Beam vs Jump Desktop
Updated October 2026 · 5 min read
Working on your Mac, or keeping an eye on it?
Jump Desktop is a mature remote desktop app. It reaches Macs and Windows PCs, gives you a precise pointer and a shared clipboard, and is built for doing real work on the far machine. Beam only does Mac to iPhone and iPad, and it is built around watching: your screen and sound on the phone, one window if you like, in Picture in Picture while you do something else. When you need to step in, you can click, drag, scroll and type from the stream.
Side by side
Beam vs Jump Desktop
| Beam | Jump Desktop | |
|---|---|---|
| Made for | Watching your Mac, stepping in when needed | Working on a remote computer |
| Computers it reaches | Mac | Mac and Windows |
| Pointer and clicks | Touch: tap, right-click, drag, scroll | Full pointer with precision mode |
| Keyboard | Live keyboard with Mac keys and modifiers | Full keyboard support |
| Clipboard and files | No | Clipboard sharing |
| Mac audio on the phone | Yes | Yes |
| Up to 120 fps | Yes, when the phone and Mac display both run at 120 Hz | Yes, on ProMotion iPhone and iPad |
| Away from home | With Unlimited, over your Tailscale network | Yes, through Jump Desktop Connect |
| Account | None | Sign-in for automatic setup |
| Price | Free tier, $7.99 once | $14.99 once on iPhone and iPad |
| Source code | Open source (AGPL-3.0) | Closed |
Jump Desktop details come from its App Store listing as of October 2026. Prices are US prices and can change.
Where Jump Desktop is the better pick
If you are going to spend an hour editing a document, filing email or working in a terminal on the far machine, use a real remote desktop. Jump gives you a precise pointer, copy and paste between the devices, Windows support and plenty of settings for the way you like to work. Beam has none of the clipboard or file features, and it never will reach a PC.
Where Beam is the better pick
Most of the time people reach for Beam, they are not working. They are watching a render finish, a download crawl, a match, a film, a livestream, a build log. Beam is shaped around that. You can lock the stream to one window, even one hidden behind others on the Mac. You can crop to a region and pinch to zoom. The stream keeps playing in Picture in Picture while you text someone. A controller paired with your phone reaches the Mac as a real gamepad, so Mac games work from the couch.
Setup is two free apps and one pairing code, with no account. And because Beam and Beacon are open source, you can read exactly what they do with your screen.
What control in Beam looks like
Turn on click mode and the stream becomes a touch surface for the Mac (this needs Beam 3.4 and Beacon 1.7 or later):
- Tap to click. Tap twice to double-click, three times to triple-click.
- Touch and hold, then lift to right-click. A two-finger tap works too.
- Touch and hold, then move to drag: move a window, select text, or drag a file to another folder on the Mac.
- Slide two fingers to scroll.
- Pinch to zoom in, and slide one finger to look around while zoomed.
The live keyboard types into whatever app has focus, with a row of Mac keys above it: esc, tab, the arrows, the function keys and ⌃ ⌥ ⇧ ⌘. In Beacon you can also build a bar of up to eight buttons for shortcuts, media keys and recorded macros.
That covers a lot: answering a dialog, moving a window out of the way, scrolling a page, typing a quick reply. What Beam does not do is move files or clipboard contents between your phone and your Mac. Dragging a file in click mode moves it around on the Mac, the same as dragging it with a trackpad.
The network path
At home, Beam finds your Mac on your Wi-Fi and the stream goes straight between the two devices. There is no Beam account and no Beam server anywhere in the path.
Away from home, Beam Unlimited uses your own Tailscale network. Tailscale tries to connect your phone and Mac directly. When your networks will not allow that, it sends the traffic through one of Tailscale's relay servers instead. The relay cannot read it, because Tailscale encrypts everything between your two devices, but it is a third party in the path and the stream is usually slower that way. Beam shows a small badge with the route you got. The away-from-home guide explains the badge and how to get a direct connection.
Jump Desktop has its own system for this, Jump Desktop Connect, which also connects directly where it can and relays when it cannot.
A quick way to decide
- Keeping an eye on a long job, a film or a livestream from another room: Beam.
- Clicking through a dialog, scrolling a page, typing a quick answer: either. Beam does it from the same stream you were watching.
- Playing a Mac game with a controller: Beam.
- An afternoon of real work, copying things back and forth, or reaching a Windows PC: Jump Desktop.
Plenty of people keep both. They do different jobs.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Beam and Jump Desktop?
Jump is a full remote desktop for Mac and Windows. Beam streams your Mac to your iPhone or iPad for watching, with touch controls for when you need to step in.
Can Beam control my Mac from my iPhone?
Yes. Click mode gives you click, double-click, right-click, drag and scroll, and the live keyboard types into the Mac. There is no file transfer or clipboard sync.
Does Beam send my screen through a server?
Beam runs no servers. At home the stream stays on your Wi-Fi. Away from home it goes over your Tailscale network, which sometimes uses an encrypted Tailscale relay.
How much do Beam and Jump Desktop cost?
Beam is free to start and $7.99 once for Unlimited. Jump Desktop is a one-time purchase, currently $14.99 on iPhone and iPad.
