WaystoneUniversal Control vs Screen Sharing vs Waystone: which should you use?
Universal Control shares your keyboard and mouse between Macs. Screen Sharing shows another Mac's whole desktop. Waystone moves a single app window from one Mac to another. They solve different problems, and the first two come free with your Mac.
At a glance
| Option | What's shared | Where it works | How it feels |
|---|---|---|---|
| Universal Control | Your keyboard, mouse and trackpad | Up to two other nearby Macs or iPads, signed in to the same Apple Account | Each Mac keeps its own screen and apps; your pointer moves between them |
| Screen Sharing | The other Mac's whole desktop | Any Mac with Screen Sharing turned on that you can reach | That Mac's entire screen, inside one window on yours |
| Waystone | One app's window | Between your Macs on the same local network | A real window next to your others, in Mission Control, Spaces and Cmd-Tab |
Universal Control: one keyboard for every Mac
Turn it on in System Settings › Displays › Advanced, and the keyboard and trackpad of one Mac can control up to two other Macs or iPads nearby. Push the pointer past the edge of your screen and it carries on onto the next device. You can drag files across and copy and paste between them. Apple requires every device to be signed in to the same Apple Account.
Best for: two or three screens side by side, where you want to stop reaching for a second keyboard. It's smooth, it's built in, and it costs nothing.
Not for: getting an app onto a different screen. Each device still shows its own apps on its own display. If the app you want runs on the Mac with the smaller screen, Universal Control won't move it to the bigger one.
Screen Sharing: the whole other Mac
Turn on Screen Sharing in System Settings › General › Sharing on one Mac, then connect from the Screen Sharing app on another. You see that Mac's full desktop in a window. In Control mode you can use it, and in Observe mode you can only watch. Between two Macs on a fast network, High Performance mode adds virtual displays and higher quality.
Best for: full remote control. Changing settings on a Mac in another room, helping a family member, or getting to a Mac that isn't in front of you.
Not for: using one app alongside your own. The other Mac's desktop, Dock and menu bar all come with it, inside a single window. Its apps don't appear in your Cmd-Tab or Mission Control, and you can't put one of them beside your own windows.
Waystone: one window, where you want it
Waystone is a menu bar app that you install on both Macs. Pick an app the other Mac shares, and its window opens on the Mac you're using as an ordinary window. It appears in Mission Control, Spaces and Cmd-Tab, and tiles like any other window. The app itself keeps running on its home Mac.
You click, type and scroll as if it were local, new windows the app opens follow you, and the clipboard works in both directions. Resizing the window resizes the app on its own Mac, so content reflows instead of stretching.
Best for: keeping an app running on one Mac and using its window on the other. For example, an app that lives on the Mac Studio, used from the MacBook on the same desk.
Not for: controlling a whole Mac, or reaching one over the internet. Waystone connects only over your local network, directly and encrypted, with no account and no server. It costs $20 once, and one license covers up to three Macs.
Use them together
These aren't either-or. A common setup is Universal Control for one keyboard and trackpad across a laptop and a desktop, plus Waystone for the one or two apps you want from the other Mac on the screen you're looking at. Keep Screen Sharing for the times you need the whole Mac.