NearDrop alternatives: other ways to share between Android and a Mac

If your phone is on Google's list, the best alternative to NearDrop is nothing to install: Quick Share can send to the Mac's AirDrop. If it is not, LocalSend is the free app most like AirDrop across an Android phone and a Mac, and Google's Quick Share QR code works from any Android phone, though it goes through Google's servers. AirDroid has a nearby feature too, but it needs its own app on both sides. The Relay suits you only if you want more than file sharing.

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 NearDrop do?

NearDrop is an unofficial Mac app. Its README calls it "a partial implementation of Google's Nearby Share / Quick Share for macOS". It sits in the menu bar, and you send from Finder's Share menu or from the menu bar. Its limitations section is blunt: "Wi-Fi LAN only", so the phone and the Mac must be on the same network, and "Visible to everyone on your network at all times while the app is running". It says macOS apps cannot send the Bluetooth broadcast Android listens for, so on Android you scan a QR code that NearDrop shows. It is free, under the Unlicense. Setup is in how to use NearDrop, and fixes are in NearDrop not working.

Which alternatives are there?

Can my phone just AirDrop to the Mac?

Maybe. Google's Quick Share help page says you can send to "an iPhone, iPad, or macOS device" from a Pixel 8a or later and from certain Samsung, Oppo, OnePlus, Vivo, Xiaomi, Honor, Transsion and Motorola devices. The Mac user opens AirDrop settings and selects Everyone for 10 minutes, then you tap Share, then Quick Share, and pick the Mac. Google's list page says the same: set AirDrop visibility to Everyone for 10 minutes. Google's device list has the models, and AirDrop from Android to a Mac explains it. If your phone is on the list, NearDrop is optional.

What if my phone is not on the list?

Google's page describes a second route that any Android phone can use. You generate a QR code on the phone, scan it with the Mac, and download the files in the Mac's default browser. Google says files are end-to-end encrypted, "remain available for download for 24 hours on Google servers", and that both devices need internet access. It also gives limits: up to 10 GB every 24 hours, and a maximum of 20 receivers at a time. This is not a local transfer. If you want one that stays on your network, use LocalSend or NearDrop.

Is LocalSend the closest free app?

For an Android phone and a Mac, yes. The LocalSend README describes it as an "open-source cross-platform alternative to AirDrop". The site gives the steps: install it on all your devices, pick files, tap the nearby device. It says "No account, no login, no servers" and that data "never leaves your local network". The README lists Android 7.0 and macOS 11 Big Sur as minimums and says transfers use HTTPS. Unlike NearDrop it needs an app on the phone as well as the Mac, and it works with Windows, Linux and iPhone too. See LocalSend between a Mac and an Android phone, and the head-to-head in NearDrop vs LocalSend.

What about AirDroid's nearby feature?

AirDroid's user guide describes a Nearby tab that lets you "discover nearby devices quickly and establish a connection with them to chat and share files, just fast and easy like AirDrop". Its Google Play listing says the nearby feature sends photos and videos to nearby friends "even without an account or internet connection". The same guide shows the Nearby tab on the desktop app.

That makes it an option, with the usual AirDroid trade-off: it is a large app that does a great deal more. The setup steps on its product page begin "Sign up and log in to the same account". AirDroid's free plan is limited when used remotely, but its pricing page lists local-network file transfer as unlimited. See AirDroid for Mac and AirDroid free vs premium.

Where does The Relay fit?

Be clear about what it is not. The Relay has no AirDrop compatibility and does not replace the Quick Share share sheet. It is an app on both devices, paired by scanning a QR code shown on the Mac. Its file transfer and browsing shows the phone's storage in a Mac window and lets you drag files either way over your own network, with no file-size limit set by the app.

Where it differs from NearDrop is everything else: 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, for Android 8.0 or later and macOS 13 Ventura or later. Files and the clipboard travel directly between your phone and your Mac over your local network and 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. See the privacy policy.

If you only want to throw a photo or a PDF across, it is the wrong choice. NearDrop, LocalSend or Quick Share cost nothing. It does not work when the phone is on another network. See The Relay vs NearDrop.

How do I choose in two minutes?

1. Check Google's list. On it? Use Quick Share and the Mac's AirDrop set to Everyone for 10 minutes.
2. Not on it, and you want local and free? Install LocalSend on both devices.
3. Not on it, and you do not want an app on the phone? Use NearDrop and scan its QR code.
4. A one-off from a phone with no app, and internet is fine? Use the Quick Share QR code.
5. Want clipboard, codes and notifications too? That is The Relay.

We have not tested any of these. To compare, send the same 500 MB video with each and note the taps and the wait.

Questions people ask

Is there an official NearDrop alternative from Google?

Google's own route is Quick Share to AirDrop on supported phones and the QR-code web route for others. Google does not offer Quick Share for macOS, so Mac apps like NearDrop are third-party.

Does LocalSend work like AirDrop between Android and Mac?

It is described as an alternative to AirDrop and works between the two over your local network. You need it installed on both.

Which option keeps files on my own network?

LocalSend and NearDrop say they use the local network only, and The Relay's files travel directly between your devices. The Quick Share QR route uploads to Google's servers for up to 24 hours, per Google.

Do I need an account?

Not for LocalSend, per its site, and not in NearDrop's install steps. AirDroid's setup asks you to sign up and log in. The Relay needs no account or sign-up; its subscription is bought through Google Play.