Compare

Three ways to put your Mac on an iPad.

Screen streamers, display extenders, and WorkPane solve different problems. Here's which one solves yours.

Whole-screen remote desktop
Jump Desktop, Parsec, Chrome Remote Desktop. Your entire desktop as one video.
Display extension
Sidecar, Luna Display. The iPad becomes another monitor for the Mac at your desk.
Per-window streaming
WorkPane. Each Mac window becomes an iPad window of its own.

Side by side

What you get	Screen streamer	Display extension	WorkPane
On the iPad	One video of the whole desktop¹	One more display²	Each window, as an iPad window
Windows behave as native iPad windows	✕ No	✕ No	✓ Yes · Stage Manager
Quality follows the window you're using	✕ No, one stream for everything	n/a	✓ Yes · 60 fps where you work
Network path	Vendor relay or direct¹	Cable or same room²	Your own network, or your VPN
Account required	Usually¹	Apple ID	None
Host platforms	Mac, Windows, Linux¹	Mac only	Mac only
Price model	Free, subscription, or one-time¹	Built in / one-time²	Free during the open beta

¹ Checked 2026-07-08 against the public documentation and pricing pages for Jump Desktop (one-time purchase; direct RDP and VNC connections need no account, its Fluid protocol uses the vendor's relay over the internet), Parsec (free personal tier plus the Warp subscription; sessions travel the vendor's network or connect directly), and Chrome Remote Desktop (free; Google account required; hosts on Mac, Windows, and Linux through Google's infrastructure). ² Checked 2026-07-08 against Apple's Sidecar documentation: both devices signed in with the same Apple Account, wireless within about 10 meters, or a cable.

When you should use something else

Want one big extra display? Use Sidecar; it's built into macOS.

Need to reach a Windows or Linux machine, or connect from anywhere with no setup at all? A whole-screen remote desktop is the right tool today.

Want your Mac's windows as iPad windows, on your own network? That's WorkPane.

If it's the third one, you're in the right place.

Join the Beta

Free during the open beta · No account