MacDroid alternatives: what is free, and what you give up

The best free MacDroid alternative for a Mac and an Android phone is OpenMTP: it uses the same USB cable, copies in both directions, and costs nothing. If you want no cable, NearDrop and LocalSend are free wireless apps, and some recent phones can send to the Mac's AirDrop with nothing installed. Stay with MacDroid if you want the phone to appear as a disk in Finder. The Relay is the paid pick for people who want the clipboard, texts, notifications and calls on the Mac as well as files.

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 2 October 2026. Prices and features change, so confirm before you buy.

What does MacDroid do, and what does it cost?

MacDroid is a Mac app from Electronic Team, Inc. Its home page describes three connection modes: Wi-Fi, ADB ("advanced mode for smoother and faster file transfer and management"), and MTP, the standard cable mode. It says the phone mounts as a disk you can open in Finder, that you can edit files on the phone without copying them first, and that it handles internal storage and SD cards.

The Wi-Fi setup steps on that page start with tapping the build number seven times and turning on USB debugging. The page says it requires macOS 11.5 or newer.

On its purchase page, as of 2 October 2026, PRO is $19 per year with a 7-day trial, or a lifetime licence at $34 with a struck-through $49 beside it. The page adds "Taxes may apply by location". MacDroid's Android file transfer page says that after the trial you can keep using "the free version with limited features", and that "to be able to transfer files from the Mac, the PRO version is required". So the free version, by its own account, covers phone to Mac only. The lifetime price carried a struck-out figure, so check it before you pay.

Which free alternatives are there?

Is OpenMTP the closest free replacement?

Yes, for the cable. The OpenMTP site gives three steps: connect with a USB cable, choose File transfer on the phone, and drag files between a Mac pane and a phone pane. It lists a split view, switching between internal storage and the SD card, renaming files on the phone, and no 4 GB limit. It says the app is free and open source, signed and notarized by Apple, and collects no personally identifiable information.

Its limits are stated plainly. The FAQ answers "Can OpenMTP transfer files wirelessly?" with "No." It also says only one app can use the phone over MTP at a time, so quit anything else that might hold it. If you keep MacDroid installed for its cable modes, quit it before you open OpenMTP. For setup see how to use OpenMTP, and for the face-off see MacDroid vs OpenMTP.

OpenMTP does not describe mounting the phone as a Finder disk. That is the thing MacDroid sells.

What are the free wireless options?

NearDrop. Its README calls it an unofficial, partial implementation of Google's Quick Share for macOS. It lives in the menu bar, saves to Downloads, and sends from the Share menu. The limits it lists: Wi-Fi LAN only, and "Visible to everyone on your network at all times while the app is running". Android is reached by scanning a QR code NearDrop shows. See how to use NearDrop.

LocalSend. You install it on both devices. Its site says "No account, no login, no servers" and that transfers stay on your local network. Its README lists Android 7.0 and macOS 11 Big Sur as minimum versions. See LocalSend between a Mac and an Android phone.

Quick Share to AirDrop. Google's help page says Quick Share can send to "an iPhone, iPad, or macOS device" from a Pixel 8a or later and certain Samsung, Oppo, OnePlus, Vivo, Xiaomi, Honor, Transsion and Motorola devices. The Mac user opens AirDrop settings and selects Everyone for 10 minutes. Whether your phone qualifies is covered in AirDrop from Android to a Mac.

KDE Connect. Its home page lists sharing files and links, browsing the phone's files remotely, and syncing notifications. Its download page offers a macOS release it calls stable. Its wiki is written around Linux desktops, so test the file browser on your own Mac. More in KDE Connect on a Mac.

All four send and receive. None of the pages we read describes a Finder disk.

Where does The Relay fit?

The Relay is not a cheaper MacDroid. It is a different shape of tool. You install it on the Android phone and on the Mac, and pair by scanning a QR code shown on the Mac. File transfer and browsing puts the phone's storage in a window on the Mac so you can drag files either way over your own Wi-Fi network, with no file-size limit set by the app. It does not use a cable, and it does not mount the phone in Finder.

It also does the rest: clipboard sync both ways, incoming texts with login codes copied to the Mac's clipboard, notifications, incoming calls, link handoff, and the phone as a webcam. It is one subscription through Google Play that covers your phone and your Mac, with a 7-day free trial, and it needs Android 8.0 or later and macOS 13 Ventura or later. Your clipboard, files, texts, and notifications travel directly between your phone and your Mac over your local network. They are not uploaded to The Relay's servers. There is no account or sign-up with The Relay; the subscription is bought through Google Play. The privacy policy has the detail.

When it is the wrong choice: you want a cable, you want the phone as a Finder disk, you only move files now and then, or the phone and the Mac are not on the same network. OpenMTP, MacDroid or a free wireless app suits those better. See also The Relay vs MacDroid.

When should I stay with MacDroid?

Stay if the Finder disk is the point. MacDroid says you can open the phone in Finder and edit files in place. Stay too if you are on macOS 11.5 or 12, because The Relay needs macOS 13. And note the price: $19 a year or $34 once is modest if you move files weekly. If you want to check before you pay, the free version handles phone to Mac, and the yearly plan has a 7-day trial. For problems, see MacDroid not connecting and MacDroid review.

How do I choose in two minutes?

1. Do you own a USB cable and want a free app? Install OpenMTP.
2. Is your phone on Google's AirDrop list? Use Quick Share and install nothing.
3. Do you want wireless and free? Try NearDrop first, then LocalSend.
4. Do you want the phone in Finder? That is MacDroid.
5. Do you also want clipboard, codes and notifications? That is The Relay.

We have not tested any of these or measured speeds. To compare two, copy the same 1 GB video with each and check that it plays on the other side.

Questions people ask

Is there a completely free MacDroid alternative?

Yes. OpenMTP, NearDrop and LocalSend are free, and so is Quick Share to AirDrop on supported phones. OpenMTP is the nearest in how it works.

Does MacDroid have a free version?

MacDroid's pages describe a free version with limited features. Its Android file transfer page says transferring from the Mac requires PRO.

Which alternative works without a cable?

NearDrop, LocalSend, KDE Connect, Quick Share to AirDrop, and The Relay. OpenMTP is USB only, per its FAQ.

Do I need USB debugging for the alternatives?

OpenMTP's steps use the ordinary File transfer mode on the phone. MacDroid's Wi-Fi steps include USB debugging. The wireless apps above do not ask for it in the pages we read.