Anydesk alternative that doesn't cost an arm and a leg

bikegremlin · October 29

I'd like to be able to connect from either Windows or Linux to mostly Windows PCs.

And to have the install be idiot friendly so that the clients can install what they need on their end with yes -> next -> accept (as simple as possible).

AnyDesk ticks all the boxes (with unattended access on top which is handy but not crucial now), but costs too much for my taste, and the price seems to be going up year after years.

So, is there a decent alternative?
I wouldn't mind paying, for as long as it's reasonable.

These guys like Anydesk, Teamviewer and similar ask too much, and they want for a full year (I may need it for a month or two, then not) - but even that would not be a problem if it's not in hundreds of dollars.

treesmokah · October 29

https://rustdesk.com/ is amazing, its foss, you can self-host the relaying server, and even allows you to "brand" the end user application.
I have used it many times, no complaints. Works as good as Anydesk.

dgc1980 · October 29

I use rustdesk myself, as TeamViewer and AnyDesk both banned me for "commercial" use, because I would be connecting to my home pc from my laptop in the living room on the same network, as I did that a lot of the time.

I also self host my own relay/node for it on a local vps, so it is my ID's cannot be accessed by outside people, I also install it and configure it for friends on their systems for when I need to help them.

once you change over, you will not look back

look into https://github.com/infiniteremote/installer it is a fork of RustDesk, where you can setup your own node, and it will automatically configure it in an installation command for people to install it easier, and then you also get access to a bookmark/client list

bikegremlin · October 29

Thanks.
So, I'd have to self-host it - and they list some prices for self hosting (that is confusing).
Sounds crazy.

Fuck it.
I'll go with a bicycle. It's good for health and for the environment.

And yeah - Teamviewer did what Anydesk has started doing now - killing anyone who ends up using the app in any regular way. They want money at all costs (pun intended).

Khalequzzaman · October 30

I’ve been using AnyViewer for over two years now. The platform offers both free and paid plans.

bdl · October 30

If for personal use, https://www.splashtop.com/products/personal

risturiz · October 30

For me Meshcentral is one of the best remote management ... I have more than 500 devices online working

jaden · October 30

@bikegremlin said:
Thanks.
So, I'd have to self-host it - and they list some prices for self hosting (that is confusing).
Sounds crazy.

You can use RustDesk with their relay servers. Self-hosting your own relay servers is completely optional.

cpsd · October 30

I use anydesk without paying them. I've a proxmox server with a VM without any hard drive,just booting a Linux Live CD ( linuxfx-11.2.22.04.7-win11-theme-plasma-wxd-13.0.iso ) which includes anydesk. So just booting this ISO I get a working & free anydesk client to connect to any system.

rcy026 · October 30

As many have mentioned already, RustDesk works. The only drawback is that it uses some sketchy ports so a lot of corporate firewalls blocks it.

WSS · October 30

RemotePC is by iDrive, who offer a pretty solid product, so I wouldn't hesitate to try them out.

I just use TeamViewer until I get banned.

https://www.remotepc.com/

Amadex · October 30

I use this for 4 years now: https://getscreen.me/en/

There's a lifetime plan: https://getscreen.me/en/pricing/personal/

wankel · October 30

I second third many Rustdesk

I installed it via Yunohost with no fuss (notice the "Install with Yunohost"-button in the catalog? It's a hyperlink to the installation page on your own Yunohost, which is genious).

The only hassle is that I have to tell my contacts to use my relay, instead of the automatically configured Rustdesk relay.

As stated before: the only cost is the server you run it on.

TigersWay · November 5

Kinda lowend but love it: dwservice.net

Freek · November 6

@risturiz said:
For me Meshcentral is one of the best remote management ... I have more than 500 devices online working

I like the functionality of MeshCentral; it’s really full-fledged. The UI could use a bit of a refresh, though.
However, the main issue I have is that the clients it generates—whether portable or installer—aren’t signed, so they often get flagged by antivirus software. This means I can’t deploy it on most of the hosts I’d like, such as for relatives who occasionally need remote assistance.

@dgc1980 said:
look into https://github.com/infiniteremote/installer it is a fork of RustDesk, where you can setup your own node, and it will automatically configure it in an installation command for people to install it easier, and then you also get access to a bookmark/client list

This looks interesting. I’ve never used Rustdesk because I don’t want to rely on their relays, so this might be the solution. What about the custom client? Is it signed somehow (not sure how that would work, though)?

Thanks!

root · November 6

@Freek said:

@dgc1980 said:
look into https://github.com/infiniteremote/installer it is a fork of RustDesk, where you can setup your own node, and it will automatically configure it in an installation command for people to install it easier, and then you also get access to a bookmark/client list

This looks interesting. I’ve never used Rustdesk because I don’t want to rely on their relays, so this might be the solution. What about the custom client? Is it signed somehow (not sure how that would work, though)?

