Guide

Looking for a MacDroid alternative?

PortLine and MacDroid both put an Android phone in Finder. We measured both, on the same Mac and the same phone, through their Finder locations, and published every number, including where MacDroid is level.

Updated 26 October 2026 · 4 min read

Where PortLine is ahead

Twelve recorded copies: 200 photos and ten videos (2.45 GB), both directions, over USB debugging, MTP and Wi-Fi. PortLine finished first in all twelve, from 1.04× to 11.5× faster: the 200 photos came off the phone in 4.7 s against 54.5 s over USB debugging, and in 19.6 s against 2:05.1 over Wi-Fi.
Opening files: the next file of a folder opens in 1 ms against 610 ms; a file alone in its folder in 133 ms against 864 ms.
Copying off the phone: a folder of 50 × 4 MiB files in 5.7 s against 41.2 s; 200 small files read back in 6.7 s against 24.0 s.
Changes made on the phone reach an open Finder window in seconds. In MacDroid, a folder made on the phone hadn't appeared after a minute, even after its file check.
Everyday edge cases: names with : or ?, case-only renames and moving a file into a folder all failed in MacDroid and worked in PortLine. Of 55 tests, MacDroid could not complete 16.

Where they're level

Ten large videos over the USB debugging cable run near the phone's USB 2.0 limit in both apps: 1:04.8 against 1:07.5 to the phone, 1:01.7 against 1:05.8 back.
Copying 50 files of 4 MiB to the phone took about the same time in both apps.
Two small name tests ran about 0.1 s faster in MacDroid, within the noise.

Switching

Quit MacDroid before connecting the phone to PortLine: only one app can hold a phone's USB connection at a time. Your files stay on the phone; there is nothing to migrate.

Every number, with the method

Questions

Can MacDroid and PortLine run at the same time?

Not with the same phone over USB. Only one program can use the phone's USB connection, so quit one before using the other.