Software Alternatives & Reviews

Guacamole VS Synergy

Compare Guacamole VS Synergy and see what are their differences

Guacamole logo Guacamole

Access your computers from anywhere. Because the Guacamole client is an HTML5 web application, use of your computers is not tied to any one device or location. As long as you have access to a web browser, you have access to your machines.

Synergy logo Synergy

Cross-platform software for sharing your mouse and keyboard between multiple computers
  • Guacamole Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-09-29
  • Synergy Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-05

Synergy is a software application developed by Symless. It is used for sharing a keyboard and mouse between multiple computers, and is useful in situations where several PCs are used together, with a monitor connected to each, but are to be controlled by one user. The user needs only one keyboard and mouse on the desk — similar to a KVM switch without the video.

Partly open source and partly closed source, the open source components are released under the terms of the GNU General Public License, which is free software. The first version of Synergy was created on May 13, 2001, by Chris Schoeneman and worked with the X Window System only. Synergy now supports Windows, macOS, Linux, and other Unix-like operating systems.

Once the program is installed, users can move the mouse "off" the side of their desktop on one computer, and the mouse pointer will appear on the desktop of another computer. Key presses will be delivered to whichever computer the mouse-pointer is located in. This makes it possible to control several machines as easily as if they were a single multi-monitor computer. The clipboard and even screensavers can be synchronized.

The program is implemented as a server which defines which screen-edges lead to which machines, and one or more clients, which connect to the server to offer the use of their desktops. The keyboard and mouse are connected to the server machine.

Guacamole videos

access EVERYTHING from your web browser!! (Linux and Windows Desktop, SSH) // Guacamole Install

More videos:

  • Review - Chipotle Guacamole Vs. Homemade Chipotle Guacamole

Synergy videos

Review - Synergy by Symless - Multi Machine Network Control Software

More videos:

  • Review - Symless Synergy Review - Mac (Keyboard & Mouse Sharing)

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Guacamole and Synergy)
Remote Desktop
58 58%
42% 42
Mouse Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Remote PC Access
33 33%
67% 67
Remote Control
100 100%
0% 0

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Guacamole and Synergy

Guacamole Reviews

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Synergy Reviews

Top spacedesk Alternatives & Similar Software (2020)
Synergy is yet another software that lets you work on separate computers with the same input devices. It helps you save all the clutter caused by the cables of a traditional KVM. What’s more, it works even when the computers are working on separate operating systems. This feature makes it stand out from Spacedesk. For Synergy to function, you’ll need the systems to run on...

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Synergy should be more popular than Guacamole. It has been mentiond 281 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Guacamole mentions (137)

  • Looking for a way to remote in to K's of raspberry pi's...
    Remote access for 10 people / end user access = Apache guacamole https://guacamole.apache.org/ - centralises access and audit and levels of access - MFA - HTML5 so all the enduser needs is a modern OS. Source: 5 months ago
  • Start your server remotely
    I use wakeonlan for all of my machines, and configure Guacamole to push the WOL packet, delay 30-300 seconds (depending on machine) and then give me a terminal session to the server. Source: 5 months ago
  • Looking for a way to remote in to K's of raspberry pi's...
    Setup Guacamole. It handles SSH, VNC, and RDP via HTML5. Works fine with LDAP or even Active Directory authentication. Apache Guacamole - https://guacamole.apache.org/ I think you can preload a database with connections also so you could likely automate most of this away. Source: 5 months ago
  • List of your reverse proxied services
    Guacamole - To access Windows hosts via RDP. Source: 5 months ago
  • Virtual display on Linux
    Use a vnc/rdp tool with a web interface (like https://guacamole.apache.org/) to access your remote host. Source: 6 months ago
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Synergy mentions (281)

  • Hrvach/Deskhop: Fast Desktop Switching Device
    I use a software called Synergy. https://symless.com/synergy I have one keyboard and mouse connected to one "host" machine, and two machines connected as clients. Sometimes if the host machine bogs a bit (like running a build or something) then the clients will have some latency but I've used this setup for gaming and work for two years and it's been pretty good. My only complaint (about my personal setup, not the... - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Hrvach/Deskhop: Fast Desktop Switching Device
    I’ve been using a software solution for this for over a decade. It’s called Synergy (https://symless.com/synergy) and it is fast - switches instantly over wifi and also works across Windows/Mac/Linux. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Hrvach/Deskhop: Fast Desktop Switching Device
    Synergy works well for this purely in software. Unfortunately it's not free or open source, but it's relatively inexpensive. https://symless.com/synergy. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Help me create a seamless LAN with a WAP on the end of a switch
    I want to be able to do things like Synergy, Steam Link, Unified Remote, and Media Servers between any of these devices, with as little added latency as possible (especially important for steam link). Source: 5 months ago
  • Linux VNC viewer not displaying MacOS with multiple desktops (single monitor)
    i've got several fedora linux machines running and sharing their monitors via synergy (https://symless.com/synergy) , all controlled by the keyboard/mouse on the primary synergy server. Source: 5 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Guacamole and Synergy, you can also consider the following products

AnyDesk - AnyDesk is the world's most comfortable remote desktop application. Access all your programs, documents and files from anywhere, without having to entrust your data to a cloud service.

Barrier - Barrier is a cross-platform software for sharing your mouse and keyboard between multiple computers...

TeamViewer - TeamViewer lets you establish a connection to any PC or server within just a few seconds.

Input Director - Control multiple windows systems with one keyboard/mouse. Share a keyboard and mouse across multiple windows system.

Remmina - Remmina is a remote desktop client written in GTK+, aiming to be useful for system administrators and travellers, who need to work with lots of remote computers in front of either large monitors or tiny netbooks.

DisplayFusion - DisplayFusion will make your multi-monitor life much easier.