Best Remote Access Software 2026: 11 Tools Compared by Price

Short answer: For most small businesses the best remote access software in 2026 is Splashtop (lowest price per user) or AnyDesk (most unattended devices per plan). TeamViewer is the pick for help desks that juggle several sessions at once, ConnectWise ScreenConnect and BeyondTrust suit MSPs and regulated IT teams, and Zoho Assist is the cheapest per-technician option for attended support. For free, use Chrome Remote Desktop, Microsoft’s built-in Remote Desktop on Pro editions of Windows, or the open-source RustDesk.

Prices and plan limits below are vendor-published, checked September 2026 on each vendor’s US pricing page, and shown in USD. Where a vendor only quotes on request, we say so. Some vendors show local currency by region, so buyers outside the US may see different numbers.

The best remote access software compared

Tool	Best for	Attended / unattended	Starting price (USD)	Free option	Self-host option
TeamViewer	Help desks with many parallel sessions	Both	$24.90/mo billed yearly (Remote Access)	Personal use	Not on published plans
AnyDesk	IT teams with many unattended devices	Both	$37.90/mo billed annually (Solo)	Personal use	Yes, on Ultimate
Splashtop	Lowest cost per user	Both (Remote Access vs Remote Support)	$72/yr (Solo)	Free trial only	Yes, on Enterprise
RemotePC	Small offices on a budget	Mainly unattended	$2.95/mo (Solo, monthly)	7-day trial	No
Zoho Assist	Per-technician attended support	Both (separate plans)	$10 per tech/mo billed annually	Yes, free plan	No
ConnectWise ScreenConnect	MSPs and service desks	Both	$30/mo billed annually (One)	Trial	Yes (on-premises)
BeyondTrust Remote Support	Regulated enterprises	Both	Quote	No	Yes (appliance)
LogMeIn Resolve (formerly GoTo Resolve)	Remote support plus endpoint management	Both	Quote-style tiers, 25-endpoint minimum	Start free	No
Chrome Remote Desktop	Free help for friends and staff	Both	Free	Yes	No
Microsoft Remote Desktop / Windows App	Windows Pro and Enterprise fleets	Unattended	Included with Windows Pro/Enterprise	Yes	Yes (your own network)
RustDesk	Open-source, self-hosted control	Both	Free OSS server; Server Pro $11.88/mo billed annually	Yes	Yes

User ratings and more tools are in the remote access software category on Spotsaas.

What is remote access software?

Remote access software lets you see and control another computer or device over the internet as if you were sitting in front of it. Businesses use it for two jobs: letting staff reach their own work computers from anywhere, and letting IT or support teams fix other people’s devices.

Those two jobs map to two licensing models. Remote access (sometimes called remote desktop or remote work) is usually sold per named user who reaches their own machines. Remote support is usually sold per technician, often per concurrent technician, and priced by how many devices the team manages. Buying the wrong model is the most common way businesses overpay.

Attended support vs unattended access: which do you need?

Attended support means someone is at the remote device and lets you in, usually by running a small app and reading out a session code. Unattended access means an agent is installed on the device so an authorized user can connect at any time, even when nobody is there. Help desks need both; staff working from home mostly need unattended access to their own PC.

You need	Typical buyer	Strong fits
Attended, on-demand support	Customer support team helping people who have nothing installed	Zoho Assist Remote Support, Splashtop SOS (9-digit session code), TeamViewer, ScreenConnect, Chrome Remote Desktop (one-time code)
Unattended access to managed devices	Internal IT team or MSP	AnyDesk (100 to 2,000 managed devices by plan), TeamViewer (3 to 500), ScreenConnect (unlimited agents on Standard and Premium), Zoho Assist Unattended Access, RustDesk
Unattended access to your own computers	Remote and hybrid staff	Splashtop Remote Access, RemotePC, Microsoft Remote Desktop, Chrome Remote Desktop

The best remote access software in 2026

1. TeamViewer: best for busy help desks

TeamViewer sells four published plans in the US: Remote Access at US$24.90 a month (1 licensed user, 3 managed devices), Business at US$50.90 (1 user, 200 managed devices), Premium at US$120.90 (15 licensed users, 300 managed devices) and Corporate at US$245.90 (30 licensed users, 3 concurrent connections, 500 managed devices), all per month, billed yearly, excluding tax. Tensor, its enterprise platform, is quote-based.

