Commercial mismatch
Alternatives become more relevant when the pricing model stops fitting the way your team actually grows or manages the environment.
ConnectWise ScreenConnect alternatives: what MSPs compare it against before the shortlist closes
ConnectWise ScreenConnect is a defensible remote access choice for MSPs already running ConnectWise Manage or ConnectWise RMM — but buyers typically reach this page because one of three questions is unresolved: whether ScreenConnect's entry pricing is justified relative to cheaper cloud-only alternatives like Splashtop and AnyDesk, whether the ConnectWise ecosystem integration actually matters enough to pay a premium over standalone remote access tools, or whether the concurrent-session pricing model fits the team's peak session demand without requiring expensive session add-on packs.
This page is most useful once the team has understood ScreenConnect's core value proposition — on-premises deployment option, unlimited unattended agents, native ConnectWise ecosystem integration — and wants to stress-test it against platforms with lower entry pricing, different licensing models, or stronger fit for organizations outside the ConnectWise ecosystem.
Written by RajatFact-checked by Chandrasmita
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This alternatives page is designed to help buyers widen the shortlist without losing category context.
Evaluate alternatives by removing mismatch, not by chasing more feature surface.
The most common reason buyers look beyond ConnectWise ScreenConnect is pricing relative to alternatives for cloud-only use cases. At $27 per month billed annually for three concurrent sessions, ScreenConnect is more expensive at entry level than Splashtop and AnyDesk — and the price premium is difficult to justify on features alone for organizations that do not need on-premises deployment or ConnectWise ecosystem integration.
Splashtop publishes per-technician rates that are generally lower for small teams, and AnyDesk's entry configurations are also more affordable. The pricing gap narrows at scale because ScreenConnect's unlimited unattended agent model means per-device cost decreases as endpoint count grows, but for MSPs evaluating smaller configurations, the initial cost difference is a real factor.
Secondary reasons include the concurrent session count constraint (three simultaneous sessions at the base tier creates a capacity ceiling that per-device alternatives do not have), the ecosystem dependency (ScreenConnect's strongest arguments — native ticket integration, session context from the PSA — only apply within the ConnectWise stack), and mobile client experience (technicians who rely on mobile for after-hours support consistently rate the mobile app as less polished than the desktop console).
None of these gaps make ScreenConnect a weak product — they define the situations where a differently priced or differently structured alternative is a better fit.
ConnectWise ScreenConnect alternatives should be assessed based on operational fit, not just feature overlap.
The strongest alternative to ConnectWise ScreenConnect depends on where the current shortlist is too expensive, too narrow, too complex, or too limited for the workflows that matter most. This page is meant to shorten that evaluation process.
- Identify whether the shortlist problem is pricing, deployment fit, workflow depth, or reporting quality.
- Compare the alternatives against the first 90-day use cases rather than edge-case feature parity.
- Use side-by-side comparison pages before treating any vendor as the default replacement choice.
Why MSPs look beyond ConnectWise ScreenConnect
The most useful comparison dimensions when evaluating alternatives to ConnectWise ScreenConnect are: entry pricing and licensing model (per-concurrent-session versus per-device versus per-technician), on-premises deployment availability (critical for air-gapped or regulated environments), ecosystem integration depth (does the alternative integrate with the MSP's PSA and RMM, and how does that integration quality compare to ScreenConnect's native ConnectWise connection), session quality and latency (particularly on high-latency connections where protocol efficiency matters), and multi-tenant access control (how granular is the permission model for MSPs managing many client organizations).
ScreenConnect wins on ecosystem integration for ConnectWise shops and on deployment flexibility for on-prem requirements — alternatives that win against it do so on entry pricing, per-device economics, or session protocol performance.
Run the comparison at the MSP's actual scale, not at entry-level pricing alone. ScreenConnect's concurrent-session model with unlimited unattended agents means the total cost grows with session demand, not with device count.
A comparison against TeamViewer's per-device model or Splashtop's per-technician model should be calculated at the team's actual technician count and managed endpoint count, not just at the published starting price. An MSP with 500 managed endpoints and three technicians will see a very different cost comparison than an MSP with 50 endpoints and the same three technicians.
Deployment mismatch
A product can stay on the shortlist for a while and still lose on deployment fit once security, infrastructure, or rollout constraints become concrete.
Operational mismatch
The strongest alternative is often the one that creates less tuning, less admin burden, or less friction after the first phase of rollout.
ConnectWise ScreenConnect alternatives worth evaluating before the shortlist closes
These are the alternatives most directly compared against ConnectWise ScreenConnect, organized by the primary reason buyers evaluate them.
TeamViewer
TeamViewer is the most widely recognized enterprise remote access platform and the most common alternative evaluation for ScreenConnect. TeamViewer's commercial licensing has shifted to subscription pricing with higher per-device costs than ScreenConnect's concurrent-session model at scale. TeamViewer has broader name recognition and a larger consumer footprint, which makes it the platform end users are more likely to have encountered — an advantage for organizations where end-user familiarity matters. For MSPs, ScreenConnect is generally more cost-effective at scale due to unlimited agents; TeamViewer's pricing at large managed device counts can become significantly more expensive. TeamViewer does not have the native ConnectWise PSA integration that ScreenConnect provides. The comparison favors TeamViewer for organizations where brand recognition with end users matters more than per-device cost efficiency.
