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Tethertone vs AudioRelay vs Airfoil

Three ways to play your Mac's audio on an Android phone. We make one of them, so every claim about the others links to its source, and we say where they do better.

By Tethertone contributors · Checked

In short

  • Tethertone: free, open source, no ads, uncompressed audio over USB or Wi-Fi. Mac to Android only.
  • AudioRelay: free desktop apps for Windows, macOS and Linux; the Android app has ads and a paid Premium. Can also use the phone as a microphone.
  • Airfoil: a paid Mac app that streams to many kinds of receivers at once. The Android receiver, Airfoil Satellite, is free.

Side by side

TethertoneAudioRelayAirfoil + Satellite
Mac appFreeFreePaid license
Android appFree, no adsFree with ads; paid PremiumFree (Airfoil Satellite)
Source codeOpen source, MITClosedClosed
USB connectionYes (adb reverse)YesNo; over the network
Audio formatUncompressed 16-bit PCMCompressedNot compared here
Other computersmacOS onlyWindows, macOS, LinuxMac app
Phone as microphoneNoYesNot listed
Many receivers at onceYes (tested with two phones)With PremiumYes, its main purpose

Tethertone

A native SwiftUI app on the Mac and a Kotlin app on Android, built for one job. It captures the system mix with ScreenCaptureKit (or reads BlackHole) and sends uncompressed PCM in 10 ms packets. The phone plays it through a jitter buffer that corrects clock drift continuously, so latency stays flat for hours. It pairs with one QR scan and uses a USB cable automatically when one is plugged in.

Where it falls short: no Windows or Linux sender, no phone-as-microphone mode, and uncompressed audio uses about 1.5 Mbit/s. The technical deep dive explains how it works.

AudioRelay

A cross-platform app that streams audio and the microphone between computers and Android devices over Wi-Fi or USB. The desktop apps are free. The Android app is free with ads, and a Premium purchase unlocks extras such as more than one connected device and a custom buffer setting. It compresses audio to reduce network traffic.

Choose it if you also need Windows or Linux, or want to use your phone as a microphone for the computer.

Airfoil

Rogue Amoeba's Airfoil for Mac sends audio to many kinds of receivers around the house. Airfoil Satellite, the free companion app, turns an Android device into one of those receivers and can control Airfoil remotely. Airfoil itself is a paid app.

Choose it if you want whole-house audio across several different speakers, and don't mind paying for polished commercial software.

Which should you pick?

  • Just want your phone as a Mac speaker, free and without ads? Tethertone.
  • On Windows or Linux, or need the phone's microphone? AudioRelay.
  • Want music in several rooms at once? Airfoil.
  • Care about auditing the code or changing it? Tethertone is the only open-source option of the three.

Ready to try Tethertone? Download it and follow the two-minute setup.

Sources

Prices and features change; check each vendor's page before deciding. Checked .