyone whose storage story is already settled and who just needs a nicer front door onto it.

If that describes you, buy it. This page is for the case where it stops being enough.

The thing a form cannot do

A form has no memory of the person using it.

That sounds abstract until you look at what consumes your time on a recurring client. It is not the upload. It is the three questions that come afterwards: what were you still waiting on from me, can you re-send that document from March, and where do I sign this.

An upload page answers none of them. The client has no view of what they submitted, no view of what is still outstanding, and nothing at all coming back down. So the follow-up moves to email, which is exactly where it was before you bought the form.

Droplana keeps the client as the organising unit. One private portal, one link that never changes, holding their whole history with you in both directions. The checklist shows them what is still missing without you writing the email. Each file carries its own comment thread, so questions live on the document rather than in a thread you have to search. PDFs can be signed in the browser by either side, and each signature gets a public verification page recording who signed, when, from what IP and with which login.

Side-by-side

	File Request Pro	Droplana
What it is	A branded upload page	A private portal per client
Direction	Client to you only	Both ways
Client sees their history	No	Yes, permanently
Where files land	Your existing cloud storage	The portal
Bulk export	Check filerequestpro.com	Yes - ZIP everything for a client (or the whole business), or just a selection
Custom branding	Yes, a core feature	Logo only, free on every plan
Document checklist with per-item status	Not the model	Yes, with reusable templates
Automated chasing	Not the model	Yes, opt-in: 7-day client nudge, 14-day escalation to you
Per-file comments and status	No	Yes
In-browser PDF signing	No	Yes, with a public verification page per signature
Phone camera capture	Browser upload	Yes, straight into the checklist item
Hosting	Check filerequestpro.com	Hetzner, Germany, exclusively
Pricing shape	Low, per plan tier	Flat per business, unlimited clients

Check filerequestpro.com for current plans and features rather than trusting this page.

Two honest points in their favour

It is cheaper, and price is a real feature. A single upload page costs less than a client portal and always will. If the extra capability would sit unused, paying for it is not clever.

Branding. Your logo and colours on the page the client sees is a headline feature there. Droplana's logo upload replaces our mark in the portal header, free on every plan, but there is no accent colour and no custom domain. Paid plans also get a clean subdomain slug without a random suffix. For client-facing work where colour and full brand control carry weight, that remains a gap.

What Droplana does not do

Logo only, not full branding. Covered above, and colour is the one that still stings in this particular comparison.
No integrations and no public API. Nothing is delivered into Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive or SharePoint.
No due dates on checklist items. Reminders run on inactivity instead.
Not general storage. Storage is capped per plan and this is not meant to be your firm's drive.
Not project management, not a form builder, not internal team collaboration.
Not a qualified e-signature provider. Signing marks a document as signed and records the circumstances; it is not certificate-based or qualified and we do not call it tamper-proof.

Who should pick which

Pick File Request Pro if: you need a front door onto storage you already run; the people uploading are one-off contacts rather than recurring clients; the page needs to carry your branding; or the entire job is intake and nothing travels back.

Pick Droplana if: the same clients come back and you are tired of re-answering what is still outstanding; documents go down as well as up; you want signing and per-file comments on the documents themselves; or an EU company hosting exclusively in Germany is something you have been asked for.

There is a reasonable case for using both, and it is not a fudge: a public upload page for anonymous intake from your website, and a private portal for the clients you service. They sit at different points in the funnel.

For what the per-client structure looks like in daily use, see the accounting practices page, the legal page or the client portal guide.

Check our simple pricing (or start free)

Monthly Annual

Free

Try it with up to three clients.

€0

3 clients
2 GB storage
100 MB max file size
Max 90 day file retention
1 seat (owner only)
Droplana address with a random suffix

Get started

Solo

For one person managing client documents.

€19/mo+ tax

€190/yr+ tax

Unlimited clients
50 GB storage
1 GB max file size
Unlimited file retention
1 seat (owner only)
Your chosen Droplana address

Start with Solo Start with Solo

Practice

For teams of up to 5, including you.

€49/mo+ tax

€490/yr+ tax

Unlimited clients
250 GB storage
2 GB max file size
Unlimited file retention
5 seats (owner included)
Your chosen Droplana address
Countersigned DPA available
Priority support

Start with Practice Start with Practice

Studio

For teams of up to 15, including you.

€99/mo+ tax

€990/yr+ tax

Unlimited clients
1024 GB storage
5 GB max file size
Unlimited file retention
15 seats (owner included)
Your chosen Droplana address
Countersigned DPA available
Priority support
Onboarding setup call

Start with Studio Start with Studio

All plans include document checklists, file comments and in-browser PDF signing.
Your logo, EU hosting, encryption and data export are included too.
No per-client fees, setup fees or automatic overage charges. Prices exclude applicable tax.

Other request-based tools are compared in Droplana vs FileInvite and Droplana vs Content Snare. If you collect files through shared folders, see Droplana vs Google Drive and Dropbox.