Phone Link vs The Relay on a Mac: how do they compare feature by feature?

Microsoft Phone Link is a Windows app, so it cannot run on your Mac, and the two products are not rivals so much as the same idea on different computers. Phone Link lists reading and replying to texts, making and receiving calls, notifications, photos, and using your phone's apps on a Windows PC. The Relay is the Mac-and-Android version of that idea, with its own mix: it shows incoming texts and copies login codes, shows notifications and incoming calls, syncs the clipboard, hands links across, moves files, and makes the phone a webcam. Where Phone Link sends texts and places calls, The Relay does not.

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 Phone Link on Windows and The Relay on a Mac compare?

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 Phone Link cells come from Microsoft's requirements and setup page.

Two details from Microsoft's page matter for the comparison. It says the experience starts on the Windows PC, and connects to select Android devices, including Samsung, HONOR, OPPO, ASUS, and vivo, through the Link to Windows app, which is either preinstalled or downloadable from Google Play or the Samsung Galaxy Store. Microsoft's Phone Link overview lists making and taking calls, replying to texts, checking and dismissing notifications, and viewing the last 2,000 images from your camera roll, with drag and drop or copy and paste into other apps. The help menu on the requirements page also lists topics we did not open, including transferring content between devices, using a mobile device's camera, and Instant Hotspot, so Phone Link may do more than the table credits it with.

What is Phone Link, and why is there no Mac version?

Phone Link is Microsoft's app for connecting an Android phone or iPhone to a Windows PC. Microsoft's page names Windows as the computer in every requirement, and it does not describe a Mac app. Our Phone Link for Mac and what is Phone Link guides cover that question in full, and Phone Link alternatives for Mac lists the other tools.

Which one is better?

The question only arises if you have both kinds of computer or are moving from one to the other. If you are moving from Windows to a Mac, your first Mac after Windows explains what carries over. A fair summary, from the table:

Phone Link does, and The Relay does not: send texts, place calls, and run the phone's apps on the computer.

The Relay does, and Phone Link's requirements page does not list: clipboard sync with images, link handoff, and using the phone as a webcam and microphone.

Both do: show texts, notifications, and calls on the computer, and move photos or files.

When Phone Link is the better choice

• You use Windows. Phone Link is the obvious first try, as it is already on most Windows PCs, per Microsoft.
• You want to reply to texts and place calls from the computer. Microsoft's page lists both.
• You want phone apps on the PC.
• You are not bound to macOS. The Relay is no use on a Windows laptop.

When The Relay is the better choice

• You have a Mac. Phone Link is not an option there.
• You want the Mac to share the phone's clipboard and to copy a login code from an incoming text.
• You want the phone as a Mac webcam.
• You want to avoid a Microsoft account. There is no account or sign-up with The Relay; its subscription is bought through Google Play. See the privacy policy.

What The Relay will not do

• It does not send texts and does not place calls. Phone Link lists both. For texts on a Mac, use Google Messages for web.
• It does not mirror the phone's screen or run its apps on the Mac. scrcpy does the former.
• It is not remote. Both devices must be on the same network or in Bluetooth range.
• It is wireless only, with no USB mode.
• It does not sync or back up your photo library.
• It needs Android 8.0 or later and macOS 13 Ventura or later, with no iPhone, Windows, or Linux version.
• It is not free: 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.

Questions people ask

Can I run Phone Link on a Mac?

Microsoft's page describes it for Windows 10 or Windows 11 PCs, and we found no Mac version. See Phone Link for Mac.

What is the Mac equivalent of Phone Link?

The nearest options are The Relay, KDE Connect, and a few free tools, depending on which features you use. See Phone Link alternatives for Mac.

Does The Relay reply to texts like Phone Link?

No. It shows incoming texts and copies login codes, and it does not send texts.

Does Phone Link need an account?

Microsoft's page tells you to sign in with a Microsoft account on both devices.