Comparison · 2 min read · facts checked
Screen Sharing, which comes with macOS, shows the other Mac's whole screen inside one window. Wormhole opens a single window from the other Mac as a window of its own here, with its own Dock icon, and needs the app on both Macs.
Screen Sharing is already on every Mac, so it is the first thing to try. The question is whether you want the other Mac's screen, or one of its windows. Every fact about Screen Sharing below comes from Apple's Mac User Guide, checked on 2 November 2026.
How do they compare?
| Wormhole | Screen Sharing | |
|---|---|---|
| What you see | One window from the other Mac, as a window of its own | The other Mac's screen; with several displays, you pick one |
| Several remote windows at once | Yes, each its own window | One screen per connection |
| Dock icon and ⌘Tab | Each remote window has its own | The Screen Sharing app's |
| Where it comes from | A download, on both Macs | Comes with macOS, in Applications › Utilities |
| Requirements | macOS 14 Sonoma or later, Apple silicon or Intel | Screen Sharing turned on on the Mac you connect to |
| Signing in to the other Mac | Pair once with a six-digit code on both screens | A user name and password, if asked |
| Finding the other Mac | On your network, or by IP address or hostname | On your network, or by hostname or Apple Account |
| Password managers and hidden windows | Never offered | Whatever is on the screen is shown |
| Cost | A one-time license for the Macs you sit at (pricing) | Included with macOS |
When is Screen Sharing the better fit?
When you need the whole machine: a setting in System Settings, the login window, or a Mac you have never set anything up on. It is built in, it asks for nothing beyond turning it on, and Apple's High Performance mode can give you one or two virtual displays.
When is a window better than the screen?
When the other Mac is somewhere you keep work running — a Mac mini doing a long build, a Studio holding the big project — and you only need one app from it next to everything on this Mac. A remote window in Wormhole is moved, resized and switched to like a local one, at your display's full resolution, and the rest of the other Mac's desktop stays out of the way.
Where to read more
- How to set up Wormhole on two Macs.
- Everything that does not work yet, or works differently on purpose.