Remote desktop software lets one person see and control another computer over the internet, for support calls, unattended fleet access or reaching your own machine.
This guide ranks thirteen products on ninety-day setup, the real price as users and devices grow, exit, independence from partners, and which buyer each suits.
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vendor. How that works.
In short
What remote desktop software does
Remote desktop software shows and controls another computer's screen over a network, either on demand during a support call or through an agent installed for unattended access.
In this order: setup effort, what it really costs, how your data comes back out, whether
you can leave, and who each remote desktop tool is built for. Why those five, and why there is no
score out of ten, is on the how we work page.
Annual auto-renewing subscription for the person offering support; Individual, Teams and Enterprise tiers
—
Large organisations that value a familiar brand and enterprise tiers
Small buyers who want monthly flexibility and a quick price check
Country is where the vendor is headquartered or contracts from, which is a
different question from where your data is hosted. Where the two tell different stories, the
entry says so.
Running your own rendezvous and relay server removes the dependency on a third party's cloud, which is the point of the product. The AGPL client can be inspected, and the paid Pro server adds a web console, address book, audit logs and, on the Basic plan, OIDC single sign-on and LDAP.
The price of that independence is operations: someone must install, update and back up the server, and until you pay, support is the community.
What stands out
Open source
Self-hosted
Free tier
Where it costs you
The paid server is billed per login user and per managed device, so a large fleet grows the bill
The free tier comes with community support only
Right for
Technical teams who want to host the relay themselves and keep the client auditable
Wrong for
Buyers who want a vendor-hosted service with an SLA
SingaporeFree open source client; paid self-hosted server plans per login user and managed device, annual billing, published
A remote desktop built on its own NX protocol, licensed per server
Ranked #2 of 13 in Best Remote Desktop Software in 2026.
Self-hostablePublished pricingEurope
Pricing by server instead of by technician suits an organisation that connects many people to a few machines. Personal Edition starts from a published yearly figure per server with one desktop connection at a time.
Enterprise Desktop removes that limit and adds browser access and a built-in VPN. NoMachine Network, a separate subscription, handles discovery behind firewalls. Expect to size licences per host, which gets expensive for hundreds of desktops.
What stands out
NX protocol
Per-server licence
Self-hosted
Where it costs you
Personal Edition allows only one concurrent desktop connection
Pricing is per server, which adds up for hundreds of desktops
Right for
Admins who want to reach their own servers and workstations, Linux included
Wrong for
Support desks that need on-demand sessions with customers
LuxembourgAnnual subscription per server, published; the Player viewer is free; free trial
Browser-based remote access with a free version and a self-hosted option
Ranked #3 of 13 in Best Remote Desktop Software in 2026.
Free tierSelf-hostablePublished pricingEurope
The range of ways to pay is the notable thing here: free to start, a one-time lifetime licence for individual use, subscriptions for business, and a self-hosted server for organisations that refuse a vendor cloud.
That lets a small company begin cheaply and move later without changing product. The weakness is evidence: the vendor's pricing page would not load, so check device and operator limits in a trial before relying on any plan.
What stands out
Free tier
Lifetime licence
Self-hosted
Where it costs you
We could not retrieve the plan limits from the vendor's pricing page
No compliance certifications were visible on the pages we checked
Right for
Small teams that want to try a free version before buying business seats
Wrong for
Regulated buyers who need audited compliance paperwork
CyprusFree version; one-time Personal Lifetime licence; business subscription; self-hosted licence
Light remote support client from an Italian company, priced by commitment length
Ranked #4 of 13 in Best Remote Desktop Software in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingEurope
Charging for simultaneous sessions makes cost predictable when a business has many managed PCs but few technicians. The Solo plan runs on unlimited PCs with one session at a time, and added connections are a published yearly price each.
Professional adds remote monitoring and management with device health insights. Longer commitments cut the monthly rate, so a short contract costs noticeably more than the headline price.
