NearDrop vs LocalSend: which is better for Mac and Android file sharing?

NearDrop can send from a Mac to Android as well as receive, but the Mac to Android direction takes an extra step: the phone has to scan a QR code, or open Quick Share in the Google Files app, first. LocalSend works the same in both directions because it runs its own app on the Mac and the phone. Pick NearDrop if you mostly send from the phone to the Mac and want nothing extra installed on the phone. Pick LocalSend if you send both ways, or also want to share with an iPhone, a Windows PC, or a Linux machine. Both are free and open source, and both work only on the same local network.

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.

How do NearDrop and LocalSend compare at a glance?

Sources: the NearDrop README and the LocalSend README.

How does each one work?

NearDrop speaks Android's language. Android phones already have Quick Share. Google's Quick Share help page lists Android, Chromebooks, and Windows PCs as the places Quick Share runs, not macOS, so NearDrop fills in the Mac side. In the README's words, "The app lives in your menu bar and saves files to your downloads folder." On the phone you use the normal Share sheet and the Mac appears as a nearby device. Nothing is installed on the phone.

LocalSend brings its own. The README says it "enables secure communication between devices using a REST API and HTTPS encryption", with a certificate "generated on the fly on each device", and that it "doesn't require an internet connection or third-party servers". Both devices run the LocalSend app, find each other on the network, and you pick the target from a list. The LocalSend site adds "No account, no login, no servers".

The practical result: NearDrop is less to install, LocalSend is less to go wrong, because it does not depend on how a particular phone maker has set up Quick Share.

How do I send from a Mac to Android with NearDrop?

This is the direction that trips people up, and the README explains why: "Android listens for specific BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) broadcasts to automatically become visible, and macOS doesn't allow apps to send them." So the Mac cannot wake the phone's Quick Share by itself.

The README's steps:

1. On the Mac, right-click a file in Finder, choose Share, then NearDrop. For a link, use File, Share, NearDrop from the menu bar, or Safari's share button.
2. Make the phone visible. The README says that on all Android devices you can scan the QR code that NearDrop generates.
3. On a Samsung Galaxy, the README says the QR code "is your only option". On other phones, such as a Pixel, you can instead tap the Quick Share button in the Google Files app.
4. Accept the transfer on the phone.

Phone to Mac is simpler: share with Quick Share, choose the Mac, and accept the notification on the Mac. If the phone shows a PIN and nothing happens on the Mac, the README says to check that Do Not Disturb is off.

Setup details are in how to use NearDrop.

How do I send between a Mac and Android with LocalSend?

1. Install LocalSend on the Mac. The README recommends an app store or package manager "because the app does not have an auto-update", and lists the Mac App Store and Homebrew.
2. Install it on the phone from Google Play or F-Droid.
3. Put both on the same network and open both apps.
4. On the sending device, choose the file, then the other device from the list of nearby devices, and follow the prompts on the receiving device.

The README does not walk through the app's screens, so treat step 4 as an outline. The point is that the routine is the same whichever way the file is going. The walkthrough is in LocalSend from Mac to Android.

What limits does each README state?

NearDrop:

• "Wi-Fi LAN only. Your Android device and your Mac need to be on the same network for this app to work." Google's own Quick Share can also use Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Direct; NearDrop cannot.
• "Visible to everyone on your network at all times while the app is running." There is no contacts-only setting.
• It is not notarized by Apple, so macOS blocks the first launch. The fix is to right-click the app and choose Open, or allow it under System Settings, Privacy and Security. It is not on the Mac App Store.
• Local network communication "may not work on some public networks", such as coffee shops and hotels.

LocalSend:

• The app must be on both devices.
• If devices cannot see each other, the README's troubleshooting table says to disable AP isolation on the router, toggle the Local Network permission on macOS, and allow LAN traffic if a VPN is active. It names port 53317 for firewalls.
• The same table lists slow speed when receiving on Android as a "Known issue".
• No automatic updates, which is why it steers you to an app store.

Neither README gives a file-size limit. Neither works across the internet.

Which should I pick?

That last row matters. The same Google help page says a Pixel 8a or later and certain phones from Samsung and other makers can send straight to a Mac's AirDrop, with nothing installed on either device. Check AirDrop from Android to a Mac before you install anything.

Both are free, so you can install the two and let each cover the other's weak spot. To compare them on your own network, send the same large video with each and time it. We have not benchmarked either.

When would I want something other than both?

NearDrop and LocalSend are send-and-receive tools. Someone has to pick a file on one device and accept it on the other. Neither shows you the phone's folders from the Mac.

If you want to sit at the Mac and browse the phone's storage, pulling out whatever you need without touching the phone, that is a different kind of tool. With a cable, OpenMTP does it for free. Without one, The Relay does: a window on the Mac shows the phone's storage and you drag files either way over your local network, with no file-size limit set by the app. The Relay also syncs the clipboard, which handles the commonest small transfer of all, a link or a screenshot you wanted on the other device. It adds incoming texts, login codes, notifications, calls, link handoff, and the phone as a webcam. It costs $19.99, paid once, and needs Android 8.0 or later and macOS 13 Ventura or later.

It is the wrong tool if all you want is to send the occasional file. NearDrop and LocalSend are free and do that well. It also will not help you swap files with a friend's phone, since it links your own phone and your own Mac, and it does not use Quick Share or AirDrop.

Questions people ask

Can NearDrop send files from a Mac to Android?

Yes. Its README describes sending through Finder's Share menu. The phone must be made visible first, by scanning the QR code NearDrop shows or, on non-Samsung phones, by tapping Quick Share in Google Files.

Is LocalSend better than NearDrop?

For two-way use and for mixed devices, yes, because it behaves the same in both directions and runs on six platforms. For phone to Mac only, NearDrop is lighter because the phone needs no app.

Are NearDrop and LocalSend safe?

Both publish their code. LocalSend's README says transfers use HTTPS. NearDrop's README says the Mac is visible to everyone on the network while it runs and that the app is not notarized by Apple. Weigh that for the networks you use. More in Is LocalSend safe?.

Do NearDrop and LocalSend work without Wi-Fi?

They need a local network that both devices are on. LocalSend's README says no internet connection is required. NearDrop's says Wi-Fi LAN only. A phone hotspot that the Mac joins is a local network too, though neither README discusses that case, so test it.

Why does my device not show up?

For both apps, start with the network: same Wi-Fi, and not a guest or public network that isolates devices. LocalSend's README also suggests toggling the Local Network permission in macOS privacy settings. See NearDrop not working and LocalSend device not showing.