What is AirDroid? What it does, AirDroid Web, and the Mac app

AirDroid is a phone-management app from Sand Studio that lets you reach an Android phone from a computer: move files, see and control the screen, read and reply to texts, and see notifications, either on the same Wi-Fi or from somewhere else over the internet. The consumer version is called AirDroid Personal. You use it through a desktop app for Windows or macOS, or through AirDroid Web in a browser, with the AirDroid app on the phone. There is a free plan with limits and a paid plan. Everything below comes from AirDroid's own pages, checked on 25 October 2026. We have not tested it.

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

What is AirDroid used for?

AirDroid's product page sums it up as a way to "access and manage your phone from any computer, anywhere." It groups the features like this:

The same page suggests using an old phone as a security camera or as portable storage. That tells you who it is built for: people who want to reach a phone that is not in their hand, not only people moving a photo across a desk.

One limit worth knowing before you rely on the calling feature. AirDroid's user guide says you can start and end a call from the computer, but you still need the phone to speak and listen.

What is AirDroid Web?

AirDroid Web is the browser version, at web.airdroid.com. The product page lists Safari, Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Yandex as supported browsers, so nothing needs installing on the computer.

The user guide describes two ways in:

1. QR code. Open web.airdroid.com, open AirDroid on the phone, tap the Scan QR Code button at the bottom, and scan the code in the browser.
2. Lite Mode, with no account. On the same Wi-Fi network, type the address the phone app shows (the guide's example looks like http://192.168.xx.xx:8888) into the browser.

The web version and the desktop app are not the same. The product page's FAQ says Find Phone and Remote Data Erase are only on the web, while Remote Keyboard, Notification Management, Queued Dialing, and Auto Backup are only in the desktop app. AirDroid itself recommends using both.

If you came here because you only want the occasional file off your phone in a browser, AirDroid Web can do that. So can free tools that do not need an account; see the alternatives below.

What does the AirDroid Mac app do?

AirDroid's download page offers Web, Windows, and macOS for the computer, and Android and iOS for the phone. The product page says the macOS desktop client needs "macOS 10.11 and higher" and 500 MB of free space, and the Android app needs Android 8 or higher.

On a Mac, the desktop client is where the remote control, mirroring, notification, and backup features live. Setup, per the product page, is three steps: install AirDroid on both devices, sign in to the same account on the computer and the phone, then pick a feature.

The user guide then splits connections in two:

• Local Connection Mode. Both devices on the same Wi-Fi.
• Remote Connection Mode. Different networks, such as the phone on mobile data. You turn the remote features on in the phone app under Me, then Security & Remote Features.

What we could not find on AirDroid's pages: whether the Mac client runs natively on Apple silicon, and what macOS permissions it asks for. Our longer look at the Mac side is AirDroid for Mac.

How much does AirDroid cost?

As of 25 October 2026, AirDroid's pricing page lists two paid options for AirDroid Personal: $3.99 a month, or $29.99 a year (shown as $2.50 a month). The same paid account works on every platform.

The free plan is usable on a home network. The pricing table lists local-network file transfer as unlimited on both plans. Over a remote connection, free accounts are limited to 30 MB per file and "up to 200MB" of data, while paid accounts get 1 GB per file and unlimited data.

AirDroid's own pages disagree on how many phones you can connect. The product page FAQ says the free version allows one Android device and premium four. The pricing table says two Android devices free and three paid, expandable to 10. Check the page on the day you decide. The full row-by-row comparison is in AirDroid free vs premium.

Is AirDroid safe?

That is a fair question for any app that can control your phone remotely, and we do not give a verdict. AirDroid's FAQ says it can remotely access a phone only "when you actively allow and connect it." Its security page describes an AirDroid routing server for sessions and says the stream is encrypted so that even AirDroid "cannot read the encrypted data." We set out what its privacy policy and Google Play listing say in Is AirDroid safe?.

A practical rule from the user guide: if every device you own sits on one Wi-Fi network, leave the remote features off until you need them.

When is AirDroid the right choice, and when is it not?

The Relay sits at the other end of that table. It is an Android app and a Mac app that pair with a QR code and work only on your own network, with Bluetooth as a fallback. It moves files with file transfer, syncs the clipboard, shows notifications, texts, login codes, and incoming calls on the Mac, hands links across, and turns the phone into a webcam and microphone. There is no account or sign-up with The Relay. It has no remote access, no screen mirroring or remote control, and no way to send texts from the Mac; AirDroid lists all three. If you need to reach a phone that is somewhere else, AirDroid is the better tool. The Relay is one subscription through Google Play that covers your phone and your Mac, with a 7-day free trial. The direct comparison is The Relay vs AirDroid.

Questions people ask

What is AirDroid used for?

Reaching an Android phone from a computer. AirDroid's product page lists file transfer, remote control, screen mirroring, SMS, notifications, calling, and Find Phone, over the same Wi-Fi or remotely over the internet.

Is AirDroid free?

There is a free plan. On 25 October 2026 AirDroid's pricing page listed unlimited file transfer on the local network for free accounts, with remote transfers limited to 30 MB per file and up to 200 MB of data. The paid plan was $3.99 a month or $29.99 a year.

Do I need to install anything to use AirDroid Web?

Not on the computer. You open web.airdroid.com in Safari, Chrome, Edge, or Yandex and scan a QR code with the AirDroid app on the phone. The phone still needs the AirDroid app.

Does AirDroid work on a Mac?

Yes. AirDroid offers a macOS desktop client, which its product page says needs macOS 10.11 or later, and AirDroid Web works in Safari. Some features are only in the desktop app and some only on the web.

Do I need an AirDroid account?

For most features, yes: setup asks you to sign in to the same account on the phone and the computer. AirDroid's user guide describes a Lite Mode for files over the same Wi-Fi that works by typing the phone's local address into a browser, without an account.