Compare · Universal Control
A Universal Control alternative for Mac
If every Mac on your desk signs in to the same Apple Account, Universal Control is already installed, free, and the right answer. Continuo exists for the desks where that sentence is not true.
- Runs on
- macOS, iPadOS
- Price
- Free with macOS
What Universal Control does better
Macs and iPads on one Apple ID. Built into macOS, free.
- Nothing to install, nothing to configure, and no trust decision to make.
- It drives an iPad as well as a Mac. Continuo does not do that at all.
- Apple maintains it, so it moves with macOS by definition.
The catch
One Apple ID only. A work Mac and a personal Mac cannot pair, and nothing in Settings changes that.
- Every device has to sign in to the same Apple Account with two-factor authentication on. That is the stated requirement, not a default, and no setting relaxes it.
- A Mac managed by an employer normally cannot be signed into a personal Apple Account, so it never appears in the list at all.
- Both Macs have to be awake and unlocked. Nothing types on a locked screen, and nothing wakes a sleeping Mac for you.
- There is no clipboard sync. Copying a screenshot on one Mac does not put it on the other.
Pick Continuo instead when
Your Macs sign in to different Apple Accounts, or one of them is a managed work Mac that cannot be signed into yours at all.
The Macs sign in to different Apple Accounts.
Continuo pairs over the local network: the same three words appear on both screens and you confirm them. No account of any kind is involved, and input never leaves the network.
One of them is a locked or sleeping work Mac.
Pro types on a locked Mac from the one you are sitting at, and can wake a sleeping one. Universal Control needs both machines awake and unlocked.
Files have to move, not just the pointer.
Free drags one file straight into a window on the other Mac, and syncs the clipboard up to 1 MB. Pro adds folders and batches, raises the clipboard to 32 MB, and adds Quick Share, which mounts a folder from another Mac in Finder instead of copying it.
Capability by capability
The same rows as the full table, narrowed to these two.
| Capability | Continuo | Universal Control |
|---|---|---|
| Different Apple IDs | Yes | Same ID |
| Windows or Linux on the same desk | Macs only | Macs and iPads |
| Installs with no Terminal step | Signed & notarized | Built into macOS |
| Encrypted, with no way to switch it off | Pinned TLS 1.3 | Yes |
| Native input, not a forwarded stream | Yes | Yes |
| Native trackpad gestures | Pro | Yes |
| Reconnects after sleep | Yes | Supported, can drop |
| Drag a file straight to another Mac | Free · one at a time | Yes |
| Folders and multiple files at once | Pro | No |
| Mount a shared folder from another Mac | Pro · both Macs | No |
| Clipboard over 1 MB | Pro · up to 32 MB | No sync |
| QuickJump hotkey and switcher | Free | No |
| Copy on Select | Pro | No |
| Pair more than two Macs | Pro | Mac + 2 others |
| Wake a sleeping Mac | Pro | No |
| Mesh Sleep Sync | Pro | No |
| Keyboard on a locked Mac | Pro | Both unlocked |
| Price | Launch $29 · Regular $49 | Free with macOS |
| Upgrades | 1 year of new builds | With macOS |
| No telemetry, no cloud relay for input | Yes | iCloud |
What was checked: Apple's own Universal Control support page, on the requirement that every device signs in to the same Apple Account with two-factor on. Read in August 2026. Where Universal Controldoes 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
Can Universal Control work across two different Apple Accounts?
No. Apple's requirement is that every device signs in to the same Apple Account with two-factor authentication turned on. There is no setting that relaxes it, which is why a work Mac and a personal Mac usually cannot pair.
Why does my work Mac never appear?
A Mac managed by an employer normally cannot be signed into your personal Apple Account, and Universal Control has no other way to pair two machines. That is the specific case Continuo was built for.
Does Continuo replace Universal Control?
Only for Macs. Universal Control also drives an iPad and Continuo does not. If your desk is Macs and iPads on one account, keep Universal Control.