What stands out
Free tier
Multi-year discounts
Unattended access
Where it costs you
Solo allows only one remote session at a time
The lowest monthly rate requires a three-year commitment
Right for
Small IT shops that need unattended access to many PCs from one or two seats
Wrong for
Teams of many technicians who each need a session at once
ItalyFree for non-professional use; subscription for 3 months to 3 years, published
A clientless gateway that opens RDP, VNC and SSH in a browser
Ranked #5 of 13 in Best Remote Desktop Software in 2026.
Free tierOpen sourceSelf-hostablePublished pricingNorth America
Guacamole needs no client software on the user's side, because everything runs in an HTML5 page against a server you operate. It speaks standard protocols, so it fronts existing RDP, VNC and SSH hosts rather than replacing them.
That makes it the cheapest route to a managed access portal and the least finished: there is no vendor to call, and the project points to third-party companies for paid support.
What stands out
Open source
Clientless
Self-hosted
Where it costs you
You install, secure and maintain the gateway yourself
Support comes from mailing lists unless you hire a third party
Right for
Teams that want browser access to their own servers with no per-seat fee
Wrong for
Non-technical users who want a one-click support session
United StatesFree and open source; you pay only for hosting and administration
Remote desktop apps for Mac, iOS, Windows and Android with a free tier
Ranked #6 of 13 in Best Remote Desktop Software in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingElsewhere
Buying the Mac and iOS apps once, rather than renting them, suits someone who connects to a few personal machines. The Windows, Android and web clients are free, which keeps a mixed household cheap.
The site also lists end-to-end encryption that cannot be switched off and a SOC 2 trust centre. The Teams plans add management, but this is not a ticketed support product.
What stands out
Free tier
One-time purchase
Cross-platform
Where it costs you
The site we checked names no company address or country
Aimed at individuals and small teams rather than support desks
Right for
Individuals and small teams who connect from Macs, iPhones and iPads
Wrong for
IT support desks that need on-demand sessions with customers
Not stated by the vendorFree on Windows, Android and web; one-time purchase on Mac and iPhone and iPad; Teams plans
Remote support with a cloud, self-hosted or private cloud choice
Ranked #7 of 13 in Best Remote Desktop Software in 2026.
Self-hostablePricing on requestEurope
The deployment choice is the reason to shortlist it: cloud, on-premises licence or a managed private cloud, all from one vendor. Licences are counted in concurrent users, with devices capped on the lower tiers and unlimited on Premium and above.
PDQ now owns it and promises no change for customers, but PDQ products are not included in an ISL Online licence. Check the contract term before signing, since billing is annual.
What stands out
Self-hosted
Concurrent users
Annual billing
Where it costs you
Now owned by PDQ, so the roadmap depends on the new owner
Pricing page shows yearly billing only
Right for
Support teams that need the option of hosting the server themselves
Wrong for
Buyers who want monthly billing without a yearly commitment
SloveniaAnnual subscription tiers by users and devices; self-hosted licence; 15-day trial
Remote access priced per user, with a separate per-technician support product
Ranked #8 of 13 in Best Remote Desktop Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
Two product lines with two billing logic make comparison awkward: access plans are per user and cover a fixed number of computers, while the support plan is per concurrent technician.
Features such as session recording and multi-monitor arrive only on the higher plans, and SSO sits in Enterprise. The annual billing shown for most plans suits a stable team, but it is a commitment, and Enterprise pricing is by quote.
What stands out
Annual billing
Per-user pricing
Session recording
Where it costs you
No permanent free plan, only a trial
Enterprise and enterprise support pricing needs a sales quote
Right for
Small businesses that want fixed per-user pricing for access to their own PCs
Wrong for
Anyone who wants a permanently free plan or monthly billing
United StatesAnnual billing per user for access plans, published; Enterprise quoted; free trial
Remote access sold by number of computers, with monthly or yearly billing
Ranked #9 of 13 in Best Remote Desktop Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
Counting computers rather than people is simple for a business with a fixed estate, and published prices let you work out the bill before talking to anyone.
