10 Pushbullet Alternatives to Counter Its Free Version Limitations

Apr. 13, 2020

Pushbullet is one of the best utility tools you can use to quickly and conveniently transfer files between your Android device and PC,send SMS messagesfrom your PC, set reminders, and more. The free version of Pushbullet, however, is somewhat crippled when compared to the ‘Pro’ version, and that might some users off. Here are some features you’ll miss in Pushbullet’s free version:

1. AirDroid

AirDroid is hands down the best PushBullet alternative. With AirDroid, you canshare files, install apps, check notifications, answer & make calls,sync SMS & contacts and reply to WhatsApp messages. Additionally, it also lets you mirror your Android device’s interface to PC, which means you can control your Android smartphone or tablet right from your PC.

Overall,AirDroid is one of the best alternatives of Pushbulletas it brings most of the important Pushbullet features along with some additional features of its own.

Availability:Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, AirDroid Web

Download:AirDroid (Free)

Crono is perhaps the best Pushbullet alternatives — even better than AirDroid — if you want the best notification mirroring experience on your computer. It offers everything that Pushbullet does and in a much nicer interface. Similar to Pushbullet, you get all your notifications on your computer andyou can also reply to WhatsApp messages and ‘like’ Instagram notifications.There is also support for call notification, but you can’t receive a call. At best, you can decline call notifications with instant SMS replies. Not to mention, if you dismiss a notification on your computer then Crono will declutter your smartphone notifications too.

Further, Crono supports one of the best features of Pushbullet and that is universal clipboard sharing. You canshare clipboardfrom your smartphone to the computer with just one click. Having said all of that, the best part about Crono is thatit’s completely end-to-end encrypted just like Pushbullet,and it’s natively turned on. So all the communication between your smartphone and computer is always secure and no one can intercept the data packets. And unlike Pushbullet that offers only 100 notifications per month, Crono, on the other hand, offers 2400 notification balance under the free plan. That’s amazing, right? So, if you want the best replacement for Pushbullet, just go with Crono. It has dedicated apps for macOS and Windows as well.

Availability:Android, Windows, macOS, Web

Download Crono(Free, Premium plan starts at $1/month)

If you are looking for a Pushbullet alternative forfile sharing purposesthen you must check out Snapdrop. It’s the fastest and easiest way toshare files across various platformswithout downloading any app, creating an account, or scanning a QR code. Snapdrop is an open-source web-based platform that works across all platforms. All you need is a common WiFi access point. If your PC and smartphone are connected to the same WiFi network then simply opensnapdrop.neton both devices and start sharing files. You can also share links by right-clicking on the device. The best part about Snapdrop is thatit’s extremely fast, you can share multiple files in one go and there are no ads whatsoever. Not to mention, all your file transfers are encrypted using TLS protocol just like Pushbullet. To conclude, if you use Pushbullet mainly for file transfers then Snapdrop is the best alternative bar none in this list.

Availability:Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Chrome OS, Linux, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Web

Visit Website(Free)

As the name suggests,My Phone is a Windows companion appthat’s developed by Microsoft. Unlike AirDroid, My Phone is not a full-fledged device manager, at least not yet. However, Microsoft says that they’re working to add new features to the app.

For now, My Phone can be used toreply to text messages, check Skype notifications,  viewing and transferring photos, etc.Yes, it is not as feature-rich as some other tools, but you can expect this app to get more updates in the future. It is also worth pointing out that this particular companion will only work with Windows and Android. So if you are an Android phone user who owns a Windows laptop, then My Phone is definitely worth checking out.

Availability:Android, Windows

Download My Phone:Windows (Free), Android (Free)

EasyJoin is a relatively new app in the Android ecosystem, but among the geeks, it has quickly gained huge popularity. The main USP of EasyJoin is that it’s mostly free andyou can do a bunch of important things that are generally available under the paid plan. In more ways than one, EasyJoin is one of the best alternatives to Pushbullet because it brings lots of new features that even Pushbullet doesn’t have. To start with, you can connect your smartphone with your computer and receive all kinds of notifications. You can also reply to messages and perform actionable operations like ‘mark as read’, ‘snooze’, etc.

