DeskStitch vs Synergy
Synergy has been the cross-platform software KVM for two decades and now sells one-time licenses again. If a Mac or a Linux box is on your desk, Synergy is the answer. If it is two Windows PCs with mismatched screens, read on.
Synergy 3 places screens on a grid and switches at pixel edges, like every other tool in this category. Its strengths are elsewhere: Windows, macOS and Linux in one product, up to 15 computers on the Max tier, TLS-secured links and a large user base.
DeskStitch is deliberately narrow: two Windows PCs, screens placed by their real physical size, a pairing code instead of accounts.
| DeskStitch | Synergy 3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Screen layout | Physical desk map in millimetres, read from each monitor | Screen grid, pixel edges |
| 4K next to 1440p | Edges line up 1:1, same cursor speed | Pixel edges, dead zones with mixed sizes |
| Number of PCs | Two: one host, one client | Lite 3, Plus 5, Max 15 |
| Platforms | Windows 10 and 11, x64 and ARM64 | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Price | 29 USD once, 7-day trial | Lite 15 EUR, Plus 19 EUR, Max 29 EUR, one-time |
| Account | None, offline key | Symless account for the license |
| Setup | Wizard, pairing code, PCs find each other | Server and clients, computers named and arranged |
| Encryption | AES-256-GCM from the pairing code | TLS |
| Clipboard | Text and images | Yes |
Keep Synergy if
- any PC runs macOS or Linux;
- you need more than two computers;
- you want a product with a long history and a company behind it.
Switch to DeskStitch if
- two Windows PCs, screens of different resolutions or a portrait monitor;
- you would rather drag a desk map than name and arrange computers;
- no account, no telemetry, a paid product with support.
In one sentence
Same price bracket, opposite priorities: Synergy is wide, DeskStitch is exact.
Try it on your own desk
Free for 7 days on both PCs, nothing to sign up for. If it does not earn its place, uninstall it.
Facts checked September 2026 from the vendors’ own pages. Spotted a change? Tell us and we will correct it.