The Relay vs KDE Connect: paid Mac app or free open-source tool?

If you are happy to try a free tool, try KDE Connect first. It is free and open source, it has a stable macOS release, and it covers notifications, files, links, clipboard text, and replying to texts on your own network. Pick The Relay if you want something built only for an Android phone and a Mac, with clipboard sync that includes images, login codes copied to the Mac's clipboard, accept-or-decline for incoming calls, 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. If KDE Connect does what you need on your MacBook, you do not need to buy anything.

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.

How do KDE Connect and The Relay compare side by side?

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 product and found it missing.

The KDE Connect cells come from its home page, its download page, and its UserBase wiki. The wiki describes features as they appear on a KDE Linux desktop and says little about macOS, so confirm each feature on your own Mac. Our fuller read is in KDE Connect on Mac.

What is KDE Connect?

KDE Connect is a project by the KDE community that links a phone to a computer. Its download page says "A stable release of KDE Connect for macOS is available to download and can also be installed with Homebrew". On 2 October 2026 the stable download linked there was an Apple silicon (arm64) build, while Intel builds were listed as untested nightly versions. If you own an Intel Mac, check the page before you plan around it.

It works as a set of plugins you switch on one at a time, and it has extras The Relay does not: using the phone as a touchpad and keyboard, media control, a presentation remote, running commands on the computer, and ringing a lost phone.

When KDE Connect is the better choice

• You want to pay nothing. It is free, and its code is public. The Relay is neither.
• You also use Windows or Linux. KDE lists builds for all three. The Relay is Mac and Android only.
• You want the extras. Remote input, media control, and run-commands are in KDE's feature list and not in The Relay.
• You want to reply to texts from the Mac. KDE's home page lists direct replies to text messages. The wiki lists it for the desktop in general and does not confirm macOS, so test it. Google Messages for web is the other free route; see Android messages on a Mac.
• You are comfortable with some setup. The wiki says KDE Connect uses ports 1714 to 1764, which may need opening in a firewall, and that Android 15 hides sensitive notification content unless you grant a permission with a developer tool.

When The Relay is the better choice

• You want to paste on the Mac what you copied on the phone, without an extra tap. KDE's wiki says Android 10 prevents apps from reading the clipboard in the background, so the Android app offers a "Send Clipboard" button. The Relay's clipboard sync is described as working both ways for text, images, and links.
• You copy pictures. KDE's clipboard is text only, per its wiki.
• You use texted login codes. KDE's wiki warns that on Android 15 or later, sensitive notification content is hidden and shows "Sensitive notification content hidden", with a fix that needs a developer tool. The Relay's feature copies a code from an incoming text to the Mac's clipboard. We have not tested either on your phone, so try the one you choose with a real code.
• You want incoming calls on the Mac. KDE shows who is calling. The Relay lets you accept or decline on the Mac.
• You want a webcam. Not in KDE's list. See using an Android phone as a webcam for a Mac.
• You want an app made for macOS only, with a Mac window for the phone's files, one installer per device, and QR-code pairing shown on the Mac.

What The Relay will not do

• It does not mirror the phone's screen, and it has no remote input or run-commands.
• It does not send texts. It shows incoming ones and copies codes.
• It does not place calls.
• It is not remote. Both devices must be on the same network or in Bluetooth range. KDE Connect has the same limit by default.
• It is wireless only, with no USB mode.
• It has no Windows, Linux, or iPhone version, and it needs Android 8.0 or later and macOS 13 Ventura or later.
• It is not free and not open source. After the 7-day trial it is a subscription through Google Play unless you cancel in Google Play before the trial ends. Refunds go through Google Play; see the terms.

How do I decide in ten minutes?

Install KDE Connect on both devices, pair them, and do your three most common tasks: paste a copied link, move a file, and read a notification. Then lock the phone, wait five minutes, and try again. If those work without you opening the phone, you are done and have spent nothing. If one of them needs a workaround you resent, that is the row where The Relay may earn its price. We have not measured either product, so the test is yours to run.

Questions people ask

Is KDE Connect really free on a Mac?

Yes. Its home page describes it as free and open source, and the macOS release is a direct download or a Homebrew install.

Does The Relay do more than KDE Connect?

It does a few things KDE's pages do not list: image clipboard, accept-or-decline for incoming calls, and the phone as a webcam. KDE Connect does things The Relay does not: remote input, media control, running commands, and clients for Windows and Linux.

Do either of them work away from home?

Not by default. Both need the phone and the Mac on the same network. KDE's wiki describes a self-set-up OpenVPN route if you need more.

Can I use both?

Nothing on either maker's pages says they conflict, but we have not tried running them together. Pair one at a time and see.