A Multiplicity alternative that runs on a Mac
Stardock's Multiplicity is Windows-only, and the video half of its software KVM works by streaming another PC's desktop into a window on your main PC. EasyKVM covers a Mac and a Windows PC and switches the monitor's own input instead, so whichever computer you hand control to is driving the screen directly. $29.99 once, LAN-only.
What Multiplicity actually does
Multiplicity 4 shares one keyboard and mouse across up to five Windows PCs (ten with Pro), with clipboard, file drag-and-drop, audio from other PCs played through the one in front of you, and AES-256 on the wire. Pro adds the KVM mode and Seamless Display, which turns a spare Windows laptop into an extra monitor over the network. For someone running several Windows boxes that is a lot of software, and it was listed at $29.99, or $49.99 for Pro, at the time of writing. Stardock does not publish prices on the product page, and there are two larger editions above these, so check their store for the current figure.
Two limits matter if you are comparing it with a hardware KVM. There is no macOS version at all; the supported systems are Windows 10 and 11. And the V in its KVM is a network video stream: the remote desktop arrives in a tabbed window on your primary PC, compressed, with the settings page for compression to prove it. Stardock's own comparison against hardware KVM switches makes the same point from the other side, noting that with Multiplicity the display stays connected to the secondary machine.
EasyKVM switches the panel, not the pixels
EasyKVM never streams a picture. The hotkey writes a new input to the monitor over DDC/CI, the channel behind the buttons on the front of the display, and the screen now shows the other computer's real output at full resolution, refresh rate, and HDR. Keyboard and mouse move with it, system audio follows in both directions, and the clipboard stays shared. Typical keypress latency on a LAN is under 50 ms, and nothing but the license check leaves your network.
EasyKVM vs Multiplicity at a glance
| EasyKVM | Multiplicity 4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Runs on macOS | Yes (Mac & Windows) | No, Windows 10/11 only |
| How the screen changes | Monitor input switches (DDC/CI), native output | Remote desktop streamed into a window |
| Share keyboard & mouse | Yes (hotkey handoff) | Yes (edge crossing or hotkey) |
| Audio follows control | Yes, both directions | Audio from other PCs plays on the primary PC |
| Shared clipboard | Yes | Yes |
| File transfer | No | Yes |
| Computers | 2 (one pair) | 5, or 10 with Pro |
| Price | $29.99 once | Listed at $29.99, video mode needs Pro at $49.99 |
Which should you pick?
- All-Windows desk, several PCs, and you want file transfer → Multiplicity, which does more of that than EasyKVM does.
- You want a spare laptop to act as an extra display → Multiplicity Pro. EasyKVM has nothing like Seamless Display.
- A Mac anywhere in the pair → EasyKVM, since Multiplicity has no Mac client.
- One monitor shared by two computers, and you care about full resolution and refresh rate → EasyKVM, because a switched input is not a compressed stream.
- On streaming versus switching in general: KVM vs remote desktop.
- See also: Synergy alternative · Barrier alternative · ShareMouse alternative · Deskflow alternative · Logitech Flow alternative · Mouse Without Borders alternative · BetterDisplay vs EasyKVM.