diff --git a/examples/custom-provider/server/CustomProvider.cjs b/examples/custom-provider/server/CustomProvider.cjs
index 6e4292b14e..789ff82953 100644
--- a/examples/custom-provider/server/CustomProvider.cjs
+++ b/examples/custom-provider/server/CustomProvider.cjs
@@ -61,26 +61,14 @@ class MyCustomProvider {
       },
     })
 
-    if (!resp.ok) {
-      throw new Error(`Errornous HTTP response (${resp.status} ${resp.statusText})`)
-    }
-    return { stream: Readable.fromWeb(resp.body) }
-  }
-
-  // eslint-disable-next-line class-methods-use-this
-  async size ({ id, token }) {
-    const resp = await fetch(`${BASE_URL}/photos/${id}`, {
-      headers: {
-        Authorization: `Bearer ${token}`,
-      },
-    })
+    const contentLengthStr = resp.headers['content-length']
+    const contentLength = parseInt(contentLengthStr, 10);
+    const size = !Number.isNaN(contentLength) && contentLength >= 0 ? contentLength : undefined;
 
     if (!resp.ok) {
       throw new Error(`Errornous HTTP response (${resp.status} ${resp.statusText})`)
     }
-
-    const { size } = await resp.json()
-    return size
+    return { stream: Readable.fromWeb(resp.body), size }
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/controllers/googlePicker.js b/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/controllers/googlePicker.js
index b08d66a605..67f9462666 100644
--- a/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/controllers/googlePicker.js
+++ b/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/controllers/googlePicker.js
@@ -3,10 +3,9 @@ const assert = require('node:assert')
 
 const { startDownUpload } = require('../helpers/upload')
 const { validateURL } = require('../helpers/request')
-const { getURLMeta } = require('../helpers/request')
 const logger = require('../logger')
 const { downloadURL } = require('../download')
-const { getGoogleFileSize, streamGoogleFile } = require('../provider/google/drive');
+const { streamGoogleFile } = require('../provider/google/drive');
 const { respondWithError } = require('../provider/error')
 
 
@@ -26,14 +25,6 @@ const get = async (req, res) => {
     const { accessToken, platform, fileId } = req.body
 
     assert(platform === 'drive' || platform === 'photos');
-
-    const getSize = async () => {
-      if (platform === 'drive') {
-        return getGoogleFileSize({ id: fileId, token: accessToken })
-      }
-      const { size } = await getURLMeta(req.body.url, allowLocalUrls, { headers: getAuthHeader(accessToken) })
-      return size
-    }
     
     if (platform === 'photos' && !validateURL(req.body.url, allowLocalUrls)) {
       res.status(400).json({ error: 'Invalid URL' })
@@ -47,7 +38,7 @@ const get = async (req, res) => {
       return downloadURL(req.body.url, allowLocalUrls, req.id, { headers: getAuthHeader(accessToken) })
     }
 
-    await startDownUpload({ req, res, getSize, download })
+    await startDownUpload({ req, res, download, getSize: undefined })
   } catch (err) {
     logger.error(err, 'controller.googlePicker.error', req.id)
     if (respondWithError(err, res)) return
diff --git a/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/controllers/url.js b/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/controllers/url.js
index 99b1e96667..5018f29186 100644
--- a/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/controllers/url.js
+++ b/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/controllers/url.js
@@ -54,15 +54,10 @@ const get = async (req, res) => {
     return
   }
 
-  async function getSize () {
-    const { size } = await getURLMeta(req.body.url, allowLocalUrls)
-    return size
-  }
-
   const download = () => downloadURL(req.body.url, allowLocalUrls, req.id)
 
   try {
-    await startDownUpload({ req, res, getSize, download })
+    await startDownUpload({ req, res, download, getSize: undefined })
   } catch (err) {
     logger.error(err, 'controller.url.error', req.id)
     if (respondWithError(err, res)) return
diff --git a/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/helpers/upload.js b/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/helpers/upload.js
index b508c52dff..0f166070d3 100644
--- a/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/helpers/upload.js
+++ b/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/helpers/upload.js
@@ -6,12 +6,14 @@ async function startDownUpload({ req, res, getSize, download }) {
   const { stream, size: maybeSize } = await download()
 
   let size
-  // if the provider already knows the size, we can use that
+  // if we already know the size from the GET response content-length header, we can use that
   if (typeof maybeSize === 'number' && !Number.isNaN(maybeSize) && maybeSize > 0) {
     size = maybeSize
   }
-  // if not we need to get the size
-  if (size == null) {
+  // if not, we may need to explicitly get the size
+  // note that getSize might also return undefined/null, which is usually fine, it just means that
+  // the size is unknown and we cannot send the size to the Uploader
+  if (size == null && getSize != null) {
     size = await getSize()
   }
   const { clientSocketConnectTimeout } = req.companion.options
diff --git a/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/Provider.js b/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/Provider.js
index cfbcfbd973..f872ff563f 100644
--- a/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/Provider.js
+++ b/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/Provider.js
@@ -58,14 +58,16 @@ class Provider {
   }
 
