Oxolan vs NitroShare — the 2026 state of LAN file sharing
NitroShare deserves respect — it proved LAN file sharing could be one drag-and-drop. The project is not abandoned (the maintainer is rewriting it as nitroshare2), but the desktop app you can install today has had no substantive release in years while Windows kept changing underneath it, and the rewrite has no shipping desktop client yet. If you want that same simplicity with active maintenance, persistent discovery, encryption, file locking and support today, that is the gap Oxolan fills. Budget-zero and it still works for you → keep NitroShare. Relying on it daily → time to move.
Feature by feature
| Oxolan | NitroShare | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Paid — flat per office, 14-day free trial | Free, open source |
| Actively maintained | Yes — active development | Shipping app stalled; a rewrite is under way |
| Discovery | Automatic, ~300 ms — PCs stay visible | Broadcast-based; hit-or-miss on modern networks |
| Transfer encryption | TLS 1.3 + certificate pinning, always on | Optional/limited |
| Large files | Resumes 60 GB+ transfers after a drop | Restarts on interruption |
| File locking / remote browse | Both built in | Neither |
| Platforms | Windows 10/11 + macOS 12+ | Windows, macOS, Linux (older builds) |
| Support | Email support included | Community only, currently thin |
Speed, with real numbers
NitroShare moves files at LAN speed when discovery cooperates. Oxolan sustains verified 60–115 MB/s on gigabit with parallel connections, BLAKE3 integrity per chunk, and resume on multi-gigabyte transfers.
Pricing
NitroShare is free. Oxolan’s flat per-office license pays for the parts a stalled free tool cannot give you today: reliability on current Windows, encryption, locking, and someone answering support email. 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 NitroShare still safe to use in 2026?
It still works for many people, but a tool that has not tracked Windows 11’s networking changes will misbehave more over time, and its transfer encryption story is weak by modern standards. For anything sensitive or business-critical, prefer an actively maintained tool.
What is the closest modern replacement for NitroShare?
LocalSend is the closest free equivalent (send-to-device, cross-platform, active). Oxolan is the office-grade option: persistent discovery, TLS 1.3, file locking, remote browse, resumable large transfers, support.