ControllerBuddy vs Recontrol
ControllerBuddy
controllerbuddy.orgRecontrol
recontrol.danneu.comSide by side
| Figure | ControllerBuddy | Recontrol |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 0 |
| Spec score · Controller Mapping Software | 8.8 (#1) | 6.9 (#27) |
| Maker | The website identifies Matteo Hausner as the creator and copyright holder of ControllerBuddy. | Recontrol is built by Dan Neumann, who says he plans to publish its source code on GitHub after it is accepted into the macOS App Store. |
| Purpose | ControllerBuddy maps gamepad inputs for flight simulators, aiming to let users fly without a joystick, keyboard, or mouse. | Recontrol maps gaming controller inputs to mouse and keyboard inputs for games and applications without gamepad support. |
| Support | The project directs bug reports to GitHub Issues and questions to its Discord community. | The maker invites feedback, bug reports, questions, and feature requests by email. |
Plans
In their own words
ControllerBuddy
ControllerBuddy maps gamepad inputs to keyboard and mouse actions or a virtual joystick for flight simulators. Profiles can assign controls through different modes, and an overlay displays the active mode and virtual-axis states. A gamepad-controlled on-screen keyboard supports selecting keys and holding multiple keys at once. The software supports Xbox Controller, DualShock 4, DualSense and other controllers supported by SDLGameControllerDB. Community-maintained profiles are listed for simulators and aircraft, including DCS World and Microsoft Flight Simulator versions 2020 and 2024. ControllerBuddy runs on Windows 10 or 11 (x64) and Linux (x64 or aarch64); its official Flatpak package includes profiles and optional helper scripts for Proton games and DOSBox Staging. The software is free and open-source under GNU GPL v3.0. There are control limits: mode actions must be assigned at Default Mode level and cannot combine multiple buttons, and the two triggers cannot be merged into one rudder axis. It uses rolling releases, with backward compatibility not guaranteed.
Recontrol
Recontrol has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.