We study the properties of a driven cavity coupled to several qubits in the framework of a dissipative Jaynes-Cummings model. We show that the rotating wave approximation (RWA) allows to reduce the description of original driven model to an effective Jaynes-Cummings model with strong coupling between photons and qubits. Two semi-analytical approaches are developed to describe the steady state of this system. We first treat the weak dissipation limit where we derive perturbative series of rate equations that converge to the exact RWA steady-state except near the cavity resonance. This approach exactly describes the multi-photon resonances in the system. Then in the strong dissipation limit we introduce a semiclassical approximation which allows to reproduce the mean spin-projections and cavity state. This approach reproduces the RWA exactly in the strong dissipation limit but provides good qualitative trends even in more quantum regimes. We then focus on quantum synchronization of qubits through their coupling to the cavity. We demonstrate the entangled steady state of a pair of qubits synchronized through their interaction with a driven cavity in presence of dissipation and decoherence. Finally we discuss synchronization of a larger number of qubits.