How to transfer files from Mac to Windows
Install the ZiggSend app on your Windows PC (free, from the Microsoft Store) and on your Mac, connect them once from the PC and drag the files onto the ZiggSend window on the Mac. It’s easy and free, with no ads. Documents, photos, videos and any file arrive on the PC with no quality loss, verified byte for byte. No account, no cloud, no USB stick.
This guide is for Windows and Mac: open this page on one of them, or send the link with “Send to someone”.
What you need
- A PC with Windows 10 or 11 (app from the Microsoft Store)
- A Mac or MacBook with macOS 14 (Sonoma) or newer
- Both on the same Wi-Fi (your home wifi works)
How long it takes
We tested this pair on home Wi-Fi in September 2026: the file arrived and passed the check. We haven’t measured this pair’s speed; on the pairs we measured, home Wi-Fi ran at 17.5 to 49.7 MB/s. How we measure →
Over Wi-Fi, step by step
The PC and the Mac on the same network, no cable. Connecting always starts on the PC.
On the PC, get it free from the Microsoft Store. On the Mac, download the Mac app. Keep ZiggSend open on both: it’s the same app on both sides.
On the PC, click “Connect a phone or computer”. In the box that opens, the Mac shows up on the right, under “Or pick from the list”: click it. Check that the security code matches on both screens and click “Allow” on the Mac. Even to send from the Mac, connecting starts on the PC: the Mac app doesn’t have this list.
On the Mac, drag files or a whole folder onto the ZiggSend panel, or click “Send files” and pick them. If the Mac has more than one device connected, pick the PC. A folder sends everything inside it, subfolders included, and the files arrive loose, without the subfolders.
On the PC, files show up in the ZiggSend window, each marked “arrived intact”. “Show in folder” opens the folder where each one landed.
Other ways (Mac → Windows)
What each option does, only with facts you can check at the source.
| Option | How it moves | Good to know | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| AirDrop | Wireless | Built for Apple devices. | Apple |
| Quick Share | Wireless | The official app is for Android, Chromebook and Windows; there is no Mac app. | |
| LocalSend | Wireless | Free and open source; checks SHA-256 since 1.18; doesn’t resume an interrupted transfer. | GitHub |
| WeTransfer | Through the cloud | Account needed to send; on the free plan, up to 10 transfers or 3 GB every 30 days, and the link expires in 3 days. | WeTransfer |
| ZiggSend | Wi-Fi | Free with 1 device per computer; checks every file byte for byte. | How we measure |
What can go wrong (and what to do)
The Mac doesn’t show up in the PC’s list
ZiggSend has to be open on the Mac, and both on the same network (one on Wi-Fi and the other on a different network won’t work). Guest, hotel and office Wi-Fi often isolates devices: use your home Wi-Fi or put both on your phone’s hotspot. Turn off any VPN.
Windows asked about the network
If Windows asks about the network, choose “Allow access” on private networks — without it, other devices can’t find this computer.
I see “This computer already has a phone on the Free plan”
On the Free plan, each computer connects one device, and the other computer counts as that device. “Switch phone” swaps the connected device for the new one. To keep your phone and the other computer at the same time, that computer needs Pro.
The app says “phone”
Some messages in the app still say “phone”, like “Drop to send to your phone”. With the PC connected, the file goes to it (or to the device you pick, if there is more than one).
I closed the ZiggSend window on the PC
The window closes, but the app stays in the tray next to the clock, ready to receive. To really quit, use the tray menu.
The app won’t open on the Mac
It needs macOS 14 (Sonoma) or newer. To check yours: Apple menu → About This Mac.
The Wi-Fi dropped
Just send again: it picks up where it stopped. A file that fails the check is never saved, and the app tells you.
Questions from people about to do this
Does it lose quality?
No. The file arrives identical to the original, verified byte for byte: document, photo, 4K or HDR video, ZIP.
Do the files leave the Mac?
No. ZiggSend only copies: nothing is deleted on the Mac.
Can I send a whole folder?
Yes: drag the folder onto the ZiggSend window. Everything inside goes, subfolders included, but the files arrive loose, without the subfolders. Hidden files are left out.
Do I need internet?
Not to transfer: just both on the same network. Your files never go through a server.
Is there a size limit?
No, not even on the Free plan.
Do I need an account?
No. No sign-up.
Is it free?
Yes, with one device per computer: on the Free plan each computer connects one device, and the other computer counts as that device. If the PC or the Mac also has your phone connected, that computer needs Pro, which unlocks several devices.
Do I have to connect every time?
No. Connect once; after that, with both open on the same network, just drag.
Is it safe?
Yes. The file goes straight from one computer to the other over your own network, with the content encrypted (AES-256) over Wi-Fi, and never through a server. To connect, you check that the same code shows on both screens and click “Allow”. How we protect your files.
Are there ads?
No, not even on the Free plan.
Can I use a cable?
No. Between computers ZiggSend uses the network; the cable exists only from Android to the Mac.
And without Wi-Fi?
Put both computers on your phone’s hotspot: then they’re on the same network.
And from Windows to Mac?
That too: see the step by step from Windows to Mac.