AnyDesk vs Screens (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, AnyDesk grades higher than Screens: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
AnyDesk grades higher on the free plan and platforms. Screens grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on features and ease of use.
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
Which one is for you
Pick AnyDesk if
- Fits if you want to reach your own home computer from a phone or tablet without paying
- Works for firms that must keep remote access inside their own network and will talk to sales for Ultimate
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to see a price before talking to anyone, as we couldn't read one
- Not for you if your free use is really work, since the free version is for personal use only
- Tight if your free sessions run long, as they time out and need restarting
- Too light for teams on Standard, which has 20 users but one outgoing connection at a time; more cost extra
- Pricey if you need on-premises hosting, which is only on Ultimate and quoted by sales
Pick Screens if
- Fits if you control other Macs and PCs from your own Mac or iPhone
- Works for people on Apple devices who already use Tailscale
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you use Windows or Android as your controlling device
- Not for you if you want a free plan, as there's only a 7-day trial
- Tight if you need file transfer to a Windows or Linux machine, because it's described for remote Macs only
- Watch out: the US listing shows two yearly prices, $29.99 and $29.49, and no billing basis for Lifetime
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAAnyDeskFair | 2.2GPAScreensFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | B$29.99 a year works out to about $2.50 a month, the cheaper-quarter line for remote access tools. Monthly is $4.99, and lifetime is $249.99. |
| 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. | DA 7-day trial through the App Store and no free plan, so you give a payment method to try it. |
| 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. | CConnects to many systems, with Screens Connect, clipboard and file transfer. High Performance mode needs an Apple silicon Mac on macOS 14, and file transfer is described for remote Macs only. |
| 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. | B4.5 from 623 App Store ratings. Install it, add a computer and connect. |
| 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. | CMac and iPhone as the controlling side, with Tailscale, Siri Shortcuts and iCloud. The app doesn't connect to iPhone, iPad or Vision Pro, and there's no Windows or Android client. |
| Best for | remote access on nearly any device you own | controlling Macs, PCs and Linux from Apple devices |
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 Screens. How we grade
Where they differ
- AnyDesk is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Screens also covers file sharing and menu bar app.
In commonmacOSiOSRemote desktop
At a glance
| AnyDesk | Screens | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | Not published | $4.99 per month, or $29.99 per year |
| 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. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 7-day free trial on all your devices. |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | AnyDesk Software GmbH | Edovia Inc. |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | apps.apple.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
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.
Screens
- Apple devices only as the controlling side; the app does not connect to iPhone, iPad or Vision Pro.
- Prices come from the US App Store listing, which also shows two yearly options ($29.99 and $29.49) and no billing basis for Lifetime.
- High Performance mode needs an Apple silicon Mac on macOS 14 Sonoma or later, and audio is unavailable over SSH.
- File transfer is described for remote Macs only, and Linux and Windows clipboards share plain text.
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.
Screens
- Connects to many systems
- Screens reaches Macs, Windows PCs, Linux PCs and Raspberry Pi from iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Vision Pro.
- Screens Connect
- Screens Connect sets up remote access over the Internet without complicated network configuration; the Mac app has it built in.
- High Performance Screen Sharing
- For Apple silicon Macs on macOS 14 or later, the listing describes dynamic resizing, HEVC video, remote audio and display privacy.
- Secure connections
- Built-in SSH tunnelling and custom SSH keys are supported, and the app can be locked with Face ID or Touch ID.
- Clipboard and file transfer
- Clipboard sharing works with Macs, Windows and Linux (text only on the latter two); file transfer is described for remote Macs.
Plans
AnyDesk
Pricing could not be confirmed. See anydesk.com.
Screens
Monthly$4.99
per month
In-app subscription on the App Store; the vendor says a plan covers all your Apple devices.
Yearly$29.99
per year
In-app yearly subscription; the US listing also shows a second yearly option at $29.49.
Lifetime$249.99
one-time
One-time in-app purchase; the listing also shows a $0.00 Lifetime Family Upgrade item.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, AnyDesk or Screens?
As of Nov 12, 2026, AnyDesk has no price we could confirm, and Screens starts at $4.99 per month, or $29.99 per year.
Which has a free plan, AnyDesk or Screens?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only AnyDesk has a free plan. Screens does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do AnyDesk and Screens run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only AnyDesk lists Windows, Linux and Android apps. Both list macOS and iOS apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.