The Mac is a lucky platform because it has so many great ways to quickly upload files with a simple drag and drop or stroke of the keyboard. Among all the options, Dockdrop is our favorite thanks to its simplicity and versatility.
Dropzone
Platform: OS X
Price: $10
Download Page
Features
Upload files quickly by dragging them onto the menu bar icon and get a URL in your clipboard when the upload has finished.
Upload to FTP, SFTP/SCP, and WebDAV servers.
Upload to your Flickr account and a variety of other services.
Do more than just upload: print files, save text, open documents, etc. Here's a big list of cool options.
Where It Excels
Dropzone allows you to upload files with a quick drag and drop on your menubar. You can set up sources like FTP, SCP/SFTP, WebDAV, Amazon S3, Flickr, and many more. When you do, you'll find a new icon in your Dropzone menu bar item. Just drag a file up to it, choose a service, let go, and wait for the URL to pop up in your clipboard. You can also set a few shortcuts to show up on the side of your screen as you want so you don't have to resort to the tiny little menu bar icon (if that's something you find frustrating).
You can do more than share files with Dropzone, too. You can use the app to print, move files around your computer, speak text out loud, save text to a file, set your desktop picture, and tons more.
Where It Falls Short
While Dropzone has a variety of uses, we find $10 a little high for an app that just quickly uploads files. You used to have to pay $14, so we're making progress! We'd like to see it for $5 or $6 someday, because it's just a little too pricy when other similar options exist for less (or no) money. That said, it really offers a great experience and plenty of customizability. While you might overpay for a file uploader, you'll get a lot more for your money.
The Competition
DockDropX (Free): Before Dropzone came DockDropX. We actually picked it as our initial top choice because it offered some of the functionality of Dropzone but at no cost. While it still does, the developer no longer updates the app and that has been the case for quite awhile. Nevertheless, it might work fine on your Mac. You can upload to four different sources, selected by pressing a number on your keyboard after you drop a file onto the dock, so if Dropzone costs too much for you but you like it, take a look at DockDropX instead.
Dragster ($19) and Filechute ($18) are both pricy alternatives that offer a little more flexibility than Dockdrop mostly by providing additional sources and a few other options here and there. Worth the extra money? Not really. I've owned both for awhile now and I still use Dockdrop because it's easier, but if you find it too limiting you might want to take a look.
CloudApp (Freemium) is a favorite among Mac users. You upload to Cloud App's service directly by dragging a file onto its icon in the menubar. It can also upload screenshots automatically. While it's free and a pretty good app, you are limited to its service and its service has limits. If you don't pay, you can only upload so many files per day. If you do pay, you're looking at a minimum of $45 per year. That isn't much, but if you have a place to store your files online already (like your underused web hosting) it may be a little excessive. Nonetheless, if you prefer to have everything taken care of for you in a simple and attractive package, CloudApp is definitely the way to go.
Courier ($10) isn't exactly a drag and drop quick uploader, but it saves time because you can add one file and upload it to multiple locations. Courier has destinations like FTP servers, Flickr, Vimeo, and more built-in, but third party plugins can add support for additional online services.
These are just a few options available for the Mac. Got a favorite we didn't mention? Share it in the comments!
Lifehacker's App Directory is a new and growing directory of recommendations for the best applications and tools in a number of given categories.