Its main advantage is the channel model: one channel can run several sessions in tabs (up to 10 on Premium and 15 on Corporate), so a single technician can work on multiple machines at once. Phone support is offered in 33 languages, and the add-on catalog covers asset management, endpoint protection, device monitoring, mobile device management and AR-assisted support. The trade-off is price at the team tiers. Compare options on the TeamViewer alternatives page, or see TeamViewer pricing.

2. AnyDesk: best for many unattended devices

AnyDesk’s US list prices are $37.90 a month for Solo, $63.90 for Standard (1 concurrent connection, up to 20 users, 500 managed devices) and $138.90 for Advanced (2 connections, up to 100 users, 1,000 managed devices), billed annually. Extra connections cost $38.90 a month each, and Ultimate (quote) adds SSO and on-premises hosting with 2,000 managed devices. In September 2026 the pricing page showed a 20% discount on the three published plans.

AnyDesk gives the most unattended devices per dollar among the big names and includes a custom-branded client from Standard. Phone support starts on Advanced, and billing is annual only. Full numbers are in our AnyDesk pricing guide, and the head-to-head is in AnyDesk vs TeamViewer.

3. Splashtop: best value per user

Splashtop Remote Access costs $72 a year for Solo (2 computers), $99 per user a year for Pro and $149 per user a year for Performance (10 computers per license on both). Remote Support SOS is licensed per concurrent technician at $259 or $399 a year, with 10 or 300 managed computers per license up to 1,200, plus unlimited attended sessions through a session code. Enterprise (quote) adds SSO, SIEM logging, cloud recording and an on-premises option.

Splashtop is the cheapest paid option for individuals and small teams, and Performance is the strongest pick for designers who need 4:4:4 color and Wacom support on the remote machine. All business plans are billed annually. See the Splashtop pricing breakdown or reviews of Splashtop Business Access.

4. RemotePC: best for small offices on a budget

RemotePC’s monthly prices are $2.95 for Solo (1 user, 1 computer), $9.95 for Pro (1 user, 10 computers), $29.95 for Team (unlimited users, 50 computers) and $59.95 for Enterprise (unlimited users, 100 computers). Annual and two-year prepayment bring larger discounts, with first-year promotional pricing, and there is a 7-day free trial with no credit card. Every tier lists session recording, file transfer, remote printing and 24/7 email and chat support.

RemotePC suits offices that mainly need staff to reach their own desktops. It isn’t built around attended help-desk work in the way Zoho Assist or ScreenConnect are. Details are on RemotePC pricing.

5. Zoho Assist: best per-technician price for attended support

Zoho Assist sells Remote Support per technician at $10 (Standard), $15 (Professional) and $24 (Enterprise) a month billed annually, or $12, $18 and $28 billed monthly, with 2, 4 and 6 concurrent sessions. Unattended Access is priced per 25 unattended computers at $10 (Standard) or $15 (Professional) a month billed annually. There is a free plan and a 15-day free trial with no credit card.

It is a strong fit for customer support teams already on Zoho or Zendesk, and one of the few tools with genuine monthly billing. Session recording sits on Remote Support Enterprise and Unattended Access Professional. See Zoho Assist pricing.

6. ConnectWise ScreenConnect: best for MSPs and service desks

ScreenConnect’s remote support plans are One at $30 a month billed annually (1 license, 1 session, 10 unattended agents), Standard at $45 a month billed annually or $59 monthly per concurrent technician (up to 3 sessions each, unlimited unattended agents) and Premium at $55 a month billed annually or $69 monthly (up to 10 sessions each). Enterprise is by quote.

