Skip to content
Sendoff
Join

From your Mac

LocalSend alternatives.

LocalSend is open source and works on almost everything, but only on the same network, with the app on both ends. Here's what to use when that doesn't fit. Details checked October 27, 2026.

The short answer

  • AirDrop if everyone’s on an iPhone, iPad or Mac and nearby. Nothing to install.
  • Quick Share for Android phones, Chromebooks and some Windows PCs, and some Android phones to and from a Mac.
  • Blip when the other person isn’t on your network.
  • A Drive link or Mail Drop when they won’t install anything.
  • Sendoff for the same few people, every week. More below.

What LocalSend does

LocalSend runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS. It sends over your local Wi-Fi network, with no account and no internet, and transfers are encrypted. It doesn’t work over the internet, and both devices need the app.

AirDrop

Built into every iPhone, iPad and Mac. Apple says both devices need Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on and must be within 30 feet (10 meters). If you move out of range after a transfer starts, it carries on over the internet. Apple devices only, unless the phone is one of the Android models below.

Quick Share

Google’s Quick Share is on Android 6 and later, Chromebooks, and select Windows PCs through its Windows app. It’s for nearby devices.

  • To a Mac: Google lists a Pixel 8a or later and certain Samsung, Oppo, OnePlus, Vivo, Xiaomi, Honor, Transsion and Motorola phones, which send through AirDrop.
  • From a Mac: Google lists a Pixel 9 or later, except the 9a.
  • Other phones: can share a QR code link to an Apple device instead. Google keeps the files for 24 hours, and both devices need internet.

Steps and fixes in Can you AirDrop from a Mac to Android?

Blip

Blip sends files and folders of any size to anyone, wherever they are, and resumes if the connection drops. Its site gives examples like Android to Mac and Windows to iPhone. On the same Wi-Fi, it connects devices directly. Transfers are end-to-end encrypted.

Keep in mind: like LocalSend, the other person needs the app. There are no web links.

A link: Google Drive or Mail Drop

When the other person shouldn’t have to install anything, send a link. A Google Drive link set to “Anyone with the link” opens without a Google Account. Mail Drop in Apple Mail sends up to 5 GB as a link that lasts 30 days. More in WeTransfer alternatives for Mac.

Comparing LocalSend with AirDrop directly? See AirDrop alternatives for Mac, which has a LocalSend vs AirDrop section.

Where Sendoff fits

Most files go to the same few people: your accountant, your teammate, your mom. They often aren’t on your Wi-Fi. Sendoff is a Mac app that lives in the notch and sends to them by Gmail or iMessage, so they don’t need Sendoff or LocalSend. Drop the file, pick the person, press Send off.

It remembers how you reach each person and routes around what won’t work: a 48 MB video for someone you usually email goes by iMessage instead. It’s all keyboard, with 3 seconds to undo.

Try Sendoff

Sendoff is not out yet. Join the waitlist below, and tick the beta box if you want to test it first.