A LocalSend alternative — nothing to install, and no shared network required
The other person only needs to open a web page — a borrowed laptop or a colleague's phone, with nothing installed for a one-off transfer
LocalSend is a native app that discovers the other device over multicast on the local network and then sends encrypted data straight across, touching no server once discovery is done. The speed is real, because there's no internet round trip. The costs are concrete too: every participating device needs the app installed first, and both sides must be on the same network — when the phone is on mobile data and the laptop on office Wi-Fi, it simply can't find the other end.
SourceDrop your files here to start right now Start transferring now
So the real test is whose devices are involved this time. If both are yours and usually sit in the same home or office, installing LocalSend once pays off and every transfer after that is fast. If the other end is a colleague, a client, or a borrowed laptop, the «install an app first» step is friction — few people will install software to receive one file, and company machines often don't allow it at all.
The second limit bites harder: the same network. On a work trip in a hotel, with each person on their own phone hotspot, or on an office network with client isolation turned on (so devices are hidden from each other — very common on corporate and public Wi-Fi), anything based on local discovery is out. The browser route doesn't rely on discovery: one side shows six digits, the other types them in, and it doesn't matter which network either is on.
Side by side
| What | LocalSend | TutuDrive Send |
|---|---|---|
| Anything to install | Its app has to be installed on every participating device | Nothing to install — it runs in the browser |
| Where the bytes go | Encrypted straight across the local network; after discovery no server is involved | Peer to peer. If a direct link can't be made we switch to a relay and label it as relayed — we don't pretend it's still direct. |
| Across different networks | No — discovery runs on local multicast, so both sides must share a network | Yes — the two sides don't have to be on the same network |
| Integrity check | Not documented publicly | Every file gets a sha-256 comparison when it lands; one byte off and it fails loudly |
| Is a copy left behind | No — the transfer stays on the local network and nothing is uploaded anywhere | On a direct connection nothing is left — the bytes never reach us. On a relay the copy is deleted the moment the other side picks it up, with a 24-hour sweep as a backstop. |
| Open source and self-hosting | Open source, and by nature it already runs on your own devices | Not open source, no self-hosting — this one we don't have |
When you should pick it instead
- Both devices are yours and usually in the same home or office: install once, and every transfer afterwards runs on the LAN, typically faster than anything that goes near the internet.
- What you're sending is very large and you genuinely are on the same Wi-Fi: a LAN transfer isn't bounded by any internet bandwidth, so tens of gigabytes are limited only by the network adapter and the disk.
How it works here
- 1
Drop your files in, or click Choose files. A whole folder works too.
- 2
A QR code and six digits appear. The other person scans, types the digits, or opens the link you send.
- 3
Once connected the transfer starts. Neither side signs up, and nothing gets installed.
Common questions
LocalSend can't find the other device — what now?
It relies on local multicast to find devices, so three situations break it: the two aren't on the same network; the network has client isolation on (public Wi-Fi, guest networks and many corporate networks enable it by default); or a system firewall is blocking it. The first two aren't settings problems — the network itself refuses to let devices see each other. In that case a route that doesn't need discovery saves time: this page shows six digits, the other side types them in, and it doesn't matter what network either of you is on.
The other person won't install an app — any other way?
Yes — have them open a web page. That's the whole point of this one: the receiver just opens the address in a browser, scans a code or types six digits, with no signup, no install, and no need to share a network with you. Company-issued laptops often forbid installing software outright; this route sidesteps that requirement.
Can a local-network tool work when we're not on the same Wi-Fi?
No. The entire premise of a local-network tool is that the two devices can see each other on one network; when that doesn't hold, it has no other path. Crossing networks needs a different mechanism: a server helps the two sides exchange connection details once, and then a direct link is built over the internet — which is exactly what the browser approach does, and what this page uses.
Is the browser route much slower than a native app?
On the same Wi-Fi with a direct connection established, both are peer-to-peer inside the LAN and the gap is small — the network adapter and the disk set the ceiling. The real gap shows up when a direct link can't be made: the local-network tool has nowhere to go, while the browser route can fall back to a relay and keep going (bounded by the relay's bandwidth, and clearly labelled as relayed). So rather than comparing peak speeds, look at whether it connects at all in your situation.