The Pro plan covers ten computers, Team fifty and Enterprise one hundred, with expansion add-ons beyond that. A separate HelpDesk plan handles customer support. RemotePC belongs to IDrive Inc., so its attention is shared with the backup business.
What stands out
Per-computer pricing
Monthly billing
7-day trial
Where it costs you
Computer caps on every plan
The seven-day trial is short for testing a team rollout
Right for
Individuals and small businesses with a known, fixed set of computers
Wrong for
Support desks that need many on-demand customer sessions
United StatesMonthly, annual or two-year billing by number of computers, published; 7-day trial
Low-latency remote desktop for creative and gaming work, owned by Unity
Ranked #10 of 13 in Best Remote Desktop Software in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingNorth America
Everything in Parsec points at responsiveness: 60 frames per second capture on the free tier, multi-monitor up to three screens and 4:4:4 colour on Warp, and a high-performance relay on Enterprise.
Teams adds an admin panel, SSO and audit logs. The trade is scope, because it is a way to use one desktop, not a platform for managing a fleet. Commercial users cannot stay on the free tier.
What stands out
Free tier
Low latency
Per-user pricing
Where it costs you
No on-demand support session workflow
Commercial use requires Teams or Enterprise, which cost much more per user than Warp
Right for
Creative teams and studios that need low latency and accurate colour
Wrong for
IT helpdesks that need unattended access across many devices
United StatesFree for personal use; per user for Warp, Teams and Enterprise, billed annually, published
Remote support and unattended access sold per technician by Zoho
Ranked #11 of 13 in Best Remote Desktop Software in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingAsia-Pacific
The pricing structure splits support into two things: technicians with a session allowance, and unattended access with unlimited technicians. A team that needs both buys both.
The free plan helps a one-person shop start, and a 15-day trial needs no credit card. Zoho Assist is part of a wider suite, which helps if you use other Zoho products and matters less if you do not.
What stands out
Free tier
Per technician
Unattended access
Where it costs you
Technician plans and unattended access plans are bought separately
We could not read plan prices on the page we reached
Right for
Zoho customers who want remote support in the same account system
Wrong for
Buyers who need one flat price for support and unattended access
IndiaFree plan; paid plans per technician, monthly or annual billing; 15-day trial
Self-hostable remote support, licensed per concurrent technician
Ranked #12 of 13 in Best Remote Desktop Software in 2026.
Self-hostablePublished pricingNorth America
Licensing by concurrent technician rewards a team that rotates staff: you pay for seats in use at once, not for everyone with a login. The on-premise licence is the draw for buyers who need the server in their own network.
Price rises from the One plan through Standard and Premium, with Enterprise by quote. Because ConnectWise sells much more than this, independence from the vendor is lower than for the smaller names above.
What stands out
Self-hosted
Concurrent technicians
Annual billing
Where it costs you
ConnectWise owns it, so it sits inside a larger vendor suite
The One plan is annual billing only and limited to one session
Right for
MSPs and support teams that want to host their own remote support server
Wrong for
Small businesses with no dedicated support technicians
United StatesPer concurrent technician, annual or monthly billing, published; Enterprise quoted; cloud or on-premise licence
The best-known remote access brand, sold on annual auto-renewing licences
Ranked #13 of 13 in Best Remote Desktop Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestEurope
Licensing only the expert keeps the customer side free of cost, which suits support work. The cost is the contract: yearly terms that renew themselves, a first-year discount on Business, Premium and Corporate, and an enterprise tier called Tensor for which pricing is custom.
A company of this size has the breadth of a platform, which a three-person IT shop will not use. Put the renewal date in a calendar the day you buy.
