Compare · ShareMouse
A ShareMouse alternative for Mac
ShareMouse is a mature commercial option for mixed macOS and Windows desks, free for personal use on two machines and paid above that. It is also the one alternative whose price could not be read from its own site, so this page quotes no figure for it.
- Runs on
- macOS, Windows
- Price
- Not published on the site, so not stated here
What ShareMouse does better
Mixed macOS and Windows desks. Free for personal use on two machines.
- Windows on the same desk, which Continuo does not do.
- Free for personal use on two computers and two displays, though the free tier drops both clipboard and file transfer.
- Folders and multiple files at once are in its paid tier, which Continuo also gates behind Pro.
The catch
The vendor docs leave a lot unstated, including the price, so a buyer cannot check much before paying.
- Encryption is opt-in: setting a password turns on AES-128 for input, clipboard and files, and password protection is only in the paid tiers. How the key is derived is not stated.
- The free tier covers two machines for input only. Clipboard sharing and file transfer are both dropped from it.
- Prices are rendered client-side and /prices/ returned 404 on the day of the scan, so no figure is quoted anywhere on this page.
- Several behaviours the table marks Unstated are genuinely unstated in the vendor docs, including whether input is native and what happens after sleep.
Pick Continuo instead when
You want encryption that is on for every connection rather than behind a password and a paid tier, and every behaviour written down before you buy.
Encryption should not be something you can forget to enable.
Continuo is pinned TLS 1.3 on every connection from the first pairing onward. There is no password to set and no way to switch it off.
You want to know what you are buying before you buy it.
The price is on the pricing page, the table below and the note under it say what was checked to fill it, and where Continuo does not do something the row says no rather than leaving it blank.
The desk is only Macs.
The free tier covers two Macs with input, the clipboard, and one file at a time. Pro adds folders, a mounted folder in Finder, trackpad gestures, Copy on Select, typing on a locked Mac, and logging in at its login window.
Capability by capability
The same rows as the full table, narrowed to these two.
| Capability | Continuo | ShareMouse |
|---|---|---|
| Different Apple IDs | Yes | Yes |
| Windows / Linux support | Macs only | Windows |
| Installs with no Terminal step | Signed & notarized | Unstated |
| Encrypted, with no way to switch it off | Pinned TLS 1.3 | Opt-in AES-128, paid |
| Native input, not a forwarded stream | Yes | Unstated |
| Reconnects after sleep | Yes | Unstated |
| Drag & drop files across Macs | Free · one at a time | Yes |
| Jump-to-Mac hotkey | Free | QuickJump |
| No telemetry, no cloud relay for input | Yes | Unstated |
| Native trackpad gestures | Pro | Scroll only |
| Folders and multiple files at once | Pro | Yes |
| Shared folder in Finder | Pro | No |
| Clipboard over 1 MB | Pro · up to 32 MB | Unstated |
| Copy on Select | Pro | No |
| Pair more than two Macs | Pro | Professional |
| Wake a sleeping Mac | Pro | No |
| Mesh Sleep Sync | Pro | Syncs suspend, Professional |
| Lock pointer to one screen | Free | Professional |
| Lock all Macs together | Pro | Professional |
| Keyboard on a locked Mac | Pro | Unstated |
| Log in at the login window | Pro · FileVault via Restart for Remote Login | FileVault unstated |
| Price | $39 once | Unstated |
| Upgrades | 1 year of new builds | Maintenance term |
What was checked: sharemouse.com and its feature pages. Prices are rendered client-side and /prices/ returns 404, so no figure could be read; several behaviours the compare table marks Unstated are unstated there. Read in October 2026. Where ShareMousedoes not state a behaviour, the row says so rather than guessing. If something here is out of date, report it and it gets fixed.
Common questions
What does ShareMouse cost?
Not stated here, deliberately. The vendor renders its prices client-side and /prices/ returned 404 on the day of the scan, so no figure could be read from its own site. Printing a number nobody verified would be a false claim about a competitor.
Is ShareMouse encrypted?
When you set a password. Its network settings page says a password turns on AES-128 (CBC) for keyboard, mouse, clipboard and file traffic, and password protection is in the paid tiers. It does not say how the key is derived, and nothing here goes further than the vendor does.
What does the free tier drop?
Clipboard sharing and file transfer. The free tier covers two machines for input only.