Unlimited unattended agents make it economical for MSPs with large client fleets, and it can run on your own servers. That self-hosting is also its biggest responsibility, as the 2024 vulnerability below shows. Spotsaas lists it under its former name: ConnectWise Control.

7. BeyondTrust Remote Support: best for regulated enterprises

BeyondTrust doesn’t publish prices; you request a quote. In every deployment model, one concurrent user includes 150 managed assets, with more assets at extra cost. You can run it as BeyondTrust Cloud, a single-tenant virtual appliance, or on physical or virtual appliances on your own premises.

It is built for organizations that need privileged-access controls and audit trails around remote sessions, such as banks, healthcare and government. Plan for patching discipline on self-hosted appliances. See BeyondTrust Remote Support.

8. LogMeIn Resolve (formerly GoTo Resolve): best for support plus endpoint management

GoTo’s Resolve pricing page now redirects to logmein.com and the product is branded “LogMeIn Resolve (formerly GoTo Resolve)”. It has three tiers, Starter, Advanced and Complete, each billed annually with a 25-endpoint minimum and unlimited users. Starter covers unattended remote access and terminal access; Advanced adds device monitoring, Windows patch management and a remote support license; Complete adds mobile device management and application patching. You can start free without a card. The price amounts didn’t render in our checks, so confirm them on the vendor page.

It suits small IT teams that want remote support and basic endpoint management in one bill. Reviews are under GoTo Resolve.

9. Chrome Remote Desktop: best free option for occasional help

Chrome Remote Desktop is Google’s free tool for Mac, Windows and Linux. You can set up remote access to your own computer with a PIN, or generate a one-time access code to let someone help you. During a support session, the person sharing is asked every 30 minutes to confirm they want to keep sharing, and sessions are encrypted.

There is no central console, no user management and no session recording, so it is best for individuals and very small teams.

10. Microsoft Remote Desktop and Windows App: best for Windows Pro fleets

Microsoft’s Remote Desktop is built into Windows. You can connect to PCs running Windows 11 or 10 Pro or Enterprise and to Windows Server 2016, 2019 and 2022; Windows Home editions can’t be connected to. Windows App is Microsoft’s newer client for Azure Virtual Desktop, Windows 365, Dev Box, Remote Desktop Services and remote PCs, and runs on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android and web browsers. On Windows, remote PC connections in Windows App are still in preview, so Microsoft points users to the built-in Remote Desktop Connection app (MSTSC) for general availability.

It costs nothing extra if you already own Pro licenses, but it is an unattended access tool, not a help-desk product, and it needs a VPN or gateway to be used safely over the internet.

11. RustDesk: best open-source option

RustDesk’s client and server are open source under the AGPL-3.0 license, and the self-hosted OSS server is free with unlimited users, devices and connections. Server Pro adds a web console, 2FA, address book, audit log and access control: Individual costs $11.88 a month billed annually (1 login user, 20 managed devices) and Basic $23.88 a month (10 users, 100 devices, plus OIDC/SSO, LDAP and a custom client generator), with custom plans adding $1.20 per user and $0.12 per device.

It is the right choice when you want your remote sessions to stay on your own infrastructure and have someone to maintain the server.

Is RDP or TeamViewer better?

RDP is better for staff reaching their own Windows Pro or Enterprise PCs inside a company network, because it is built in and free. TeamViewer is better for supporting other people’s devices, Windows Home machines, Macs and phones over the internet, because it handles connections, attended sessions and user management without a VPN.

Many IT teams use both: RDP or Windows App for administrators reaching servers over a VPN, and a remote support tool for help-desk work with end users.

What is the best free remote access software?

Chrome Remote Desktop is the easiest free option for helping someone or reaching your own computer. RustDesk is the best free option for businesses that can host their own server. Zoho Assist has a free plan, and TeamViewer and AnyDesk are free for personal use only.

