AnyDesk vs RealVNC Connect
We give AnyDesk and RealVNC Connect the same GPA: 2.4 out of 4.0. They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
AnyDesk
Remote desktop app, free for personal use, licensed for business
Free plan
RealVNC Connect
Remote access from the makers of VNC, with end-to-end encryption
Free plan
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAAnyDeskFair | 2.4GPARealVNC ConnectFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo price could be read: AnyDesk's website answered our reader with a bot check, and its help centre sends buyers to the pricing page. With no figure to set against TeamViewer or Splashtop for the same job, it gets the C we give any missing price. Personal use is free; work use needs a licence. | CNo price could be read: RealVNC's website refused our reader, so this listing has none. That's the C we give any missing price, with no figure to set against Splashtop, TeamViewer or Jump Desktop for the same job. RealVNC says free, paid and trial subscriptions exist. |
| Free plan and trial | CFree for personal, non-commercial use, which covers reaching your own computers. But free sessions time out and have to be restarted, and any outgoing connection for work needs a paid licence. No trial is on record. | CThere's a free Lite plan, which has replaced the old Home plan, and the phone viewer apps are free. But Lite's limits couldn't be read, so we can't say how far it gets you. On iPhone, connecting to other makers' VNC servers shows ads unless you subscribe. |
| Features | CAttended and unattended access, remote printing, Wake-on-LAN, screen privacy, a management portal and an on-premises server with a REST API. The gaps it lists itself: Standard allows one outgoing connection at a time, and self-hosting is Ultimate only, quoted by sales. | CCloud connections with no firewall setup, end-to-end encryption, free phone viewers and a synced address book. The gaps it lists itself: connecting directly by IP address needs Enterprise, and nothing on record covers file transfer or support sessions. |
| Ease of use | B4.49 from 28,268 App Store ratings, which is a B on a crowd that size. The person at the other end accepts your request and you're connected. | BNo App Store rating on record. Sign in to the Viewer with your RealVNC account and your computers appear, with no router or firewall setup. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWindows, Mac, Linux and Raspberry Pi, ChromeOS, iPhone, iPad, Android and Apple TV. That's a lot of devices, but there's no web app or integration list, and the REST API comes only with the on-premises server. | BWindows, Mac and Linux computers, plus viewer apps for iPhone, iPad and Android. It also connects to other makers' VNC servers, but there's no web app, integrations or API on record. |
| Best for | remote access on nearly any device you own | reaching your computers from the makers of VNC |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: AnyDesk and RealVNC Connect. How we grade
Where they differ
- AnyDesk is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- RealVNC Connect is end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
In commonFree planWindowsmacOSLinuxiOSAndroidRemote desktop
At a glance
| AnyDesk | RealVNC Connect | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | Not published | Not published |
| Free plan | Free for personal, non-commercial use. Sessions on the free version time out and have to be restarted; a paid licence removes the time limit. | RealVNC says free, paid and trial subscriptions exist, and its free Lite plan has replaced the old Home plan. The Lite plan's limits could not be read. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | AnyDesk Software GmbH | RealVNC Limited |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
AnyDesk
- Reaching your own home or work computer at no cost for personal use
- Self-employed IT specialists who need one user with up to 100 unattended devices
- IT teams and service providers supporting many people's computers
- Enterprises that need remote access hosted inside their own network
RealVNC Connect
- Reaching your own Windows, Mac or Linux computers from a phone or tablet
- IT teams already using VNC who want cloud connections without opening ports
- Connecting to VNC servers from other vendors as well as RealVNC's own
Worth knowing
AnyDesk
- AnyDesk's website answered automated readers with a bot check, so no prices could be read; its help center sends buyers to the pricing page or the my.anydesk portal for figures.
- The free version is for personal use only; any outgoing connection for commercial use needs a paid licence.
- Standard includes 20 users but only one simultaneous outgoing connection; more are add-ons.
- On-premises hosting is only on the Ultimate licence, which is quoted by sales.
RealVNC Connect
- RealVNC's website refused automated readers, so no prices or plan limits could be read; this listing has none.
- RealVNC is retiring its Home subscriptions and has replaced the Home plan with a new Lite plan, so older guides to the free tier are out of date.
- On iOS, connecting to non-RealVNC VNC servers shows ads unless you subscribe.
- Direct connections by IP address to RealVNC Connect need an Enterprise subscription.
Key features
AnyDesk
- Interactive and unattended access
- Connect to any number of devices when the person there accepts the request, or to managed devices without anyone present using a password: up to 100 on Solo and 1,000 on Advanced.
- Wide platform coverage
- Clients for Windows and Windows Server, macOS, Linux and Raspberry Pi, Android and ChromeOS, and iOS, iPadOS and tvOS.
- Remote print and Wake-on-LAN
- Print a document from a remote Windows computer on your local printer, and wake a sleeping Windows, Intel Mac or Linux device when another AnyDesk device on its network is online.
- Screen privacy
- Black out the remote screen so people near the device cannot see what you are doing during a session.
- my.anydesk portal
- A management portal to see licence and invoice details, manage linked clients and address books, review sessions and build custom clients.
- On-premises server
- The Ultimate licence can run on your own appliance server, so only your custom clients can connect, even without internet access, with a REST API for integration.
RealVNC Connect
- Cloud connections
- Sign in to the Viewer with your RealVNC account and your remote computers appear automatically, with no firewall or router setup.
- Direct connections
- With an Enterprise subscription, or to other VNC-compatible software, connect straight to a computer by its IP address, which may need port forwarding.
- End-to-end encryption
- Each remote computer is password-protected out of the box, and RealVNC says all sessions are then encrypted end-to-end.
- Mobile viewer apps
- Free RealVNC Viewer apps for iPhone, iPad and Android turn the touch screen into a trackpad and support Bluetooth keyboards and mice.
- Synced address book
- Back up and sync your saved connections between devices by signing in to RealVNC Viewer on each one.
Plans
AnyDesk
Pricing could not be confirmed. See anydesk.com.
RealVNC Connect
Pricing could not be confirmed. See realvnc.com.
