I can have a real and a paper account TWS open at the same time on the same computer. I use the automatically updated version for the real account and one of the downloadable versions for the paper account. However, I cannot have a real account TWS open on one computer and a paper account open on another computer? Is there a way to have a real and a paper version open on two different computers? I use the classic version. Can you on mosaic have different accounts open on the same TWS?
I think you need to connect to the same "connector" or whatever it's called... I remember TWS had(has) such a standalone part. This has to run somewhere in your network (can also be at somewhere remote, like on a VPS), and other computers can connect to and go thru it to the IB servers... But: this knowledge is from many years ago. I don't know the current situation with TWS and its such standalone components... Maybe you need to activate API usage, and then connect to the computer where that API usage is enabled to accept clients...
The thing is, you basically only need one TWS open. What you need for other accounts (paper and real additional accounts) is simply an interface to enter orders and nothing else. Yes, API is probably the solution.
What price are you talking of? Do you have to pay to get basic quotes (Level-1 quotes)? At any broker, Level-1 should be free of cost, IMO.
%% I do something like that; except much more reliable than any computers=i use a college rule notebook. I've used more than 2 before but less is more. But most likely, there is a way to do that
https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/pricing/research-news-marketdata.php IB dosn't charge monthly for the platform, but a few $ for real data level 1....