Sending files from your phone to your computer
Every option, honestly compared — including the ones that mean you do not need ParcelBeam at all. If your setup is covered by something built into your operating system, use that. It is free, it is already there, and no download beats no download.
The short answer
| Your situation | Use this |
|---|---|
| iPhone → Mac, both signed into your Apple account | AirDrop. It is built in and it works. |
| iPhone → recent Pixel or Galaxy | AirDrop → Quick Share. Native since late 2025. |
| Android → Windows | Quick Share for Windows. Google's own app. |
| iPhone → Windows, and you don't mind linking accounts | Phone Link, if you accept the Microsoft sign-in. |
| iPhone or Android → Linux | Nothing native exists. ParcelBeam. |
| Any phone → any computer, no accounts at all | ParcelBeam. |
| A 40 GB video file | ParcelBeam. Cloud services will make you wait or pay. |
| A device you don't own, or someone else's phone | ParcelBeam desktop's Share via link — a QR code that opens in any browser. |
Why this is still annoying in 2026
Every built-in option solves one corner of the problem and stops at the edge of the company that made it. AirDrop is Apple-to-Apple. Quick Share started Android-to-Android. Nearby Sharing, the one actually built into Windows, does not talk to phones at all — it is Windows-to-Windows only, which surprises almost everyone who finds it.
This got genuinely better recently. Since November 2025, AirDrop and Quick Share can talk to each other, starting with the Pixel 10 and reaching the Pixel 9 and Samsung's Galaxy S26 line during 2026. If you have an iPhone and a recent flagship Android, that gap is closed and you should just use it.
What none of them do is the ordinary case of a phone and a desktop computer from a different company. An iPhone and a Linux laptop. An Android and a Mac. An iPhone and a Windows PC where you would rather not sign into anything. That is the gap ParcelBeam exists to fill, and it is the only reason to install it.
Option by option
AirDrop
Excellent, and genuinely the best choice when it applies. It is peer-to-peer, fast, needs no accounts between your own devices, and is already on your phone. It only fails once a non-Apple computer is involved — and its new Quick Share bridge currently works in "Everyone for 10 Minutes" mode rather than Contacts Only, which is a small but real papercut.
Phone Link / Link to Windows
Microsoft's answer, and it now does handle iPhone-to-PC file transfer. The cost is the setup: you pair the phone to the PC and sign into a Microsoft account, so it is a relationship between two specific devices rather than something that just works on whatever network you happen to be on. Windows only. If you have already paid that setup cost and it works for you, you do not need anything else.
Nearby Sharing (Windows)
Worth naming only to save you the search: despite the name, it does not transfer to or from phones. Windows to Windows.
Snapdrop and PairDrop
Browser-based, nothing to install, and clever — you open a page on both devices and drag. Genuinely good for a one-off transfer on a computer you don't control. The trade-offs are that a browser tab has to stay open and awake at both ends, large transfers are less reliable than a native app, and it depends on a signalling server being up.
Cloud services: WeTransfer, Google Drive, Dropbox, email
These upload your file to a company's servers and then download it again — the long way around for two devices sitting on the same desk. You pay for it in waiting, in size limits, in the file existing on someone else's computer, and sometimes in money. For anything large, this is the worst option and also the most commonly used one.
Where ParcelBeam actually differs
| ParcelBeam | AirDrop | Phone Link | Cloud upload | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Works with Windows | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Linux | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Works with Android | Yes | Recent flagships | Yes | Yes |
| No account or sign-in | Yes | Yes | Microsoft account | Account required |
| No size limit | Yes | Yes | Yes | Usually capped |
| Files never leave your network | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Works with no internet at all | Yes | Yes | Partly | No |
| Open source | No | No | No | No |
Common questions
Is there an AirDrop for Windows?
Not built in. Nearby Sharing is Windows-to-Windows, and Phone Link needs account pairing. ParcelBeam is the closest equivalent that works the way AirDrop does — open the app, see the device, send.
How do I send a large video from iPhone to a PC?
Over the local network, not the cloud. A phone and a computer on the same Wi-Fi can move a multi-gigabyte file directly at network speed, and ParcelBeam imposes no size cap. Uploading the same file to a cloud service means sending it out to a data centre and pulling it back down again.
Can my iPhone receive files while the app is closed?
No, and be sceptical of anything claiming otherwise. iOS suspends apps in the background, so the app must be open to be discoverable. This is an iOS limitation that applies to every app of this kind. For sending to a phone with nothing installed, use ParcelBeam desktop's Share via link, which shows a QR code that opens in any browser.
Do I need both devices on the same Wi-Fi?
Yes. That is the whole idea — the file goes directly between the two devices. Guest networks and networks with client isolation will block this, and no app can work around that.
Try it
Free for macOS, Windows and Linux. No account, no ads, no tracking, and no nagging. If it saves you time, a coffee keeps it going.