Compare · Synergy
A Synergy alternative for Mac
Synergy has been sold for 25 years and covers macOS, Windows and Linux. If your desk is mixed, nothing here covers that spread as well. On an all-Mac desk you are paying for portability you will not use, and giving up native input and full trackpad support to get it.
- Runs on
- macOS, Windows, Linux
- Price
- $15 / 3 computers, $19 / 5, $29 / 15, one-time
What Synergy does better
Desks that mix macOS, Windows and Linux. Nothing else covers that spread as well.
- Windows and Linux on the same desk, which Continuo does not do.
- Cheaper once the desk is large: $29 covers fifteen computers. Continuo Pro covers five, and ten costs $94.
- Twenty-five years of shipping, with a company and support behind it.
The catch
Input is forwarded rather than delivered natively, encryption starts at the Plus tier, and trackpad support stops at scrolling.
- Input is forwarded rather than delivered as native macOS events, which is what the pointer and modifier behaviour ends up feeling like.
- Encryption begins above the $15 entry tier. The vendor FAQ names TLS as something the Plus tier adds, so the entry tier does not list it.
- Trackpad support stops at scrolling. Pinch, rotate and swipe do not cross.
- Reconnecting after the Mac sleeps is documented as needing a workaround rather than simply working.
Pick Continuo instead when
Every machine on the desk is a Mac, and you want native input, full trackpad gestures, and encryption with no tier below it.
Every machine on the desk is a Mac.
Nothing is being paid for Windows and Linux support that will never run. What Continuo spends that on instead is native input, full pinch, rotate and swipe on Pro, and reconnect after sleep as ordinary behaviour.
Nothing unencrypted is going to run on this network.
Continuo has one transport and it is pinned TLS 1.3. There is no tier below it, no password to remember to set, and no setting that turns it off.
Files and folders have to move too.
Synergy's own feature page names no file transfer at all. Continuo drags files across on the free tier, and Pro adds folders, batches and a mounted folder in Finder.
Capability by capability
The same rows as the full table, narrowed to these two.
| Capability | Continuo | Synergy |
|---|---|---|
| Different Apple IDs | Yes | Yes |
| Windows or Linux on the same desk | Macs only | Windows · Linux |
| Installs with no Terminal step | Signed & notarized | Unstated |
| Encrypted, with no way to switch it off | Pinned TLS 1.3 | Plus and above |
| Native input, not a forwarded stream | Yes | No |
| Native trackpad gestures | Pro | Scroll only |
| Reconnects after sleep | Yes | Needs a workaround |
| Drag a file straight to another Mac | Free · one at a time | No |
| Folders and multiple files at once | Pro | No |
| Mount a shared folder from another Mac | Pro · both Macs | No |
| Clipboard over 1 MB | Pro · up to 32 MB | No |
| QuickJump hotkey and switcher | Free | No |
| Copy on Select | Pro | No |
| Pair more than two Macs | Pro | By tier |
| Wake a sleeping Mac | Pro | No |
| Mesh Sleep Sync | Pro | No |
| Keyboard on a locked Mac | Pro | No |
| Price | Launch $29 · Regular $49 | $15–29 once |
| Upgrades | 1 year of new builds | Until end of life |
| No telemetry, no cloud relay for input | Yes | Account |
What was checked: symless.com/synergy and its purchase page: the three personal tiers at $15, $19 and $29, a fourth Business tier with no listed price, and the FAQ's own note that TLS is something Plus adds. Symless has run a newsletter discount in the past, so treat the list prices as a ceiling. Read in August 2026. Where Synergydoes not state a behaviour, the row says so rather than guessing. If something here is out of date, report it and it gets fixed.
Common questions
How do the licences compare on machine count?
Synergy sells by machine count: $15 covers three, $19 five, $29 fifteen. Continuo Pro includes five Macs. If your desk is large and mixed, Synergy covers more machines for less, and this page is not going to pretend otherwise.
Does Synergy encrypt the connection?
Above the entry tier. Its own FAQ lists TLS among the things Plus adds to Lite, so the $15 tier does not include it. Continuo has one transport and it is encrypted at every tier.
Can Synergy send files between machines?
Its own feature page names no file transfer at all. It shares input and the clipboard.