# Syncthing vs Unison

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Syncthing

| Attribute | Syncthing | Unison |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 56 (58% (medium)) | 37.9 (59% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 16 | 5 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 175 | 0 |
| adoption.github_stars | 89,382 | 5,528 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"Syncthing automatically synchronizes files between multiple computers in real-time while encrypting all communication and storing data only on your own devices. It operates without central servers, giving you complete privacy and control over where your data is stored and who can access it. It is indexed under File Sync.","source":"https://syncthing.net","question":"What is Syncthing?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Syncthing is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the MPL-2.0 licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://syncthing.net","question":"Is Syncthing free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Syncthing supports the web, Windows, macOS, Linux and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://syncthing.net","question":"What platforms does Syncthing support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Syncthing can be deployed on-premise and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://syncthing.net","question":"Can Syncthing be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Syncthing is published under the MPL-2.0 licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing","question":"Is Syncthing open source?","confidence":0.95}]` | `[{"answer":"Unison is an open-source utility that maintains two replicas of files and directories across separate hosts or storage devices, automatically propagating non-conflicting changes while detecting conflicting updates. It works over internet connections including slow links, and allows offline access to already-synchronized data. It is indexed under File Sync.","source":"https://github.com/pricing","question":"What is Unison?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Unison offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://github.com/pricing","question":"Is Unison free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Unison supports Windows, macOS, Linux and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://github.com/pricing","question":"What platforms does Unison support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Unison can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://github.com/pricing","question":"Can Unison be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Unison is published under the GPL-3.0 licence, a copyleft licence, so check its terms before embedding it in a closed-source product. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/bcpierce00/unison","question":"Is Unison open source?","confidence":0.95}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"on_prem":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | Syncthing automatically synchronizes files between multiple computers in real-time while encrypting all communication and storing data only on your own devices. It operates without central servers, giving you complete privacy and control over where your data is stored and who can access it. | Unison maintains multiple copies of files and directories on different hosts or disks, automatically propagating non-conflicting changes between replicas. It detects conflicting updates, works offline after synchronization, and runs as a user-level program without requiring kernel modifications or elevated privileges. |
| features.capabilities | `{"pricing_model":"free_open_source","deployment_model":"p2p_client","peer_to_peer_p2p_network_routing":true,"aws_s3_azure_blob_external_mounts":false,"active_directory_ldap_identity_sync":false,"self_hosted_linux_docker_deployment":true,"client_server_architecture_cloud_host":false,"end_to_end_encryption_keys_in_transit":true}` | `{"pricing_model":"free_open_source","deployment_model":"self_hosted","peer_to_peer_p2p_network_routing":true,"self_hosted_linux_docker_deployment":true,"block_level_delta_sync_transfer_speed":true,"client_server_architecture_cloud_host":false,"version_history_and_conflict_resolution":true}` |
| language.primary | Go | OCaml |
| license.spdx | MPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| market.availability | - | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"web":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","summary":"Free and open source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://syncthing.net","retrievedAt":"2026-08-21T12:45:46.864Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://github.com/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-10-14T11:28:28.015Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.cadence_days | 7 | 132 |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing/releases/tag/v2.1.7-rc.2","date":"2026-10-13T07:31:50Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.1.7-rc.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing/releases/tag/v2.1.7-rc.1","date":"2026-10-08T07:15:17Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.1.7-rc.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing/releases/tag/v2.1.6","date":"2026-10-06T06:08:27Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.1.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing/releases/tag/v2.1.6-rc.4","date":"2026-09-30T07:55:44Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.1.6-rc.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing/releases/tag/v2.1.6-rc.3","date":"2026-09-22T13:13:35Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.1.6-rc.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing/releases/tag/v2.1.6-rc.1","date":"2026-09-15T12:18:28Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.1.6-rc.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing/releases/tag/v2.1.5","date":"2026-09-08T07:35:00Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.1.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing/releases/tag/v2.1.4-rc.2","date":"2026-08-24T19:15:28Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.1.4-rc.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing/releases/tag/v2.1.4-rc.1","date":"2026-08-19T10:39:46Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.1.4-rc.