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If you have more than one computer in your home (for example, a home and work computer, or a laptop alongside a fully equipped gaming rig), it can be difficult to control them. Instead of stacking your keyboards on top of each other, you can use specialized software (or hardware) to use one. mouse and a keyboard with two computers simultaneously.

No program works perfectly and does everything. Each option has its own pros and cons, but two methods stand out from the pack: Mouse Without Borders and Synergy. If software isn’t enough, you can also turn to a small piece of hardware, called a KVM switch, to get the job done.

Mouse without borders: free and easy for Windows

An experimental project from Microsoft developer Truong Do, Mouse without borders is a free program that shares your mouse and keyboard between Windows machines. It’s also very easy to set up, making it a good first step if you’re new to these programs.

Install Mouse Without Borders on your primary PC, the one whose keyboard and mouse you want to use on all machines. Note that Mouse Without Borders is only officially supported on Windows 10therefore it may not work completely as expected on a Windows 11 PC. Click No when asked if you have installed it on other PCs to get a code. Now install it on another PC and enter the code when prompted. They should automatically connect to each other, without any additional hassle.

From the main Mouse Without Borders window, you can drag computer icons to rearrange your PCs based on how they appear in your physical space. For example, my desktop is to the left of my laptop, so I made sure the icons matched that layout. This way, your mouse should easily “jump” to the other PC when you drag it to the correct edge. There are other options you can play with in this window, if you wish.

Mouse Without Borders works well for free, but I find it to be a bit choppy at times. On the second computer, my cursor was often slow to respond or stuck for a second when I moved it around the screen, which can cause you to lose some precision when clicking on items. Always, clipboard sharing worked well between my two PCs and I could drag and drop files from one machine to another without issue.

Entrance Director: Mouse Alternative Without Borders

If you only use Windows machines and want something that runs a little smoother than Mouse Without Borders, Director of Entrances is another popular option. The setup, however, requires a little more work and may be difficult for first-time users. For example, it rarely finds other machines on my network when scanning, even if I enter the hostname. Entering the IP address of the secondary machine worked fine for me, at that time it worked like a charm.

Additionally, Input Director lets you determine which computers are allowed to join your system, customizable keyboard shortcuts, and other additional features. This can be a little overwhelming for some people, but if you know what you’re doing, Input Director is just as smooth as Synergy, even though it’s limited to Windows machines.

Synergy and barrier: fluid and multiplatform

Synergy is the best-known program in this area, but it costs money, is a bit difficult to set up, and has gone through a major transition. The program was formerly open source and was a fork of an older version called Barrier is available for free. You could spend $30 for Synergy, but the two are still similar enough that I recommend trying Barrier first. If that doesn’t work, you can shell out some money for a Synergy license.

Despite the complexities, Synergy and Barrier work smoothly once everything is set up. Install the program on all computers you want to use. (You may be asked to reboot during the process.) The program will then ask you to designate the current computer as the server (the computer with the mouse and keyboard) or the client (the computer you need to control).

If you use Synergy, it will then ask you to activate your account; copy the license key of your Symless account page and paste it into the Synergy app. Once enabled, repeat this process on any Windows, macOS, or Linux computer, choosing a server and as many client computers as you need. Barrier supports up to 15 computers, while the base tier of Synergy can work with up to three (or 15 if you upgrade to Synergy Ultimate for $50).

Once the program is installed and running on your computers, you will need to make them communicate with each other. On the server machine, click the Configure the server button. In the upper left corner you should see an icon that looks like a PC monitor: drag it onto the grid and align it with your server PC icon.

For example, my client computer is a Mac mini that sits on my desk to the right of the server desktop PC, named Jotunn, so I dragged the square icon to the right of my PC icon server. Then double-click the Anonymous icon you just added. Below Screen Nameenter the name of the client PC; you will see it in the client Synergy window, where it says Customer Name. Click ALL RIGHTthen click on the Apply to apply your settings and start the server.

At the top of your server PC window, you will see a IP address in bold; in my case it is 192.168.1.11. This series of numbers indicates the location of a PC on the network and your client PC will need to know the server’s IP address to connect. Copy this address into the Server box of the client PC window, as shown above. (The barrier also has a Automatic configuration checkbox you can try, or you can disable it and add the IP address yourself.)

Once you have done that, click on the To start button. The two PCs should then connect and you should be able to use the server PC’s keyboard and mouse on both machines. Simply drag the slider to the edge of your primary computer’s screen and it will switch to your other PC, as if it were the same device. Although you can copy and paste text between your two machines, dragging and dropping files can be a little finicky.

Overall, I found Synergy and Barrier to be much smoother than Mouse Without Borders, which made them a bit more compelling. If you encounter problems, check the log; Barrier asks you to configure the log in its settings, where it will be saved to a file. Synergy displays the log at the bottom of its window, giving you quicker access to any errors that may occur.

ShareMouse: synergistic alternative

ShareMouse is another cross-platform option like Synergy, but it can be used for free. No configuration is required since it automatically detects other ShareMouse computers on the network. However, this level is limited to two computers (and only one screen each).

To unlock additional screens, you can pay for the $99 Personal tier which will add two additional screens. For $149, the Professional tier will let you link up to nine machines and 16 different monitors, and also adds drag-and-drop, clipboard sharing, split view support, and much more.

KVM switch: the hardware option

Before software can easily perform this task, hardware devices called KVM Switches had a similar goal. There are simple KVM switches that act like an A/B switch. You press a button on the device to move your keyboard and mouse from one PC to another.

More expensive models, like those offered by TESmart And CKLcan support multiple monitors, hotkey switching and other advanced features. Many KVM switches have their own quirks, though, so you may need to read a lot of reviews and do some experimenting to determine which KVM switch is best for your use case.

Remote Desktop

It might seem silly to connect remotely to the computer sitting next to you, but it’s also very simple and allows you to control one computer with another’s keyboard and mouse. If all your computers use Windows, then Microsoft’s built-in software Remote Desktop the tool is fantastic. For other platforms, Chrome Remote Desktop is easy to facility and works wonderfully.

There are plenty of other programs in this space, but for most people, one of the solutions above should work well enough that you can toss that extra keyboard into the trash.