Best apps to connect Android to a Mac: which app does which job

There is no single best app to connect Android to a Mac, because no app does every job. Google Messages for web is the best free answer for texting, OpenMTP for files over a cable, NearDrop or LocalSend for wireless files, and scrcpy for mirroring the screen. KDE Connect is the free app that covers the most ground in one install, AirDroid adds reach over the internet through an account, and The Relay is a paid app that puts clipboard, files, texts, notifications, calls, links, and webcam in one Mac app on your own network. The table below shows which app claims which job.

Publisher note: The Relay publishes this guide and is one of the products discussed. Details about other products come from each maker's own pages, checked on 1 October 2026. Prices and features change, so confirm before you buy.

Which app covers which job?

A cell says "Yes" only where the maker's own page lists the feature. "Not stated" means the pages we read do not mention it. It does not mean we tested the app and found it missing.

Where each row comes from:

• Google Messages for web. Google's help page covers sending and receiving texts in a browser. It runs in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge and needs Android 5.0 or higher.
• NearDrop. Its README describes receiving Quick Share files on the Mac and sending files and links from the Mac's Share menu.
• LocalSend. Its README describes sharing "files and messages" between nearby devices. Those are messages between LocalSend apps, not SMS.
• OpenMTP. Its site describes file transfer over a USB cable and says it does not transfer wirelessly.
• scrcpy. Its README lists mirroring with keyboard and mouse control, "copy-paste in both directions", and "mirroring as a webcam (V4L2) (Linux-only)".
• KDE Connect. Its home page lists files and links, notifications, and replying to text messages. Its wiki adds a clipboard plugin that "does not work with images" and a telephone plugin that shows "notifications for incoming calls".
• AirDroid Personal. Its product page lists file transfer, SMS, notifications, calling, screen mirroring, remote control, and a remote camera. The word clipboard does not appear on that page.
• Pushbullet. Its API documentation describes pushes of notes, links, and files, mirrored notifications from Android, universal copy and paste, and sending SMS through an Android phone. Its help page on file sizes gives a 25 MB limit per file, or 1 GB with Pro.

How do the apps differ in cost and setup?

Which free app should I start with?

Start from the job, not from the app.

Texting from the keyboard. Google Messages for web. It is Google's own, it sends as well as receives, and there is nothing to install on the MacBook. Steps are in Android messages on a Mac.

Moving files. With a cable, OpenMTP. Without one, check first whether your Pixel or Galaxy can send to the Mac's AirDrop through Quick Share, because that needs no app at all. Google's Quick Share help page lists the phones. Otherwise use NearDrop or LocalSend. The full comparison is in Android File Transfer alternatives for Mac.

Seeing and controlling the phone's screen. scrcpy. Its README says it needs no app on the phone and no root, but USB debugging has to be on, and it is started with a command. See mirroring Android to a Mac.

Several jobs in one free app. KDE Connect. Its download page lists a stable release for macOS. KDE's documentation is written mainly around Linux desktops, so try it on your own Mac before you depend on it. We cover it in KDE Connect on a Mac.

When does an account-based app make sense?

When the phone and the Mac are not on the same network. Every local tool in the table stops working when you leave the house and the phone stays behind. AirDroid's pricing page lists both local and remote network use, and its setup asks you to sign up and log in to the same account on both devices. The free plan caps remote file transfers at 30 MB per file and 200 MB of remote data. Pushbullet also works through an account.

The trade is that your phone's data passes through a company's service on the way to your Mac. Read each privacy policy and decide whether that suits what you are sending.

When is The Relay the better choice?

When you want most of the rows at once and you want them in one app on your own network. The Relay syncs the clipboard both ways, browses the phone's storage from a Mac window, shows incoming texts and copies login codes to the Mac's clipboard, shows notifications and incoming calls, hands links across, and makes the phone's camera and microphone available to apps such as Zoom and Google Meet. Your clipboard, files, texts, and notifications travel directly between the phone and the Mac and are not uploaded to The Relay's servers. See the privacy policy. It needs Android 8.0 or later and macOS 13 Ventura or later.

It is not the best choice in these cases:

• You need one job only. Each free tool above does its one job for nothing.
• You want to reply to texts. The Relay shows incoming texts. Keep Google Messages for web.
• You want the phone's screen on the Mac. The Relay does not mirror. Use scrcpy.
• You want a cable. The Relay is wireless. Use OpenMTP.
• You want to pay nothing. KDE Connect covers the most for free.
• The phone is elsewhere. The Relay needs the same network or Bluetooth range. Use an account-based tool.

How do I test before settling?

We have not tested the other products, so use your own devices. Give each candidate ten minutes:

1. Pair it and note how many steps and permissions it took.
2. Do the one job you care about most, three times.
3. Lock the phone, wait five minutes, and try again.
4. Check the Mac side still works after the Mac sleeps and wakes.

Keep the one that passed without you having to open the phone.

Questions people ask

What is the best free app to connect Android to a Mac?

For breadth, KDE Connect, which is free and open source and has a macOS release. For individual jobs: Google Messages for web for texts, OpenMTP for cable transfers, NearDrop or LocalSend for wireless files, and scrcpy for the screen.

Is there one app that does everything?

No. In the table above, no column says yes in every row. AirDroid and The Relay cover the most rows among the paid options, and they differ in the gaps: AirDroid lists mirroring and replying to texts, The Relay lists clipboard sync and the phone as a webcam.

Does a Samsung Galaxy or a Pixel need different apps?

No. Every app here works at the Android level. The difference is in file sharing: recent Galaxy and Pixel models can send to a Mac's AirDrop through Quick Share, which phones outside Google's list cannot. See AirDrop from Android to a Mac.

Do these apps work over mobile data when I am away from home?

The local ones do not. NearDrop, LocalSend, KDE Connect, and The Relay need the phone and the Mac on the same network, and OpenMTP needs a cable. Google Messages for web, AirDroid, and Pushbullet work through an online account.

Which of these apps are open source?

NearDrop, LocalSend, OpenMTP, scrcpy, and KDE Connect all publish their code and say so on their own pages. The pages for Google Messages for web, AirDroid, and Pushbullet do not describe them as open source, and The Relay is not open source.