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing/releases/tag/v2.1.3","date":"2026-08-05T13:06:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.1.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing/releases/tag/v2.1.3-rc.3","date":"2026-08-03T22:03:26Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.1.3-rc.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing/releases/tag/v2.1.3-rc.2","date":"2026-07-28T06:32:24Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.1.3-rc.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing/releases/tag/v2.1.3-rc.1","date":"2026-07-21T05:03:07Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.1.3-rc.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing/releases/tag/v2.1.2","date":"2026-07-08T13:43:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.1.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing/releases/tag/v2.1.2-rc.4","date":"2026-06-26T06:04:03Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.1.2-rc.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing/releases/tag/v2.1.2-rc.3","date":"2026-06-23T10:04:39Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.1.2-rc.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing/releases/tag/v2.1.2-rc.2","date":"2026-06-13T06:47:21Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.1.2-rc.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing/releases/tag/v2.1.2-rc.1","date":"2026-06-12T07:20:25Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.1.2-rc.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing/releases/tag/v2.1.1","date":"2026-06-02T11:50:30Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing/releases/tag/v2.1.1-rc.1","date":"2026-05-25T13:35:09Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.1.1-rc.1"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/bcpierce00/unison/releases/tag/v2.54.0","date":"2026-05-01T00:33:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.54.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/bcpierce00/unison/releases/tag/v2.53.8","date":"2025-11-05T00:07:47Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.53.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/bcpierce00/unison/releases/tag/v2.53.7","date":"2024-11-05T13:41:24Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.53.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/bcpierce00/unison/releases/tag/v2.53.6","date":"2024-11-05T00:44:16Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.53.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/bcpierce00/unison/releases/tag/v2.53.5","date":"2024-05-07T01:32:03Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.53.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/bcpierce00/unison/releases/tag/v2.53.4","date":"2024-02-19T17:52:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.53.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/bcpierce00/unison/releases/tag/v2.53.3","date":"2023-04-28T00:28:36Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.53.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/bcpierce00/unison/releases/tag/v2.53.2","date":"2023-03-20T17:39:53Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.53.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/bcpierce00/unison/releases/tag/v2.53.1","date":"2023-03-19T12:42:03Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.53.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/bcpierce00/unison/releases/tag/v2.53.0","date":"2022-11-07T11:34:26Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.53.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/bcpierce00/unison/releases/tag/v2.52.1","date":"2022-05-08T12:26:58Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.52.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/bcpierce00/unison/releases/tag/v2.52.0","date":"2022-03-12T19:12:50Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.52.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/bcpierce00/unison/releases/tag/v2.51.5","date":"2021-12-18T15:51:34Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.51.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/bcpierce00/unison/releases/tag/v2.51.4","date":"2021-06-24T14:50:25Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.51.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/bcpierce00/unison/releases/tag/v2.51.3","date":"2020-10-21T13:15:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.51.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/bcpierce00/unison/releases/tag/v2.51.2","date":"2018-01-27T21:19:26Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.51.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/bcpierce00/unison/releases/tag/v2.48.15v4","date":"2017-12-18T12:25:51Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.48.15v4"},{"url":"https://github.com/bcpierce00/unison/releases/tag/v2.51.0","date":"2017-11-24T21:50:05Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.51.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/bcpierce00/unison/releases/tag/2.48.4","date":"2016-09-29T12:39:45Z","type":"stable","version":"2.48.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/bcpierce00/unison/releases/tag/2.48.3","date":"2016-09-29T12:37:20Z","type":"stable","version":"2.48.3"}]` |
| security.scorecard | 5.8 | 4.7 |
| security.trust_center | - | https://github.com/security |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":3,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fsyncthing%2Fsyncthing&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":"HIGH"}` | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=openbsd&package_name=net%2Funison%2C-gui&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (File Sync)

| Capability | Syncthing | Unison |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Capabilities** |  |  |
| Deployment model | P2p client | Self hosted |
| Peer to peer p2p network routing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Client server architecture cloud host | ✗ | ✗ |
| Block level delta sync transfer speed | - | ✓ |
| Self hosted linux docker deployment | ✓ | ✓ |
| Synology qnap nas hardware integration | - | - |
| Aws s3 azure blob external mounts | ✗ | - |
| Active directory ldap identity sync | ✗ | - |
| Version history and conflict resolution | - | ✓ |
| End to end encryption keys in transit | ✓ | - |
| SOC2 type ii | - | - |
| ISO 27001 | - | - |
| Pricing model | Free open source | Free open source |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T20:08:29.810Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*