Synergy, Barrier and Input Leap alternatives for Mac and Windows, compared
Synergy, Barrier, Input Leap and Deskflow come from the same code and share one idea: a keyboard and mouse that move between computers that each keep their own screen. Around them sit paid tools for Mac and Windows and a few free ones that only run on Windows. This page puts all of them in one table, with the maintenance status checked in September 2026, and then picks one for each kind of desk.
Barrier vs Input Leap vs Deskflow
The three free forks are where most people start, and their status has changed more than their names. Barrier forked the old Synergy 1 code. Its last release, v2.4.0, came out in November 2021. Input Leap forked Barrier in 2021 and took over from it. Its last release, v3.0.3, came out in June 2025, a maintainer wrote in May 2026 that they would not continue with the project, and the repository was archived (read-only) in July 2026.
Deskflow is the one still moving. It is the open-source upstream that Synergy is built on, GPL-2.0, with v1.26.0 released in February 2026 and commits going in this month. It runs on Windows, macOS, Linux and FreeBSD. If you are looking for an Input Leap alternative that keeps the same model, Deskflow is it.
The whole field in one table
"Maintained" reflects each project's own site or repository, status checked September 2026. Prices marked "listed at" come from the vendor's shop at the time of writing and may have changed. "No" under audio means the tool's own feature list has no audio sharing.
| Tool | Mac | Windows | Linux | Price | Maintained (status checked September 2026) | How you switch | Audio follows | Switches a shared monitor's input |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input Leap | Yes | Yes | Yes | Free, open source | No. Archived July 2026, last release June 2025 | Both | No | No |
| Deskflow | Yes | Yes | Yes, and FreeBSD | Free, open source (GPL-2.0) | Yes. v1.26.0 in February 2026 | Both (hotkeys set in the server config) | No | No |
| Barrier | Yes | Yes | Yes | Free, open source | No. Last release November 2021 | Both | No | No |
| Synergy | Yes | Yes | Yes | Paid, one-time. Listed at €15 (Lite) to €29 (Max) | Yes. Synergy 3.6 releases in 2026 | Screen edge; hotkeys in Plus and Max | No | No |
| ShareMouse | Yes | Yes | No | Free edition for personal use. Paid editions one-time, listed at $99.95 (Standard) and $149.95 (Pro) | Yes. Version 7 is current | Both (a jump hotkey per display) | No | Pro edition, experimental, per its docs |
| Mouse Without Borders | No | Yes | No | Free, part of Microsoft PowerToys | Yes. PowerToys release in August 2026 | Both (Ctrl+Alt+number) | No | No |
| Multiplicity | No | Yes | No | Paid, one-time. Listed at $29.99, Pro $49.99 | Yes. 4.2 beta in July 2026 | Both | Other PCs' audio plays on the main PC | No. Its KVM mode streams the other PC's desktop into a window |
| Input Director | No | Yes | No | Free for personal, non-commercial use | Yes. v2.4 in March 2026 | Both | No | No |
| EasyKVM | Yes (macOS 13+) | Yes (10/11) | No | $29.99 one-time, 3-day trial | Yes | Hotkey | Yes, both directions | Yes, over DDC/CI |
Links: Synergy · ShareMouse · Mouse Without Borders · Multiplicity · Input Director. Most of these tools support more than two computers; EasyKVM pairs exactly two.
Pick by setup
- A screen per computer, and you want it free → Deskflow. It is maintained, runs on Mac, Windows and Linux, and does both edge crossing and hotkeys. On a desk that is Windows only, Mouse Without Borders is the simpler install. If you run Input Leap or Barrier today, Deskflow is where the active work is.
- A screen per computer, and you want a hotkey with the audio following → EasyKVM, $29.99 once, with the monitor swap turned off in Settings. One key moves keyboard, mouse, system audio and clipboard, and control never moves because the pointer touched an edge. If you only need the hotkey and not the audio, Deskflow's hotkeys do that for free. On a Windows-only desk, Multiplicity plays the other PCs' audio through the main PC.
- One shared monitor → EasyKVM. The same hotkey switches the monitor's input over DDC/CI and moves keyboard, mouse and audio with it. ShareMouse Professional can also switch a shared display's input over DDC, which its own documentation calls experimental. The free route is a DDC/CI script for the monitor next to Deskflow for the keyboard and mouse.
- Head-to-head pages: Synergy alternative · Barrier alternative · Deskflow alternative · ShareMouse alternative · Mouse Without Borders alternative · Multiplicity alternative · Logitech Flow alternative · BetterDisplay vs EasyKVM.