What stands out
Annual contract
Auto-renewal
Enterprise tier
Where it costs you
Subscriptions auto-renew yearly unless cancelled 28 days ahead
The pricing overview we reached showed no figures
Right for
Large organisations that value a familiar brand and enterprise tiers
Wrong for
Small buyers who want monthly flexibility and a quick price check
GermanyAnnual auto-renewing subscription for the person offering support; Individual, Teams and Enterprise tiers
Remote desktop software shows and controls another computer's screen over a network, either on demand during a support call or through an agent installed for unattended access. The differences that matter are rarely in the feature list, so this is
the order we would work through them.
01
Decide whether you need a published price
11 of the 13 tools here publish what they cost; the other 2 quote per organisation. The ones you can compare without a sales call: RustDesk, NoMachine, Getscreen, Supremo, Apache Guacamole, Jump Desktop, Splashtop, RemotePC, Parsec, Zoho Assist, ConnectWise ScreenConnect.
02
Decide how much the jurisdiction matters
These 13 vendors are established in 9 countries across 4 regions (North America 5, Europe 5, Asia-Pacific 2, Elsewhere 1). That decides whose disclosure law applies to what the vendor holds, wherever the servers are.
03
Consider whether you want the source
2 of these are open source: RustDesk, Apache Guacamole. Hosting one yourself trades a subscription for maintenance.
Decide whether you license people, sessions, or machines
The word price means three different things in this market. NoMachine licenses the server you connect to rather than each person. Supremo and ScreenConnect license simultaneous sessions or technicians, so the bill follows how many support staff work at the same time. RemotePC counts computers, so the bill follows the size of your estate.
A five-person helpdesk managing four hundred laptops and a freelancer reaching two home machines need opposite models, and the cheapest headline price is usually the wrong one. Write down how many people connect at once, how many machines you manage and how many are unattended before you open any pricing page, then check which unit each vendor actually counts. Ask what happens to a plan when you cross its cap, because overages on connections or devices are where small bills grow.
Count peak simultaneous sessions, not employees with a login.
Count unattended machines separately from on-demand support sessions.
Ask what a plan does at its device or connection cap.
Self-hosting RustDesk or Guacamole is a job, not a saving
RustDesk and Apache Guacamole are the only entries where you can remove the vendor's cloud completely: RustDesk by running its relay server, Guacamole by installing the gateway in front of RDP, VNC and SSH hosts. ISL Online and ScreenConnect also sell self-hosted licences.
The licence cost drops to zero or a flat fee, but the work moves to you: patching, backups, certificates, uptime and, for RustDesk's free tier, community-only support. That is a good trade for a team with an administrator and a reason to keep traffic in its own network, and a poor one for a company where nobody owns the server. Price the hours the first quarter will take before treating a free licence as free.
Name the person who will patch and monitor the server.
Check whether support is community-only at the tier you plan to use.
Test a restore of the server configuration before relying on it.
Personal-use licences end when the work becomes commercial
Several products here are free or cheap at home and restricted at work. Parsec is free for personal use, but commercial use needs Teams or Enterprise, which cost a good deal more per user than the Warp plan. Supremo is free only for non-professional or non-continuous use. Jump Desktop is free on Windows, Android and the web, with Mac and iOS apps bought once.
The risk is a small firm that starts on the free tier, grows into using it for clients, and discovers it was never licensed for that. Read the use clause on the pricing page, not just the plan table, and decide on the licence before the first customer session happens, not after a vendor notices.
Read the commercial-use clause for any free or one-time plan.
Check whether the free plan allows client sessions.
Budget for a business tier if more than one person will connect.
Check who owns the product before you sign a term
Ownership changes in this market and with it the roadmap and contract. PDQ announced its acquisition of ISL Online on 9 September 2025, though ISL Online continues as a standalone product. ScreenConnect belongs to ConnectWise, TeamViewer is part of a wider workplace platform, and Parsec sits inside Unity. Smaller vendors such as RustDesk, NoMachine and Getscreen carry a different risk, which is how long a small company keeps investing.
