Remote desktop has several genuinely free options — RustDesk is fully open source, Chrome Remote Desktop is free for personal use, and Windows Remote Desktop (RDP) is built into Windows Pro. Splashtop and AnyDesk offer free personal-use plans. For business use, most tools require paid licenses, but RustDesk remains free for commercial use.
13 tools with free access highlighted below, plus 2 more in this category.
Per-technician · Cloud · Free trial
Atera is positioned here as a RMM software option for teams comparing rollout fit, operating model, pricing structure, and how much administrative effort the product is likely to create after implementation.
Usage-based pricing · Cloud · Free trial
NinjaOne is positioned here as a RMM software option for teams comparing rollout fit, operating model, pricing structure, and how much administrative effort the product is likely to create after implementation.
Per-user · Cloud · Free trial
AnyDesk is the fastest and lightest remote desktop client on the market — sub-second connection times with a 3MB client, making it the go-to choice for IT teams that prioritize raw connection speed and low-bandwidth performance over enterprise feature depth.
Best for: IT support teams and MSPs (1-25 technicians) that need fast, lightweight remote access across Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android without the enterprise feature overhead or pricing of TeamViewer.
Per-technician · Cloud / On-prem · Free trial
ConnectWise ScreenConnect is the MSP-favorite remote access tool — sub-second connection times, unlimited unattended agents on cloud plans, and an on-premises deployment option that is rare among modern remote desktop products, all at a price point that beats TeamViewer for MSP use cases.
Best for: MSPs and IT support teams (1-50 technicians) that need fast attended support sessions combined with unlimited unattended endpoint access, particularly those already running ConnectWise Automate that w
Per-technician · Cloud · Free trial
GoTo Resolve is positioned here as a RMM software option for teams comparing rollout fit, operating model, pricing structure, and how much administrative effort the product is likely to create after implementation.
Per-technician · Cloud · Free trial
GoToAssist (now rebranded as GoTo Resolve) is a remote support tool from the GoTo family that combines remote access with basic RMM capabilities — strongest for small IT teams that want ticketing, device management, and remote support in a single lightweight platform without the complexity of ConnectWise or Datto stacks.
Best for: Small IT teams and help desks (1-10 technicians) that want remote support with basic RMM capabilities — device monitoring, patch management, and antivirus management — in a single platform without ass
Per-user · Cloud · Free trial
Parsec for Teams is the remote desktop platform purpose-built for visual professionals — game developers, video editors, 3D artists, and creative studios that need GPU-accelerated remote access with sub-frame latency that standard remote desktop tools cannot deliver.
Best for: Creative studios, game development teams, video production houses, and organizations where GPU-intensive workloads (3D rendering, video editing, game development, CAD/CAM) require remote access that p
Endpoint-based · Cloud · Free trial
Pulseway is positioned here as a RMM software option for teams comparing rollout fit, operating model, pricing structure, and how much administrative effort the product is likely to create after implementation.
Per-user · Cloud · Free trial
RemotePC is the budget-friendly remote desktop option for small teams and individual users — simple, reliable remote access without the enterprise features or enterprise pricing of TeamViewer, positioned as the value alternative for basic unattended access and occasional support sessions.
Best for: Small IT teams, individual consultants, and small businesses (1-10 users) that need basic remote desktop access to unattended machines — accessing office computers from home, managing a small set of s
Open source · Cloud / On-prem · Free trial
RustDesk is the open-source remote desktop alternative that lets organizations self-host their own relay server — eliminating dependency on third-party cloud infrastructure for remote access traffic, at the cost of managing the infrastructure themselves.
Best for: IT teams and organizations that want full control over remote access infrastructure — self-hosted relay servers that keep remote session traffic entirely within the organization's network, no vendor d
Per-user · Cloud · Free trial
Splashtop Business Access delivers the best price-to-performance ratio in the remote desktop category — high-quality remote access with multi-monitor support, file transfer, and session recording at 50-70% less than TeamViewer at equivalent user counts.
Best for: IT teams and MSPs (1-50 technicians) that need reliable remote access with multi-monitor support, high frame rate streaming, file transfer, and session recording at a price point significantly below T
Per-user · Cloud · Free trial
TeamViewer is the most recognized name in remote desktop access — the default choice for IT teams and MSPs that need cross-platform remote support with device access management, session recording, and enterprise security controls, but pricing has climbed significantly and draws consistent criticism.
Best for: IT support teams and MSPs that need cross-platform remote access (Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android) with enterprise security controls, session recording, device grouping, and integrations with ITSM
Per-technician · Cloud · Free trial
Zoho Assist is the remote support tool that delivers the best value within the Zoho ecosystem — attended and unattended remote access with session recording, file transfer, and multi-monitor support at per-technician pricing that undercuts TeamViewer and LogMeIn Rescue by 60-80%.
Best for: Small to mid-size IT teams and MSPs (1-25 technicians) already using Zoho products (Zoho Desk, Zoho CRM, Zoho One) that need remote support and unattended access integrated into their existing Zoho wo
These tools are part of the remote desktop software category but may not match the free tools filter above. Worth reviewing if the primary options don't fit.
Custom quote · Cloud / On-prem
BeyondTrust Remote Support is the enterprise-grade remote access platform built for organizations where security, compliance, and audit requirements govern how remote sessions are conducted — strongest in regulated industries where session recording, privileged access controls, and SOC 2/FedRAMP compliance are non-negotiable.
Custom quote · Cloud
LogMeIn Rescue is the enterprise remote support platform built for large help desk operations — strongest when the organization needs technician queue management, branded customer-facing portals, multi-session handling, and deep ITSM integration at scale rather than basic remote access.
RustDesk (open source, AGPL) is genuinely free for business use. Windows RDP is included in Windows Pro/Enterprise. Chrome Remote Desktop is free but limited. AnyDesk and Splashtop free plans are personal-use only — business use requires paid licenses.
RDP is secure with proper configuration: enforce NLA, use VPN or RD Gateway, disable direct internet exposure (port 3389), and require MFA. Exposed RDP without these controls is one of the most common attack vectors for ransomware.
Unattended access management, session recording, multi-monitor support, file transfer, centralized user management, RBAC, SSO integration, and audit logging. Free tools handle basic connections; paid tools handle fleet management.
