I’ve been using multihoster services since late 2011. It’s almost 2019, so a solid 7 years so far. I’ve also been researching them and writing about them for nearly as long. Over the years, I’ve seen variations of this comment pop up far too frequently in forums, on other blogs and even comments on my site:

“I purchased *some_multihoster* only so that I could download from *some_filehoster*, and it doesn’t work. What a scam”.

This idea demonstrates a basic misunderstanding of what multihoster services are and what they are designed to provide. I want to take a few minutes to expand on why it might be appealing, but also why it’s a bad idea to purchase a multihoster account to download from a single premium account.

Examples of premium account filehosters

Before digging into this, here are some examples of premium account filehosters:

  • Rapidgator
  • Uploaded
  • WDupload
  • Keep2Share
  • UpToBox
  • AlfaFile
  • Nitroflare

These are referred to as ‘filehosters’, ‘hosters’, ‘cyberlockers’, ‘cloud storage services’, etc, depending on which particular website you’re visiting. The above filehosting sites sell premium memberships, generally as an option alongside free downloads, to members so that they can download files faster, enjoy parallel downloads, have fewer advertisements, and so on.

Multihosters can be cheaper than using premium accounts

Generally speaking, multihosters provide a significant value for people who can download files from multiple different filehosting sites. Instead of buying a premium account from Rapidgator, Uploaded and Datafile, which would cost you $41.97 for one month of service, you can get access to all three premium sites for $12.99 with a LinkSnappy account. This is just an example, but it’s the kind of value that multihoster services can provide.

A real example of the potential value of multihoster services is in the recently-defunct Depfile.com. Before the site closed, it was $19.99 for 30 days of service. Most multihoster services I’ve tested on here offer Depfile support, with LinkSnappy offering 25GB of daily downloads for that service. $12.99 per month for a 30-day LinkSnappy account that included a torrent download tool, access to 40-50 other sites and 25GB of daily Depfile downloads vs $19.99 for dedicated Depfile support alone.

While $19.99 per month for a premium account is on the high end, it’s a good example of why someone might purchase a multihoster account just to get access to a single premium account service. It’s cheaper. However, if this is you, there are a couple of things that you should consider first.

Download limits: multihosters vs a premium account

Many filehosting sites have some kind of limit on how much data a premium member can download. These may be daily limits, monthly limits or ‘fair use’ limits. Some services hide their limits in small print inside their terms of service, but some of the more reputable services are straightforward about limits for premium accounts.

Multihosters, on the other hand, not only need to adhere to the filehosting service’s limits, but also balance that with thousands or tens of thousands of their members. As such, it’s pretty common for multihoster services to impose limits on certain filehosting sites. Here are a few examples from Linkifier and LinkSnappy, both services I’ve tested this year, along with their daily download limits:

  • AlfaFile – 2GB Linkifier, 5GB LinkSnappy
  • NitroFlare – 2GB both services
  • Rapidgator – 15GB Linkifier, 20GB LinkSnappy

I could go on with examples. The point is, however, that you will generally have the ability to download more files with a premium account directly rather than purchasing service through a multihoster account for a specific filehosting site. Generally multihoster services offer ‘unlimited’ downloads from some specific filehosting sites, but then you are still limited by whatever daily limit or fair use limits the multihoster services have themselves.

Potential download speed differences for the same files

Another reason you might not want to purchase a multihoster account to download from a single filehosting site is due to download speeds. While multihoster services certainly aspire to provide the same download speeds available to premium account members, due to the way multihosters work, there’s the potential for slower speeds for some downloads at times. If you’re interested in the details, here’s a really old article on multihoster download speeds, and for further reading on factors that affect download speeds in general, here’s a breakdown of potential internet speed bottlenecks.

To be clear: you can have slow downloads through a multihoster that have nothing to do with the multihoster’s service, and you can have slow downloads through a premium account itself. Multihosters add an extra step to the download process, and that only increases the potential for problems with downloading files. And, if you’re only using a multihoster to download from a single filehosting site and those downloads are slow for a period, that can be a big problem for you.

Lack of support for filehosting site problems

When you’re using a multihoster service, you’re not actually getting a premium account directly with multiple filehosting sites. You’re getting premium account access through the multihoster service. As such, if there’s a problem with a particular filehosting site, either it’s not working itself, there’s a problem with the jDownloader plugin, or the filehosting site broke the multihoster’s ability to download files (related reading: filehosters vs multihosters: the battle), you are stuck until the issue is resolved.

That I am aware of, all multihoster service provide access to filehosting sites on a best-effort basis. Multihosters only stay in business if they actually provide a usable and useful service overall, but they cannot guarantee access to any particular filehosting site. Multihosters make sense when you actually can use multiple filehosting sites, but you’re increasing your risk of problems if you subscribe to a multihoster service only wanting to download from a single premium filehoster.

What multihoster services actually provide

Multihoster services give you the option of easy downloads from multiple different sites through a single account. The main value is in providing premium download access to sites like Rapidgator, Uploaded, Turbobit, etc, but some also offer add-on bonuses like direct-download torrents. I love that feature of LinkSnappy’s service, which is why you’ll see me bringing it up on a regular basis.

At the end of the day, though, the reason multihosters exist is to give members access to multiple download sites, rather than just one. Hoping to use a multihoster to download from one specific site is kind of risky, and really doesn’t make much sense unless the multihoster’s membership features offer something else that you can benefit from.

Don’t buy multihosters for a single premium account

My goal here isn’t to discourage you from buying a multihoster account. Right now, I recommend LinkSnappy, but there are others available. Rather, my goal is to encourage you to think about your intended usage before buying:

  • Do you need to download from more than one premium site?
  • Does the multihoster support sites that you download from?
  • Does the multihoster offer any extra services or features that benefit you?

Multihosters can provide a substantial value for a lot of people, but whether they are the best option for you really depends on how you intend to use the service. My only recommendation, though, is that if you just need to download from a single site, consider choosing a premium account instead. For those who can use multiple sites to download files, multihoster services can be a very good option.

Related Articles: