Hydra vs ThinLinc
Hydra
loginvsi.com
ThinLinc
cendio.comSide by side
| Figure | Hydra | ThinLinc |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $1/mo | $5.50/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 6 | 13 |
| Spec score · Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Software | 9.1 (#2) | 8.7 (#5) |
| Deployment model | Hydra can be deployed from Azure Marketplace or manually with an Azure custom template and service principals, including Azure Government Cloud. | The server converts a regular Linux distribution into a centralized remote-desktop system and can run standalone or in a cluster. |
| Founded | 2012 | 1992 |
| Headquarters | Boston, Massachusetts, and Amsterdam, Netherlands | Linköping, Sweden |
| Licence | The opened official and documentation pages describe Hydra as a commercial Azure-deployed product and do not state an open-source licence. | ThinLinc is proprietary software licensed per concurrent user; its EULA separately identifies third-party open-source components and their own licences. |
| Rating on Capterra | 0.0 out of 5 from 0 reviews. | 4.8 out of 5 from 6 reviews |
| Rating on GetApp | 0.0 out of 5 from 0 reviews. | 4.8 out of 5 from 6 reviews |
| What it does | Hydra provides a management layer for Azure Virtual Desktop in cloud, on-premises and hybrid deployments plus Windows 365 Cloud PCs. | ThinLinc is a Linux remote-desktop server that centralizes Linux desktops and applications for access from remote devices. |
Plans
Hydra
- Hydra Community EditionPriced on request
- Hydra Annual Enterprise PlanPriced on request
- Hydra Community EditionFree
- Hydra for Windows 365$1 a month
- Hydra for AVD$5 a month
- Hydra Annual Enterprise PlanPrice not published
ThinLinc
- FreeFree
- Standard$122 a year
- Premium$168 a year
- Community licenseFree
- FreeFree
- ThinLinc Standard (500+ users)$66 a year
- ThinLinc Premium (500+ users)$91 a year
- ThinLinc Standard (11–49 users)$103 a year
- ThinLinc Standard (1–10 users)$122 a year
- ThinLinc Premium (11–49 users)$142 a year
In their own words
Hydra
Hydra provides a management layer for Azure Virtual Desktop and Windows 365 environments. For AVD, it can scale capacity and manage power according to usage, helping reduce idle compute costs; image lifecycle management includes one-click rollback. An optional Hydra Agent measures session-host performance and shows user processes on a session or host. Documented integrations include FSLogix, Hybrid Active Directory, Microsoft Entra and Intune. Hydra can be deployed from the Azure Marketplace into an Azure resource group and accessed through a web portal. It can use a least-privilege Azure service principal, with activity auditable through Azure Activity Logs and Microsoft Graph. Tenant isolation uses Azure RBAC boundaries and tenant-specific credentials. The free Community Edition has limited tenants and host pools. Hydra for Windows 365 is listed at $1 a month, and Hydra for AVD at $5 a month, both billed month-to-month. Login VSI states that it is ISO 27001 certified and GDPR compliant.
ThinLinc
ThinLinc centrally hosts Linux applications and desktops in a data center or cloud, then makes them available for remote access from Windows, macOS, Linux, or a web browser. Its server feature list includes high availability, fail-over, clustering, load balancing, multiple sessions per user, and single-application publishing. Authentication options include passwords, one-time passwords, public keys, smart cards, and Kerberos tickets. Traffic passes through SSH tunnels and TLS, with encrypted pixels sent to clients. ThinLinc includes TigerVNC, noVNC, OpenSSH, CUPS, and PulseAudio. The maker describes the software as suitable for demanding EDA and CAD workloads, including access from different locations. The server allows three concurrent graphical sessions by default; a separate free license file raises this to ten concurrent users. ThinLinc offers free time-limited evaluation licenses. Its free plan is listed at free, for 10 concurrent users. Standard is $122 a year per user and Premium is $168 a year per user; both are billed in advance for 12 months and cover 1–10 users.