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 file transfer 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 Macs, and that is the ceiling.
- Twenty-five years of shipping, with a company and support behind it.
The catch
Encryption starts at the Plus tier, trackpad support stops at scrolling, and files do not cross.
- Encryption begins above the $15 entry tier. Its editions article lists TLS encryption for Plus and Max only.
- Trackpad support stops at scrolling. Pinch, rotate and swipe do not cross.
- Its support FAQ says it shares text and images, not files; file transfer is listed as experimental.
Pick Continuo instead when
Every machine on the desk is a Mac, and you want full trackpad gestures, files that cross, 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 full pinch, rotate and swipe on Pro, waking a sleeping Mac, and logging in at its login window, even with FileVault on, after Restart for Remote Login.
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 support FAQ says it shares text and images, not files. 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 / Linux support | 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 | Unstated |
| Reconnects after sleep | Yes | Unstated |
| Drag & drop files across Macs | Free · one at a time | No |
| Jump-to-Mac hotkey | Free | Plus and up |
| No telemetry, no cloud relay for input | Yes | No relay |
| Native trackpad gestures | Pro | Scroll only |
| Folders and multiple files at once | Pro | No |
| Shared folder in Finder | Pro | No |
| Clipboard over 1 MB | Pro · up to 32 MB | Configurable |
| Copy on Select | Pro | No |
| Pair more than two Macs | Pro | By tier |
| Wake a sleeping Mac | Pro | No |
| Mesh Sleep Sync | Pro | No |
| Lock pointer to one screen | Free | Unstated |
| Lock all Macs together | Pro | No |
| Keyboard on a locked Mac | Pro | Unstated |
| Log in at the login window | Pro · FileVault via Restart for Remote Login | FileVault off |
| Price | $39 once | $15–29 once |
| Upgrades | 1 year of new builds | Until end of life |
What was checked: symless.com/synergy and its purchase page: the three personal tiers at $15, $19 and $29, Business tiers with no listed price, and the editions article listing TLS encryption as Plus and Max only. Symless has run a newsletter discount in the past, so treat the list prices as a ceiling. Read in October 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 editions article lists TLS encryption for Plus and Max only, 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?
Not today. Its support FAQ says it shares text and images on the clipboard, not files, and lists file transfer as experimental.