The best file transfer apps, according to hackers
17 file transfer apps were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and November 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 6 earn the Hacker Approved badge.
Top picks
The three most recommended file transfer apps with the badge. Each figure is 5 people. RecommendsCriticizes One comment
Reliable across devices and platforms
Free, open-source app for fast, account-free file transfers over a local network. Common caveat: devices often must share the same Wi-Fi.
Free and open source on many platforms
Free open-source tool for sending files between computers with a typed code, valued for running on many platforms and in browsers. Critics report it fails in some cases and is slower than LocalSend.
Reliable and fast transfers
Recommended for sending files between machines, even behind NATs, for reliability and speed; the common caveat is its command-line interface, hard for non-technical users.
All 17 file transfer apps, ranked
Select a column heading to sort. Approval share is recommenders out of everyone who gave an opinion; the tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs. Months counts the months, out of 13, in which someone recommended it.
| Rank | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LocalSend | 81 | 25 | 76% | 11 | — | Approved |
| 2 | Magic Wormhole | 21 | 6 | 78% | 8 | — | Approved |
| 3 | Kermit | 15 | 4 | 79% | 2 | — | — |
| 4 | croc | 13 | 3 | 81% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Tied 5 | OpenSSH scp | 12 | 10 | 55% | 6 | — | — |
| Tied 5 | FileZilla | 12 | 21 | 36% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 7 | Blip | 11 | 1 | 92% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Tied 7 | ShadowCat | 11 | 1 | 92% | 1 | — | — |
| Tied 7 | Flipflop | 11 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
| Tied 10 | Transmit by Panic | 10 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Tied 10 | PairDrop | 10 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Tied 12 | UUCP | 7 | 3 | 70% | 6 | — | — |
| Tied 12 | Robocopy | 7 | 5 | 58% | 5 | — | — |
| 14 | syq | 6 | 7 | 46% | 1 | — | — |
| Tied 15 | sftp | 5 | 6 | 45% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 15 | Sendme | 5 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 15 | Zmodem | 5 | 1 | 83% | 3 | — | — |
How we rank
Rank is the number of separate people who recommend a product in a Hacker News comment over the past year. Someone who praises the same file transfer app in five threads counts once.
The badge goes to file transfer apps that at least 10 people recommend, with recommenders outnumbering critics at least 2 to 1, recommended in at least 4 of the 13 months.
Rankings are never for sale. We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. It never changes the order.