Pricing: Per-user. Deployment: Cloud. Trial: Free trial available.
AnyDesk
AnyDesk is known for its DeskRT protocol, which prioritizes low-latency rendering and is particularly noticeable on high-latency connections where other remote access tools can feel sluggish. AnyDesk's entry pricing is competitive with ScreenConnect and Splashtop. Like Splashtop, AnyDesk is cloud-focused and does not match ScreenConnect's on-premises deployment capability. AnyDesk's multi-tenant MSP access control is less mature than ScreenConnect's, which limits its suitability for MSPs managing many client organizations where strict access segregation is a compliance requirement. AnyDesk wins against ScreenConnect when session protocol performance on poor connections is the primary criterion and multi-tenant access control granularity is not a requirement.
Pricing: Per-user. Deployment: Cloud. Trial: Free trial available.
Splashtop Business Access
Splashtop Business Access gives teams a way to evaluate remote desktop software fit, deployment tradeoffs, and day-to-day operational usability.
Pricing: Per-user. Deployment: Cloud. Trial: Free trial available.
How to use these alternatives
If ConnectWise ScreenConnect holds up through these comparisons — particularly once the concurrent-session capacity, ConnectWise ecosystem integration value, and on-prem deployment requirement have been validated — move into the ScreenConnect pricing page for the full cost analysis at your team's actual scale, then review the comparison pages for whichever alternatives remain on the shortlist.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best ConnectWise ScreenConnect alternative for MSPs?
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The best alternative depends on what specifically drives the comparison. For MSPs that need lower entry pricing without ConnectWise ecosystem requirements, Splashtop offers comparable session quality at a lower per-technician rate. For environments where session latency on poor connections is the priority, AnyDesk's DeskRT protocol is the strongest option. For regulated environments needing on-premises deployment with security-first positioning, BeyondTrust Remote Support matches ScreenConnect's on-prem capability with deeper PAM integration. For small IT teams wanting an affordable all-in-one remote access and ticketing tool, GoTo Resolve or Zoho Assist are worth evaluating. ScreenConnect is rarely replaced inside the ConnectWise ecosystem because the native integration adds operational value that alternatives cannot replicate without custom API work.
Is Splashtop better than ConnectWise ScreenConnect?
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Splashtop is cheaper than ScreenConnect at entry-level configurations and delivers competitive session quality for standard remote support workflows. Splashtop wins on price for MSPs that do not need on-premises deployment and are not in the ConnectWise ecosystem. ScreenConnect wins on multi-tenant access control granularity, session recording depth, on-premises deployment availability, and native ConnectWise Manage integration. For an MSP running ConnectWise Manage with 500 managed endpoints, ScreenConnect's unlimited unattended agents and native ticket integration make it the stronger choice. For a small IT team wanting cloud-only remote access at the lowest cost, Splashtop is the better fit.
Can ConnectWise ScreenConnect be used without ConnectWise Manage?
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Yes — ScreenConnect is a standalone product that works independently without ConnectWise Manage or ConnectWise RMM. The remote access, unattended access, file transfer, session recording, and multi-tenant access control features are all available regardless of whether other ConnectWise products are in use. ScreenConnect also integrates with Zendesk, Jira Service Management, and ServiceNow through pre-built connectors, and provides a REST API for custom integrations. However, the native ConnectWise ecosystem integration — the ticket-to-session workflow and session data writeback — is the feature that most strongly differentiates ScreenConnect from cheaper alternatives. Without that integration, the comparison against Splashtop and AnyDesk becomes primarily about deployment flexibility and pricing model preference.
Does ConnectWise ScreenConnect have an on-premises alternative?
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ConnectWise ScreenConnect itself supports on-premises deployment — it is one of its differentiators. BeyondTrust Remote Support is the primary alternative that also offers a mature on-premises deployment option with deeper security and PAM integration. TeamViewer has offered on-prem in some configurations but is moving toward cloud-first. Splashtop, AnyDesk, Zoho Assist, and GoTo Resolve are cloud-only and do not offer self-hosted on-premises deployment. For environments where on-prem remote access is a hard requirement, the practical comparison is between ScreenConnect and BeyondTrust Remote Support.
Continue through this software cluster
Use these linked pages to move from alternatives into product detail, pricing, category context, comparisons, glossary terms, and research.
Remote Desktop Software
Return to the category hub when the team needs broader buying context before narrowing further.
Free Remote Desktop Software tools
Check which tools in this category offer free tiers, trials, or community editions.
ConnectWise ScreenConnect pricing
Check the commercial model, official pricing notes, and what to validate before procurement treats the pricing as settled.
ConnectWise ScreenConnect alternatives
Use alternatives when the product is credible but the buying team still needs stronger pressure-testing against competing fits.
Open related comparisons
Use comparison pages once the shortlist is specific enough for direct vendor-to-vendor evaluation.
Open the glossary
Use glossary terms when the product page raises category language that needs a clearer operational definition.