Short answer: LocalSend if your devices are on the same Wi-Fi, Blip for big files between places, KDE Connect if you want your phone and computer to work together rather than only swap files, and PairDrop if you can’t install anything. All four are free for personal use, and Blip is the only one that has you sign in.
The details decide it, so here they are from each project’s own site and code repository, checked on October 31, 2026. I’m building fwd, a different kind of tool, so it comes last, with what it doesn’t do.
At a glance
| App | Across networks | What you set up | Beyond files | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LocalSend | No, one local network | An app on each device; no account | Text | Free, open source |
| Blip | Yes, over the internet | An app on each device, signed in with a verified email | Text and links, by paste and copy | Free for non-commercial use; work use is paid |
| KDE Connect | Not on its own; over a VPN you run | An app on each device, paired | Notifications, SMS, shared clipboard, remote controls, commands | Free, open source |
| PairDrop | Yes, between paired devices | Nothing: it runs in the browser | Text | Free, open source |
LocalSend vs Blip
This is the pair people compare most, and the two are built for different distances. LocalSend sends files and text to devices on your local network, with no internet connection or third-party servers involved.[1] It has apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS, and needs no account.[2] Blip works wherever your devices are, over the internet, and uses a direct local connection when both are on the same network. It sends files and folders of any size and picks up again after an interruption.[3] Since version 1.2 it also carries text and links, which you paste on one device and copy on the other.[4]
The trade-offs follow from that. Blip has you sign in with a verified email,[5] it’s free only for non-commercial use,[6] and its code is closed.[7] LocalSend is open source under the Apache 2.0 licence[1] and has no paid tier, but it stops at the edge of your network.
Pick LocalSend for the phone and laptop on the same Wi-Fi at home. Pick Blip when the devices are in different places, or when you send large folders to someone else.
LocalSend vs KDE Connect
Both work on your local network, but they do different jobs. LocalSend is for sending: files and text to a device nearby.[2] KDE Connect links a phone and a computer. It shares files and links, syncs your phone’s notifications to the desktop, lets you read and reply to SMS from the computer, shares the clipboard, and turns the phone into a media remote, touchpad or presentation clicker.[8][9] Devices are paired first, and they talk over TLS.[9]
KDE Connect runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, Android and iOS, as well as Plasma Mobile and SailfishOS.[10] The iPhone app does less: iOS doesn’t let it read other apps’ notifications, and it isn’t meant to stay connected in the background.[11] When devices can’t reach each other, KDE points to running it over a VPN.[8]
Pick LocalSend to send a file to whichever device is nearby. Pick KDE Connect if your phone and computer are usually together and you want them to work as one.
LocalSend vs PairDrop
PairDrop runs in the browser, so there’s nothing to install. On the same network, devices see each other and send peer to peer over WebRTC. You can also pair two devices with a 6-digit code or a QR code, and paired devices find each other on any network; when they’re behind a NAT, PairDrop’s TURN server relays the transfer.[12][13] That makes it the only one of the four that reaches across networks with no app and no account.
LocalSend has a browser version too, but for now it only connects browsers to each other on the same network, not to the LocalSend app.[14] PairDrop is a fork of Snapdrop;[12] I covered the two, and what happened to Snapdrop, in Snapdrop alternatives.
Pick LocalSend if you want an app on each device and nothing leaving your network. Pick PairDrop for a one-off send from a device you can’t install anything on, or to reach your own devices on another network.
Is it safe?
- LocalSend: transfers stay on your local network and don’t pass through a server. They go over HTTPS with a certificate each device generates for itself,[1] which LocalSend describes as end-to-end encryption.[2] The code is open, so anyone can check it. To work, it needs your firewall to allow it on the local network and AP isolation turned off on your router.[1]
- Blip: Blip says transfers are end-to-end encrypted with a mutually authenticated connection (mTLS over TLS 1.3), that it doesn’t store your files, and that when devices can’t connect directly the data goes through its encrypted relay network.[5] Its co-founder has said the code is closed and hasn’t had a third-party security audit.[7]
- KDE Connect: devices have to be paired before they exchange anything, and the connection uses TLS. It’s open source under the GPL.[9] Pair only devices you own: a paired computer can read your phone’s notifications, and a paired phone can run the commands you’ve set up on the computer.[9]
- PairDrop: files go straight between devices over WebRTC, encrypted in transit, and the server isn’t involved in the transfer and keeps no database. Its FAQ is open that you still have to trust the PairDrop server that sets up the connection, and says a planned update will encrypt that step too.[13] You can run your own copy, though transfers between different networks then need your own TURN server.[15]
Is it free?
LocalSend, KDE Connect and PairDrop are free and open source.[1][8][12] Blip is free for non-commercial use, such as hobbies, school and charity. If you’re paid for the work you send, Blip Business costs $25 per user per month on a yearly plan, or $30 month to month, with a 15-day trial.[6]
Where fwd fits
I’m building fwd (pronounced “forward”) for what none of these four is built around: the link, the note or the small file you want on your other device, whether or not that device is awake. A forward is encrypted on the device that sends it and waits on the server until your other device is back online, so the two never need to share a network or be online at the same time.
- What it sends: links, text and files up to 25 MB, to one of your devices or all of them. A link opens from the notification; text waits for you to copy it.
- Where it runs: a Chromium browser extension (Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc, Comet and Dia, on Windows, Mac or Linux), an Android app for Android 8.0 and later, and a macOS menu bar app for macOS 14 and later. There is no iPhone app and no native Windows app.
- Privacy: content, file names and device names are encrypted end to end, and the server stores and relays only ciphertext. Like Blip, fwd has no published independent audit, and its code isn’t public yet. How the encryption works.
- Price and availability: a private beta, with invitations going out to the waitlist in batches. It’s free, and the free plan continues after the beta: 25 MB per file, 1 GB of storage and 5 devices.
It isn’t for big files, for sending to other people or for iPhones. Blip and LocalSend are better at those.
Which should you use?
- Devices on the same Wi-Fi, files or text: LocalSend.
- Different places, big files or folders, or sending to someone else: Blip, free if it isn’t for work.
- A phone and computer that should work as one, with notifications and texts on the desktop: KDE Connect.
- Nothing to install, or a quick send to your own device on another network: PairDrop.
- Links, text and small files between your own devices, even when one is offline: fwd.
Related guides
- LocalSend alternative: what to use beyond one Wi-Fi network
- Blip alternatives for links, text and devices that are offline
- KDE Connect alternatives: options beyond the same network
- Snapdrop alternatives: PairDrop, LocalSend and more (2026)
- End-to-end encrypted ways to send files between your devices
Sources
Checked on October 31, 2026.
- localsend/localsend. GitHub.
- LocalSend: Share files to nearby devices. LocalSend.
- Blip: The fastest way to send files. Blip Studio.
- Blip 1.2: Linux, Paste & Copy, and a Mobile Boost. r/blippers, September 21, 2026.
- Security on Blip. Blip Studio, updated June 16, 2026.
- Unlimited file transfer plans. Blip Studio.
- Verify Security Claims?. r/blippers, reply from Blip’s co-founder.
- KDE Connect. KDE.
- KDE/kdeconnect-kde. GitHub.
- Download | KDE Connect. KDE.
- KDE/kdeconnect-ios. GitHub.
- schlagmichdoch/PairDrop. GitHub.
- PairDrop FAQ. GitHub.
- LocalSend Web. LocalSend.
- Deployment Notes. PairDrop on GitHub.