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Want to find a way to use your iMac as a monitor? While Apple’s target display mode is limited to 2009-2014 iMacs, thankfully there are a few other options for using that beautiful big screen on your iMac as a monitor.

Target Display Mode is Apple’s solution for using an iMac as a monitor with another Mac in a wired configuration. This was a very popular feature for years, but when Apple released the iMac Retina in late 2014, support was dropped.

The good news is that even if you don’t have an iMac older than 8 years that supports Target Display Mode, you can still use your iMac as a monitor with many different options. Let’s take a look at your 5 options…

Use iMac as a Monitor: 5 Solutions

Luna display or Duet display

To get the same functionality that a Mac-to-Mac-enabled target display mode offers (and even to go from PC to Mac and iPad to Mac), Luna Display and Duet Display are two of the best options.

Luna Display requires a $119 Luna Display USB-C dongle, but there is no subscription.

Duet Display doesn’t require any hardware, but starts at $25/year for Duet Air (to get Mac for Mac, PC for Mac, and iPad for Mac support). One advantage here is that Duet Display offers a free trial.

We’ve used both here at and found them to be great products that are updated regularly.

Use your iMac as a monitor with Sidecar

Using an iMac as a Sidecar Monitor

It certainly doesn’t offer Mac-to-Mac support, but if you want to use an iMac as a monitor with an iPad, Sidecar is a great free solution. And it works in a wired or wireless way.

On macOS Monterey or Ventura, click Control Center (the icon with two tablets) in the menu bar > Screen Mirroring > select your iPad. Once connected, under System Preferences/Preferences, you can choose whether the Mac or iPad will be the primary display.

Sidecar has been built into Macs and iPads since macOS Catalina and iPadOS 13. If you haven’t tried Sidecar yet, check out our full guide here:

Airplay for Mac

This feature doesn’t work if you want to expand your iMac or iPad’s desktop space, but you can mirror your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch data directly to your iMac or any other compatible Mac.

However, this requires a newer Mac. Learn more in our full guide:

Pairing your iMac with an external monitor

It may seem obvious, but another option is to connect your iMac to an external monitor and choose which one you want to use as your primary and secondary display.

For an in-depth look at some of the best monitors on the market, check out our guides:

And one affordable 32-inch 4K monitor that matches the M1 iMac aesthetic is the Samsung M8 Smart Monitor.

Target display mode

If you have an older iMac, you can use the target display mode, but it must also be running macOS Catalina or earlier – same for the secondary Mac. Here’s what you need to use your iMac as a monitor with the original solution.

Apple Requirements for iMac 2011-Mid 2014:

The iMac used as the display must be running macOS High Sierra or earlier. The other Mac you’re connecting it to must have been introduced in 2019 or earlier and must be running macOS Catalina or earlier. The cable connecting the two Macs must be Thunderbolt. or Thunderbolt 2 cable.

Requirements for 2009-2010 models to use iMac as a monitor:

The iMac used as the display must be running macOS High Sierra or earlier. The other Mac you’re connecting it to must have been introduced in 2019 or earlier and must be running macOS Catalina or earlier. The cable connecting the two Macs must be Mini DisplayPort. cable.

If you have two Macs that meet these requirements, Apple says:

Make sure your iMac is turned on. Make sure the other Mac is running and signed in with a macOS user account. Connect two computers with an appropriate Mini DisplayPort or Thunderbolt cable.
You can use more than one iMac as a display as long as each iMac uses a Thunderbolt cable to connect directly to a Thunderbolt port on another Mac (not another iMac). Press Command-F2 on your iMac keyboard. You should now see the other Mac’s desktop. To exit target display mode, press Command-F2 again. Either unplug the cable or restart your Mac.

Thank you for reading our guide to using your iMac as a monitor!

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Top image via AstroPad

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