Comparison
Edgely Transfer vs LocalSend, AirDrop and WeTransfer
Differences in architecture and licensing, not a scorecard. Where LocalSend, AirDrop or WeTransfer is the better fit for you, that is worth knowing before you switch.
Read this first
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Device to device, with no server in the middle
Most sharing tools solve the problem by uploading your file somewhere first. Transfer keeps it on your own network, and nearly every line below follows from that one choice.
- Path Direct, over your local network
- The file goes from one device to the other. Nothing is uploaded, stored or queued in between, so a transfer runs at the speed of your own network.
- Encryption TLS 1.3 with perfect forward secrecy
- Certificates are generated on each device and pinned once paired. The fingerprint you compare on both screens is the SHA-256 of that device's own certificate.
- Platforms Windows, macOS, Linux and Android
- One desktop app and one mobile app on Google Play and the App Store, with the same Device Ring on all of them. A HarmonyOS client is coming soon.
- Account None required
- Install it, open it, send. Sending and receiving are free on every tier, commercial use included, and nothing asks for an email address.
- Size Up to 10 GB in one transfer
- The same ceiling on every tier, with no link to expire and nothing left on a server to clean up afterwards.
- Resumability Interrupted transfers resume
- Resuming, directory sharing and unlimited history are what Pro unlocks. Pro is €9 a year, and Guard and the Edgely Suite include it.
Commonly compared with
Where others may suit you better
To send a file to somebody on the other side of the world, a cloud service is the right tool: Transfer is for devices that can see each other on a network. Relaying between two networks is planned, not shipped.
The evidence
Feature by feature
The full matrix behind the six differences above, from discovery to encryption and file management. Anything Edgely has not shipped is marked coming soon or planned rather than left blank.
| Feature | Edgely Transfer Rust-powered | LocalSend Open source | AirDrop Apple only | Quick Share Android/Chrome | PairDrop Web-based | WeTransfer Cloud upload |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core | ||||||
| Cross-platform (Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS) | Yes | Yes | Apple devices | Android, Windows | Web only | Web + apps |
| Built with Rust | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| No internet required | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Zero telemetry / no tracking | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No |
| Free for personal and commercial use | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Account |
| No account required | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| UX & Discovery | ||||||
| Device Ring UI (animated discovery) | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| QR code / PIN pairing | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Symmetric, verifiable fingerprint (Signal-style) | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Device avatars with OS icons | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Drag-and-drop to device | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Network resilience | ||||||
| Works through firewalls / AP isolation / VPN | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| 3-layer broadcast discovery | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| File Management | ||||||
| Built-in file explorer (dual-pane) | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Max single transfer size | Up to 10 GB in one transfer | Unlimited (LAN) | Unlimited (LAN) | Unlimited (LAN) | Unlimited (LAN) | 2 GB free |
| Directory sharing (browse remote folders) | Included in Pro | No | No | No | No | No |
| Selective file download from shared dirs | Included in Pro | No | No | No | No | No |
| Batch multi-file transfers | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Send to multiple devices at once | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Transfer Features | ||||||
| Resumable transfers | Included in Pro | No | No | No | No | No |
| Transfer history with search | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Transfer statistics (speed, totals) | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Clipboard sync between devices | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Progress bar with speed and ETA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Security | ||||||
| End-to-end encryption | TLS 1.3 | TLS | Yes | Yes | WebRTC | TLS to the server |
| Perfect Forward Secrecy (ECDHE) | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Fingerprint verification | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Locally generated certificates | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Cloud retention period | N/A (peer-to-peer) | N/A (peer-to-peer) | N/A (peer-to-peer) | N/A (peer-to-peer) | N/A (peer-to-peer) | 7 days |
| Advanced | ||||||
| Cross-LAN relay (different networks) | Planned | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Admin console for teams | Planned | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Cloud sync of paired devices | Coming soon | No | No | No | No | No |
| Edgely ecosystem integration | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Try it between your own devices.
Sending and receiving are free on every platform it ships on, so you can test it on your own network first.
Product names, logos and brands mentioned on this page are the property of their respective owners. They are used for identification and comparison only, and their use does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by them.