If you are a regular Pushbullet user, you’d know that Pushbullet recently announced a paid “Pro” version along with a free version. While we don’t mind Pushbullet going the paid way to support itself, we aren’t fans of feature omissions in the free version. With Pushbullet Pro’s arrival, the free version of the app will miss out on some of the features that it previously had but are now exclusive to Pro.
Here are some features you’ll miss in Pushbullet’s free version
- Actionable notifications
- Universal copy and Link sharing
- 100 messages/month
- Send files up to 25 MB only and 2 GB storage space limitation
Pushbullet Pro is priced at $39.99/year or $4.99/month, which might not be affordable for some. Well, Pushbullet users will either have to pay for the “Pro” subscription or look for an alternative. If you don’t plan on paying for Pushbullet Pro, here are the best alternatives you can use.
1. AirDroid: The best Pushbullet alternative
AirDroid is more than just a Pushbullet alternative, as it is more of an Android device manager. The good thing is that it brings functionality similar or in some cases even better than what Pushbullet offers. Similar to Pushbullet, AirDroid lets you share files, install apps, check notifications, answer & make calls, sync SMS & contacts and reply to WhatsApp messages. Furthermore, it packs in an AirMirror feature, that lets you mirror your Android device’s interface to PC, which means you can control your Android smartphone or tablet right from your PC.
Compared to Pushbullet, AirDroid lacks some features like universal copy & paste and ability to share links. AirDroid is also more resource extensive and thus, a little laggy. It has a “Premium” subscription plan of $1.99/month or $19.99/year, which is cost effective than Pushbullet’s paid plans. AirDroid Premium brings unlimited file transfers, support for large files (1 GB) and multiple device support. Overall, AirDroid is a very different tool but it brings most of the important Pushbullet features along with its own additional features as well.
Availability: Android, OS X, Windows (App); Chrome (Web).
Best for Notification Mirroring
2. Pushline
Pushline, as the name suggests, is very similar to Pushbullet, both in name and features. The service works through an Android app & Chrome extension and it mirrors smartphone’s notifications to a PC but you can only view & clear the notifications. The app also lets you send notes, share links, make or accept calls, send SMS, mute your phone, find your phone and more. The Pushbullet features missing here are actionable notifications, universal copy and the ability to transfer files.
While it matches some of Pushbullet’s features, it’s not as reliable. The app does not sync messages, contacts or your apps and sometimes it just fails to bring a notification. Well, you can give Pushline a shot since it is free with no ads, no premium version and no in-app purchases.
Availability: Android (App); Chrome (Web).
As the name suggests, Desktop Notifications is strictly aimed at bringing your Android smartphone’s notifications to your PC. It uses an Android app and a Chrome or Firefox extension to mirror all your notifications. Once you enable notification access to the app on your Android smartphone, it will mirror your notifications and you will see popups on your PC through the browser extension. Sadly, you cannot do much, as it only lets you view the notifications from your Android smartphone.
Availability: Android (App); Chrome, Firefox (Web).
Best for Messaging
6. Mighty Text
Mighty Text is one of the best SMS apps and it brings some additional features that make it a worthy alternative to Pushbullet. Similar to Pushbullet, Mighty Text syncs your text messages and you can reply to your messages right from your PC browser. It also mirrors your notifications and lets you make calls, ring your phone, uninstall an app, send photos & videos, check battery status, all right from the Mighty Text web client.
Mighty Text’s free version has a limit of 500 text messages a 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 pricing of Mighty Text Pro is identical to Pushbullet, with subscriptions of $4.99/month or $39.99/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 give other alternatives like Yappy a shot.
Availability: Android (App); Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer, Opera, Firefox (Web).
7. Yappy
Yappy is more similar to Mighty Text than Pushbullet but it’s still a a great Pushbullet alternative if you love texting from your PC. Yappy syncs your messages, contacts & gallery and lets you send texts or reply to them, make calls or answer them remotely and even mirrors notifications. There’s also a cool YAP mode, which lets you send encrypted messages.
Sadly, that’s about it, as it lacks other features from Pushbullet like actionable notifications and universal copy. One good thing about Yappy is that even in its free version, it does not have a limit to the number of texts you can send. It is also available in a Pro version, which removes ads, lets you schedule messages, search texts, in-depth analytics etc..
Availability: Android (App); Chrome, Firefox (Extension); XMPP.
Best for Universal Copy
8. Clipper Plus
Clipper Plus is a worthy alternative to Pushbullet because of its much touted universal copy features. The universal copy & paste app features a Clipboard right in its app and it remembers whatever you’ve copied and stores it. The app syncs the clipboard online, so you can access it on your PC through Clipper’s webpage. You can also use ‘Clipper Plus’ to share links to different devices and all you would need to do is paste a link on the clipboard and access it later on any device’s browser. Clipper Plus is available on the Play Store for $1.99 and there’s a free version available but it does not include the online clipboard sync feature.
Availability: Android.
9. Alt-C
Alt-C is a cool lightweight app & software that brings universal copy and the ability to share links. Once you’ve installed the app and software on your phone and PC, you just need to press Alt+C to copy a text in you PC and it will arrive on your smartphone’s clipboard and once you’ve copied something on your Android device, press Alt+V to get the copied text on your PC. So, along with copied text, you can also copy links and share it. While it’s not simlar to Pushbullet’s feature, it is certainty very instant and easy to do. To sum it up, the app works like a charm and it’s available to download for free.
Availability: Android, Windows and Mac (App).
Best for File Sharing
8. Xender
Xender is a popular file sharing app known for its capabilities to transfer data between two Android devices but it also lets you share files from your Android device to PC and vice versa, that too without any data transfer limitation. The best thing about the app is it allows you to transfer files without the need of a PC software. Once you connect your Android smartphone to Xender’s web client by scanning the QR code on your PC, you will see the storage details of your smartphone. You will then have the ability to download or delete pictures, videos, music, documents, apps and other files as well. In the Files tab, you also have the ability to download files in batches, move, copy and manage files. Moreover, the Xender web client lets you transfer files from your PC to your smartphone as well. So, if you’ve used Pushbullet for your file sharing needs, Xender is a good enough alternative for you.
Availability: Android, iOS (App); Web.
SEE ALSO: How To Mirror Your Android Display to PC
These Apps do their best to match Pushbullet
Pushbullet is a great app and sadly, there’s no single app that brings all of its features (although AirDroid comes close). However, these are the best Pushbullet alternatives for your different use cases. So, how are you dealing with Pushbullet Pro’s arrival? Which alternative are you using? Do let us know in the comments section.
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