   /**
-   * get the size of a certain file in the provider account
+   * first Companion will try to get the size from the content-length response header,
+   * if that fails, it will call this method to get the size.
+   * So if your provider has a different method for getting the size, you can return the size here
    *
    * @param {object} options
    * @returns {Promise}
    */
   // eslint-disable-next-line class-methods-use-this,no-unused-vars
   async size (options) {
-    throw new Error('method not implemented')
+    return undefined
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/box/index.js b/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/box/index.js
index 3488363082..e35d3a88d8 100644
--- a/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/box/index.js
+++ b/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/box/index.js
@@ -62,8 +62,8 @@ class Box extends Provider {
     return this.#withErrorHandling('provider.box.download.error', async () => {
       const stream = (await getClient({ token })).stream.get(`files/${id}/content`, { responseType: 'json' })
 
-      await prepareStream(stream)
-      return { stream }
+      const { size } = await prepareStream(stream)
+      return { stream, size }
     })
   }
 
diff --git a/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/dropbox/index.js b/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/dropbox/index.js
index d33e274ecf..1e0a2b4766 100644
--- a/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/dropbox/index.js
+++ b/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/dropbox/index.js
@@ -96,8 +96,8 @@ class DropBox extends Provider {
         responseType: 'json',
       })
 
-      await prepareStream(stream)
-      return { stream }
+      const { size } = await prepareStream(stream)
+      return { stream, size }
     })
   }
 
diff --git a/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/facebook/index.js b/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/facebook/index.js
index b31588c5b1..45cdfed4cb 100644
--- a/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/facebook/index.js
+++ b/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/facebook/index.js
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 const crypto = require('node:crypto');
 
 const Provider = require('../Provider')
-const { getURLMeta } = require('../../helpers/request')
 const logger = require('../../logger')
 const { adaptData, sortImages } = require('./adapter')
 const { withProviderErrorHandling } = require('../providerErrors')
@@ -92,8 +91,8 @@ class Facebook extends Provider {
     return this.#withErrorHandling('provider.facebook.download.error', async () => {
       const url = await getMediaUrl({ secret: this.secret, token, id })
       const stream = (await got).stream.get(url, { responseType: 'json' })
-      await prepareStream(stream)
-      return { stream }
+      const { size } = await prepareStream(stream)
+      return { stream, size }
     })
   }
 
@@ -104,14 +103,6 @@ class Facebook extends Provider {
     throw new Error('call to thumbnail is not implemented')
   }
 
-  async size ({ id, token }) {
-    return this.#withErrorHandling('provider.facebook.size.error', async () => {
-      const url = await getMediaUrl({ secret: this.secret, token, id })
-      const { size } = await getURLMeta(url)
-      return size
-    })
-  }
-
   async logout ({ token }) {
     return this.#withErrorHandling('provider.facebook.logout.error', async () => {
       await runRequestBatch({
diff --git a/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/google/drive/index.js b/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/google/drive/index.js
index a4a790f3c5..d5ec1c57b3 100644
--- a/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/google/drive/index.js
+++ b/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/google/drive/index.js
@@ -74,20 +74,8 @@ async function streamGoogleFile({ token, id: idIn }) {
     stream = client.stream.get(`files/${encodeURIComponent(id)}`, { searchParams: { alt: 'media', supportsAllDrives: true }, responseType: 'json' })
   }
 
-  await prepareStream(stream)
-  return { stream }
-}
-
-async function getGoogleFileSize({ id, token }) {
-  const { mimeType, size } = await getStats({ id, token })
-
-  if (isGsuiteFile(mimeType)) {
-    // GSuite file sizes cannot be predetermined (but are max 10MB)
-    // e.g. Transfer-Encoding: chunked
-    return undefined
-  }
-
-  return parseInt(size, 10)
+  const { size } = await prepareStream(stream)
+  return { stream, size }
 }
 
 /**
@@ -185,13 +173,6 @@ class Drive extends Provider {
       return streamGoogleFile({ token, id })
     })
   }
-
-  // eslint-disable-next-line class-methods-use-this
-  async size ({ id, token }) {
-    return withGoogleErrorHandling(Drive.oauthProvider, 'provider.drive.size.error', async () => (
-      getGoogleFileSize({ id, token })
-    ))
-  }
 }
 
