Oxolan vs LocalSend — which fits a daily office workflow?
LocalSend is excellent — free, open-source, cross-platform — for occasionally sending a file to a nearby device. Oxolan is built for offices that share files all day: machines stay permanently visible, files lock while someone edits, transfers resume after drops, and there is someone to email when it breaks. Casual use → LocalSend. Daily office workflow → Oxolan.
Feature by feature
| Oxolan | LocalSend | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Paid — flat per office, 14-day free trial | Free, open source |
| Platforms | Windows 10/11 + macOS 12+ | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android |
| Device discovery | Automatic, ~300 ms — PCs stay visible | Per-session — open the app on both ends |
| Transfer speed (gigabit LAN) | 60–115 MB/s on gigabit LAN | Fast on LAN (varies by setup) |
| Huge files (10 GB+) | Resumes 60 GB+ transfers after a drop | Restarts from zero if interrupted |
| File locking (team editing) | Built-in file locking | None |
| Browse another PC’s files | Browse & search other PCs remotely | No — sender pushes, receiver accepts |
| Files leave your network | Never — LAN only, TLS 1.3 encrypted | No — LAN only |
| Support | Email support included | Community (GitHub) |
Speed, with real numbers
Both tools move files over your local network, so both beat any cloud round-trip. Oxolan’s numbers are engineering-verified: 16 MB chunked streams reach 60–80 MB/s and parallel connections saturate gigabit at ~115 MB/s, with per-chunk BLAKE3 integrity checks and resume-after-drop on multi-gigabyte transfers.
Pricing
LocalSend is genuinely free. Oxolan is a flat per-office license — no per-user seats — and every plan is the full app. Oxolan plans run $149–$999/yr by office size (5 to 50 PCs) — see current pricing.
The honest test: run it on two PCs
Install Oxolan next to whatever you use today and let the transfers decide. Free 14 days, no card.
Try Oxolan side by side — freeFrequently asked questions
Is LocalSend good enough for an office?
For occasional transfers, yes — it is a genuinely good free tool. Offices that share files every day usually outgrow the per-send workflow: no persistent device list, no file locking, no remote browse, and interrupted large transfers restart from zero.
What does Oxolan do that LocalSend does not?
Persistent automatic discovery (~300 ms; machines stay in the sidebar), file locking so two people cannot overwrite the same file, browsing and searching other PCs’ shared files, resumable large transfers, shared workspace folder sync, and email support.
Which is faster, Oxolan or LocalSend?
Both run at LAN speed and beat cloud transfers easily. Oxolan’s verified throughput is 60–115 MB/s on gigabit with parallel connections; LocalSend is also fast on a healthy LAN, though large interrupted transfers must restart.
Can I use both?
Yes — they do not conflict. Some teams keep LocalSend for phone-to-PC handoffs (Oxolan is desktop-only) and use Oxolan for PC-to-PC office work.