Looking for a KVM software that is reliable and cheap ?
Posted by Master781@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 12 comments
Running a Mac mini and a Windows desktop side by side and it's driving me nuts. Two keyboards, two mice, constantly grabbing the wrong one. Cable spaghetti under the desk doesn't help either.
- Tried Synergy a few years back and it felt janky, kept dropping connection mid-task.
- Heard Barrier is the open source fork but not sure if it's still maintained properly.
- Logitech Flow looks decent but I don't run their hardware so that's out.
- And last one seems promising built with rust, didn't try it its Cursorhop anyone actually used it? .
Ideally I want something that handles mouse and keyboard across Win and Mac, syncs clipboard, and shares fiels very fast even if they are big and doesn't randomly die when I'm in the middle of something.
Happy to pay one-time if it actually works, just not into another subscription.
What are people actually running in 2026? Curious what's holding up.
I_Do_Not_Abbreviate@reddit
I have an independently-powered hub I plug a keyboard and mouse into, then plug that into a manual/physical switch whose outputs are then plugged into my Windows and Mac devices.
It works well enough for an analog solution I kludged together from crap I found at the thrift store.
Master781@reddit (OP)
yeah thats called physical kvm. expensive and doesn’t have clipboard sharing nor file sharing but works great for just moving the mouse through machines
I_Do_Not_Abbreviate@reddit
The hub still has two unused ports. I plugged a flash drive into one of them to transfer files between the two computers, including a notepad document I can paste stuff into.
yk1n9@reddit
being using synergy for almost a decade now. it was janky but now it is amazing. Only thing is my major use is not lan cable don't know if it degrades over wifi
Master781@reddit (OP)
i used wifi its insanely bad and with lan its bad still but not as bad but still unusable over extensive fast operations let alone doesn’t have big files transfer
yk1n9@reddit
Not at all bad over lan. Trust me use synergy3 is pretty amazing.
Master781@reddit (OP)
i did i paid for it i regret it. and then i did my research its a problem they have been ignoring for most users and no fix for it
rarehugs@reddit
try https://www.sharemouse.com/
it's freeware for 2 devices + free demo of all the features if you want to test out the licensed features
Master781@reddit (OP)
tried it after the demo ends the connection keeps disconnecting every 5min until u buy it and its for 110$ so no thank u …. but to be fair its stable
rarehugs@reddit
you have more than two screens?
should be freeware unless you do
Master781@reddit (OP)
nah its bcz i use the normal ctrl c ctrl v for clipboard let alone that the only thing sharemouse has is mouse sharing and when i normally do copy paste on windows it just disconnects… they are forcing people to buy the license to get smth that is basic
rarehugs@reddit
ah ic