 Drive.prototype.logout = logout
@@ -200,5 +181,4 @@ Drive.prototype.refreshToken = refreshToken
 module.exports = {
   Drive,
   streamGoogleFile,
-  getGoogleFileSize,
 }
diff --git a/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/instagram/graph/index.js b/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/instagram/graph/index.js
index db124452df..13ab4048c4 100644
--- a/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/instagram/graph/index.js
+++ b/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/instagram/graph/index.js
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 const Provider = require('../../Provider')
-const { getURLMeta } = require('../../../helpers/request')
 const logger = require('../../../logger')
 const adaptData = require('./adapter')
 const { withProviderErrorHandling } = require('../../providerErrors')
@@ -55,8 +54,8 @@ class Instagram extends Provider {
     return this.#withErrorHandling('provider.instagram.download.error', async () => {
       const url = await getMediaUrl({ token, id })
       const stream = (await got).stream.get(url, { responseType: 'json' })
-      await prepareStream(stream)
-      return { stream }
+      const { size } = await prepareStream(stream)
+      return { stream, size }
     })
   }
 
@@ -67,14 +66,6 @@ class Instagram extends Provider {
     throw new Error('call to thumbnail is not implemented')
   }
 
-  async size ({ id, token }) {
-    return this.#withErrorHandling('provider.instagram.size.error', async () => {
-      const url = await getMediaUrl({ token, id })
-      const { size } = await getURLMeta(url)
-      return size
-    })
-  }
-
   // eslint-disable-next-line class-methods-use-this
   async logout () {
     // access revoke is not supported by Instagram's API
diff --git a/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/onedrive/index.js b/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/onedrive/index.js
index 191222dd5f..2188c9bcbd 100644
--- a/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/onedrive/index.js
+++ b/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/onedrive/index.js
@@ -61,8 +61,8 @@ class OneDrive extends Provider {
   async download ({ id, token, query }) {
     return this.#withErrorHandling('provider.onedrive.download.error', async () => {
       const stream = (await getClient({ token })).stream.get(`${getRootPath(query)}/items/${id}/content`, { responseType: 'json' })
-      await prepareStream(stream)
-      return { stream }
+      const { size } = await prepareStream(stream)
+      return { stream, size }
     })
   }
 
diff --git a/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/unsplash/index.js b/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/unsplash/index.js
index b097e92287..d1c7cdaef2 100644
--- a/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/unsplash/index.js
+++ b/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/unsplash/index.js
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 const Provider = require('../Provider')
-const { getURLMeta } = require('../../helpers/request')
 const adaptData = require('./adapter')
 const { withProviderErrorHandling } = require('../providerErrors')
 const { prepareStream } = require('../../helpers/utils')
@@ -43,7 +42,7 @@ class Unsplash extends Provider {
       const { links: { download: url, download_location: attributionUrl } } = await getPhotoMeta(client, id)
 
       const stream = (await got).stream.get(url, { responseType: 'json' })
-      await prepareStream(stream)
+      const { size } = await prepareStream(stream)
 
       // To attribute the author of the image, we call the `download_location`
       // endpoint to increment the download count on Unsplash.
@@ -51,15 +50,7 @@ class Unsplash extends Provider {
       await client.get(attributionUrl, { prefixUrl: '', responseType: 'json' })
 
       // finally, stream on!
-      return { stream }
-    })
-  }
-
-  async size ({ id, token }) {
-    return this.#withErrorHandling('provider.unsplash.size.error', async () => {
-      const { links: { download: url } } = await getPhotoMeta(await getClient({ token }), id)
-      const { size } = await getURLMeta(url)
-      return size
+      return { stream, size }
     })
   }
 
diff --git a/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/webdav/index.js b/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/webdav/index.js
index f379aff592..b0f773754e 100644
--- a/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/webdav/index.js
+++ b/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/webdav/index.js
@@ -140,8 +140,10 @@ class WebdavProvider extends Provider {
   async download ({ id, providerUserSession }) {
     return this.withErrorHandling('provider.webdav.download.error', async () => {
       const client = await this.getClient({ providerUserSession })
+      /** @type {any} */
+      const stat = await client.stat(id)
       const stream = client.createReadStream(`/${id}`)
-      return { stream }
+      return { stream, size: stat.size }
     })
   }
 
@@ -152,17 +154,6 @@ class WebdavProvider extends Provider {
     throw new Error('call to thumbnail is not implemented')
   }
 
-  // eslint-disable-next-line
-  async size ({ id, token, providerUserSession }) {
-    return this.withErrorHandling('provider.webdav.size.error', async () => {
-      const client = await this.getClient({ providerUserSession })
-
-      /** @type {any} */
-      const stat = await client.stat(id)
-      return stat.size
-    })
-  }
-
   // eslint-disable-next-line class-methods-use-this
   async withErrorHandling (tag, fn) {
     try {
diff --git a/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/zoom/index.js b/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/zoom/index.js
index b9f5ec84ce..200ce5e266 100644
--- a/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/zoom/index.js
+++ b/packages/@uppy/companion/src/server/provider/zoom/index.js
@@ -94,8 +94,8 @@ class Zoom extends Provider {
       if (!url) throw new Error('Download URL not found')
 
       const stream = client.stream.get(`${url}?access_token=${token}`, { prefixUrl: '', responseType: 'json' })
-      await prepareStream(stream)
-      return { stream }
+      const { size } = await prepareStream(stream)
+      return { stream, size }
     })
   }