Further, you can receive and initiate calls on your PC with EasyJoin integration and dedicated Windows app, but this feature is only available under the paid plan. Other than that, you cansend files from one device to another, create alarms, access universal clipboardand control the volume of other devices. All of these features are freely available and you don’t need to pay a dime. But we are not done yet. All voice calls, messages, notifications, and file transfers are end-to-end encrypted by default. Considering all the points, EasyJoin seems a solid alternative to Pushbullet and you should definitely give it a shot.

Availability:Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, Web

Download EasyJoin(Free, Pro version available at a one-time charge of $15)

MightyText is one of the best PushBullet alternatives that you can use. Similar to Pushbullet, Mighty Text syncs your text messages and you can reply to your messages right from your PC. It alsomirrors your notifications and lets you make calls,rings your phone, lets you uninstall an app, sends photos & videos, check battery status, etc., all right from the MightyText app.

Mighty Text’s free version has a limit of500 text messagesa month, which is 5 times than what Pushbullet’s free version offers. Mighty Text also has a paid version, which lets you schedule messages, removes the limit on messages, removes ads, lets you sync 100 GBs of photos & videos and more. The Pro version of MightyText is priced at$9.99/ month or $79.99/year. Mighty Text should work well if you are okay with its 500/month limit of messages in the free version but if you are not, you can check out some other alternatives.

Availability:Android, Windows

Download MightyText:Android (Free), Windows (Free)

Join is a capable alternative to Pushbullet, but it does not have the best user interface. So if you want a reliable app and do not care about the UI/UX then I would highly recommend you to go with Join. It’ssuper clean, there are no ads or tracking and it’s extremely fastin alerting the user with smartphone notifications. It lets you share files, links, and location to multiple devices. It also mirrors your notifications, messages and you can reply to messages and perform other actionable tasks right from your computer. Also, if you are a Tasker user, you are going to appreciate thedeep Tasker integrationin the app. Apart from that, you can also share your clipboard with multiple devices. Not to mention, Join is fully end-to-end encrypted if you choose to set a password, just like Pushbullet. So to put it straight, if you have some expertise on Android then go with Join.

Availability:Android, Windows, Web

Download Join(Free, Full version at $1.49)

If you are a Linux user then KDE Connect is a much better proposition than Pushbullet. It’scompletely free and open-sourceand you can use it to integrate your smartphone with your computer seamlessly. You can send files, URLs, control media playback, send remote input and of course, access notifications including third-party ones. Further, you can reply to messages as well which is awesome. In terms of call support, well, you can get a notification, but you can’t receive the call. But the best feature of KDE connect is that if you are playing a song on your laptop, you can change the track, stop the song and mute the playback right from your smartphone. And just like Pushbullet, KDE Connect is alsoend-to-end encryptedso that is great. All I would say is, KDE Connect is a powerful tool on Linux and you should definitely use it in place of Pushbullet.

Availability:Linux

Download KDE Connect(Free)

Availability:Android, Web

Download Bridge(Free Trial for 7 days, Full version available at a one-time fee of $3.99)

Availability:Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Linux, Web

Download Pushover(Free Trial for 7 days, one-time $4.99 charge for unlimited usage)

Pushbullet is a great app but if you cannot afford its pro version, there are several capable apps that you can use to replace it. Granted not all these alternatives are as feature-rich as Pushbullet, they are good enough for most users. And while most of them are paid, they offer a respectable free plan which is far better than what Pushbullet offers. So, check them out and let us know your experience in the comments below.

Passionate about Windows, ChromeOS, Android, security and privacy issues. Have a penchant to solve everyday computing problems.