Thanks!

Indeed it does. I plan on testing this today.

bikegremlin · November 6

So, RustDesk seems to be the general recommendation.

I suppose I would need a VPS for it (won't run in a shared hosting account), correct?

Do the non-tech-savvy clients (whose PCs I need to connect to) get an install to run ("next-next-yes-yes" ), or need to configure more stuff on their end?

treesmokah · November 6

@bikegremlin said: I suppose I would need a VPS for it (won't run in a shared hosting account), correct?

You don't need anything, it works out of the box. They have a built in relaying server, and there is no need to self-host one, unless you have some issues with it.

bikegremlin · November 6

@treesmokah said:

@bikegremlin said: I suppose I would need a VPS for it (won't run in a shared hosting account), correct?

You don't need anything, it works out of the box. They have a built in relaying server, and there is no need to self-host one, unless you have some issues with it.

Very confusing (colour me dumb) - it says "Self hosting" all over the page, and no clear link to the "cloud" alternative (pricing also doesn't look much better compared to Anydesk):

https://rustdesk.com/pricing/?lang=en

Edit:
I think I got it.

root · November 6

@bikegremlin said:

@treesmokah said:

@bikegremlin said: I suppose I would need a VPS for it (won't run in a shared hosting account), correct?

You don't need anything, it works out of the box. They have a built in relaying server, and there is no need to self-host one, unless you have some issues with it.

Very confusing (colour me dumb) - it says "Self hosting" all over the page, and no clear link to the "cloud" alternative (pricing also doesn't look much better compared to Anydesk):

https://rustdesk.com/pricing/?lang=en

Edit:
I think I got it.

I tried this. It did not work for me. It just can't connect to their network.

I used the script to install it on a machine from VeloxMedia. Then I used 2 Windows machines to test it. The remote just ain't working. It can login to server installation, but machines won't connect to each other.

dgc1980 · November 7

as per my original recommendation above,

if you install https://github.com/infiniteremote/installer you will install a relay and an address book, that will also give you an interface that gives an install script to install on other systems and automatically setup the relay node and encryption key.

I want to move mine over to this, but I need to go to other places to fix the systems that need it so I wont be doing it just yet

bikegremlin · November 7

@root said:

@bikegremlin said:

@treesmokah said:

@bikegremlin said: I suppose I would need a VPS for it (won't run in a shared hosting account), correct?

You don't need anything, it works out of the box. They have a built in relaying server, and there is no need to self-host one, unless you have some issues with it.

Very confusing (colour me dumb) - it says "Self hosting" all over the page, and no clear link to the "cloud" alternative (pricing also doesn't look much better compared to Anydesk):

https://rustdesk.com/pricing/?lang=en

Edit:
I think I got it.

I tried this. It did not work for me. It just can't connect to their network.

I used the script to install it on a machine from VeloxMedia. Then I used 2 Windows machines to test it. The remote just ain't working. It can login to server installation, but machines won't connect to each other.

I have installed it on Windows 11, Linux Mint, and Ubuntu.
Tried all the possible permutations to connect:
Win-Win, Win-Mint, Win-Ubuntu, Ubuntu-Win... and so on - you get the idea.
Also tried different networks (ISPs) - local and separated.

All worked.

These are my notes - if it's of any help (install, configure, disable the damn autostart on Linux...):
https://io.bikegremlin.com/38997/rustdesk-remote-access-software/

somik · November 7

bikegremlin · November 7

@somik said:

LOL.
The free version using Rustdesk's infrastructure (no self-hosting install) is what I'm using and it seems to be working fine - for now (I expect it to follow Anydesk and Teamviewer once it becomes more popular).

somik · November 7

@bikegremlin said:

@somik said:

LOL.
The free version using Rustdesk's infrastructure (no self-hosting install) is what I'm using and it seems to be working fine - for now (I expect it to follow Anydesk and Teamviewer once it becomes more popular).

Sigh... dont remind me of teamviewer! It used to be my go to software for remote access...

COLBYLICIOUS · November 7

I just managed to install Rustdesk through Docker and everything seems to work very good.

DataRecovery · November 7

@bikegremlin said:
So, is there a decent alternative?

Free, self-hosted one: https://aspia.org/

I wouldn't mind paying, for as long as it's reasonable.

Heard reviews about these two, but didn't manage to try myself yet:

emanresu · November 11

I use radmin. I have been using it for ages. Never any issue.

Anydesk alternative that doesn't cost an arm and a leg

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