Free tools lack the controls a business needs to audit who connected to what: central user management, session recording and access policies. If a free tool is supporting customers or employees, budget for a paid plan.

How secure is remote access software?

Remote access tools are a favorite target because they hand an attacker a working connection into a network. The main risks are unpatched self-hosted servers, stolen or shared credentials, and scammers who talk people into installing a tool. Two-factor authentication, access control lists, session recording and fast patching reduce all three.

The ScreenConnect CVE-2024-1709 lesson

In February 2024 ConnectWise disclosed CVE-2024-1709, an authentication bypass in ScreenConnect 23.9.7 and earlier with a CVSS score of 10.0, fixed in version 23.9.8. ConnectWise says its cloud instances were remediated automatically, while on-premises partners had to upgrade immediately, and it removed license restrictions so partners off maintenance could update. CISA added the flaw to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 22 February 2024, describing it as a bypass that “allows an attacker with network access to the management interface to create a new, administrator-level account”, and lists its use in ransomware campaigns as known.

The takeaway applies to every self-hosted tool, including ScreenConnect, BeyondTrust appliances and RustDesk servers: if you host it, you own the patch window. BeyondTrust Remote Support and Privileged Remote Access have also appeared in the CISA catalog (CVE-2024-12356, added December 2024, and CVE-2026-1731, added February 2026). Cloud-hosted plans move that job to the vendor.

Vendor-side incidents

Vendors themselves are targets too. TeamViewer reported that in June 2024 an attacker attributed to APT29 (Midnight Blizzard) used a compromised employee account to access its internal corporate IT environment, and its investigation found that the separate product environment, the connectivity platform and customer data were not touched.

Security checklist before you buy

• MFA and SSO: enforce two-factor authentication for every technician; buy the tier with SSO if your identity policy requires it (AnyDesk Ultimate, Splashtop Enterprise, RustDesk Server Pro Basic).
• Session recording: check which tier records sessions (AnyDesk from Standard, Splashtop from Pro, Zoho Assist Remote Support Enterprise, TeamViewer and RemotePC on their business plans).
• Access control: restrict unattended access to named accounts and review the list when staff leave.
• Patching: for self-hosted deployments, subscribe to the vendor’s security bulletins and the CISA catalog.
• User awareness: teach staff that a genuine help desk will never cold-call and ask them to install a remote tool.

How much does remote access software cost?

Paid business plans start around $72 a year per user (Splashtop Solo) and run to roughly $250 a month for multi-user team plans (TeamViewer Corporate at $245.90). Remote support is typically $10 to $55 per technician a month on annual billing. Enterprise tiers from AnyDesk, TeamViewer, Splashtop, ScreenConnect and BeyondTrust are quote-based.

Most vendors bill annually. Zoho Assist, ScreenConnect and RemotePC also sell monthly plans, at a higher effective rate. The cheapest plan on paper often isn’t the cheapest in practice: count your concurrent technicians and your unattended devices first, because those two numbers decide the tier on almost every product.

How to choose remote access software

1. Decide attended, unattended or both. This splits the market into remote access and remote support products.
2. Count concurrent technicians and managed devices. Use both numbers to compare plans, not headcount.
3. Pick cloud or self-hosted. Self-hosting gives control but makes patching your job.
4. Check platforms. Make sure the tool covers the operating systems you support, including mobile.
5. Confirm the security tier. MFA, SSO and session recording are often locked to higher plans.
6. Trial on real conditions. Test on your slowest connection and oldest machines before you commit to a year.

If you manage client endpoints for a living, remote access is often bundled with monitoring and patching; see our guide to RMM software.

Related reading: Best Privileged Access Management (PAM) Software in 2026: 11 Tools Compared, Teleport vs StrongDM (2026): Infrastructure Access Compared, Plus Alternatives

Frequently asked questions