Neither side is safe by default. Read the renewal terms too: TeamViewer subscriptions are annual and renew automatically unless cancelled 28 days before the end, and Supremo's lowest monthly rate depends on a three-year commitment. A vendor that is open about these terms on its pricing page is easier to trust than one that hides them behind a call.
Look up the current owner on the vendor's own site.
Put the renewal and cancellation deadline in a calendar.
Ask how long an announced acquisition keeps the standalone product.
What goes wrong most often when buying remote desktop software
Comparing the monthly price of Supremo, TeamViewer and Splashtop without checking whether each counts users, sessions or computers.
Starting on Parsec's free personal tier or Supremo's free tier and then using it to support paying clients.
Choosing RustDesk or Apache Guacamole to save licence money without naming who will run and patch the server.
Missing the 28-day cancellation window on an auto-renewing annual subscription such as TeamViewer.
07
Frequently asked questions
8 answers
What is the best remote desktop software in 2026?
RustDesk leads our ranking of 13. The only entry here where the client is open source under the AGPL and the server is meant to sit on your own machine.
The vendor sells a Pro server by login users and managed devices, billed yearly, and says it is not a SaaS subscription. The cost is work: you run the relay yourself, and the free tier has only online status and community support.
Which remote desktop tools publish their pricing?
11 of the 13, with the pricing model each one publishes:
RustDesk: Free open source client; paid self-hosted server plans per login user and managed device, annual billing, published.
NoMachine: Annual subscription per server, published; the Player viewer is free; free trial.
Getscreen: Free version; one-time Personal Lifetime licence; business subscription; self-hosted licence.
Supremo: Free for non-professional use; subscription for 3 months to 3 years, published.
Apache Guacamole: Free and open source; you pay only for hosting and administration.
Jump Desktop: Free on Windows, Android and web; one-time purchase on Mac and iPhone and iPad; Teams plans.
Splashtop: Annual billing per user for access plans, published; Enterprise quoted; free trial.
RemotePC: Monthly, annual or two-year billing by number of computers, published; 7-day trial.
Parsec: Free for personal use; per user for Warp, Teams and Enterprise, billed annually, published.
Zoho Assist: Free plan; paid plans per technician, monthly or annual billing; 15-day trial.
ConnectWise ScreenConnect: Per concurrent technician, annual or monthly billing, published; Enterprise quoted; cloud or on-premise licence.
The other 2 quote per organisation.
Is there a free remote desktop tool?
RustDesk, Getscreen, Supremo, Apache Guacamole, Jump Desktop, Parsec, Zoho Assist offer a free tier or a free self-hosted edition.
Where are these remote desktop software vendors established?
In 9 countries across 4 regions: North America 5, Europe 5, Asia-Pacific 2, Elsewhere 1.
RustDesk: Singapore.
NoMachine: Luxembourg.
Getscreen: Cyprus.
Supremo: Italy.
Apache Guacamole: United States.
Jump Desktop: Not stated by the vendor.
ISL Online: Slovenia.
Splashtop: United States.
RemotePC: United States.
Parsec: United States.
Zoho Assist: India.
ConnectWise ScreenConnect: United States.
TeamViewer: Germany.
Which remote desktop tools are open source?
RustDesk, Apache Guacamole.
Which remote desktop tools can you host yourself?
RustDesk, NoMachine, Getscreen, Apache Guacamole, ISL Online, ConnectWise ScreenConnect. The other 7 are hosted by the vendor only.
What should you use instead of RustDesk?
NoMachine and Getscreen are the next two on this page. NoMachine is for Admins who want to reach their own servers and workstations, Linux included; Getscreen is for small teams that want to try a free version before buying business seats.
Who should not buy RustDesk?
Buyers who want a vendor-hosted service with an SLA. The paid server is billed per login user and per managed device, so a large fleet grows the bill.
If your remote desktop software product belongs among these 13, tell us what it does and who it is for. Inclusion is an editorial call; what a listing is and is not is set out under software advice.
