SolarWinds Dameware vs Zoho Assist (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Zoho Assist: it is second in our ranking of remote desktop apps, and it grades higher too, 3.0 against 2.2.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Zoho Assist grades higher on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
SolarWinds Dameware
Remote support software for IT teams, sold as three products
Zoho Assist
Remote support and unattended access for help desks and IT teams
Which one is for you
Pick SolarWinds Dameware if
- Fits if you're an IT technician who supports many machines and wants one tool
- Works for teams already on SolarWinds Service Desk or Web Help Desk
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you're one person helping family: it's a technician tool with no free plan
- Watch out: the page shows only starting prices and doesn't say how long a licence runs
- Tight if you want more than one technician at once on Remote Everywhere, which is one concurrent technician and 500 endpoint agents per licence
- Skip it if you don't want to run servers: Remote Support and Mini Remote Control are installed on your own
Pick Zoho Assist if
- Fits if you're a one-person IT shop looking after up to 5 machines without paying
- Works for teams whose support requests arrive as Zendesk, Freshdesk or Jira tickets
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you need both support and unattended access, as each is a separate plan at $10 or more
- Tight if you stay free: one session at a time, and no file transfer, screen blanking or reboot-and-reconnect
- Skip it if you need session recording or remote printing at the lowest tier, as neither is in the Standard plans
- Watch out: mobile device support starts on Professional at $15, and webhooks and Zapier on Enterprise at $24
How we grade them
| 2.2GPASolarWinds DamewareFair | 3.0GPAZoho AssistVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D$370, $520 or $972 starting prices, against a $10.00 middle for remote access tools, with the licence term not shown. A one-time $370 is over three years of that middle. | CRemote Support Standard is $10 per technician a month billed annually, and unattended computers are a separate $10 per 25, so a technician doing both pays $20. For the same job that's below ScreenConnect, TeamViewer and LogMeIn Resolve, but above Getscreen.me. |
| Free plan and trial | C14-day fully functional trial, with no free plan. The pages read don't say whether a card is needed. | BThe free plan has 1 technician, 5 unattended computers and no limit on session length, for personal or small business use. It's one session at a time, and file transfer and screen blanking need paying. Paid plans have a 15-day trial with no card. |
| Features | BAttended and unattended support, Windows, Mac and Linux targets, a mobile app, chat, video, session records, security options and cloud or on-premises. Nothing in the listing is missing for technician support. | BOn-demand sessions with chat, voice and video, unattended access with bulk deployment and Wake-on-LAN, recording, branding, a customer widget and Zia AI. Nothing in the listing is missing from the job; recording and remote printing just aren't in Standard. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. Remote Everywhere is a cloud service, but Remote Support and Mini Remote Control go on your own servers and you maintain them. | B4.73 from 909 App Store ratings, which misses our A on the number of ratings. Customers join from an invitation, so there's little to set up on their side. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWindows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android with SolarWinds Service Desk and Web Help Desk links. No web version is listed. | AWeb, Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and Android, starting sessions from Zendesk, ServiceNow, Freshservice, Freshdesk and Jira tickets, with webhooks and Zapier on higher plans. |
| Best for | remote support for IT technicians | remote support for small help desks |
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: SolarWinds Dameware and Zoho Assist. How we grade
Price against what you get
SolarWinds Dameware starts at $370 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Zoho Assist starts at $10 a month and scores 3.3.
Zoho Assist scores higher and starts $360 a month lower. Of the other remote desktop apps on the chart, 4 score higher than SolarWinds Dameware for less, and none scores higher than Zoho Assist for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- SolarWinds Dameware is self-hostable, according to its own site.
At a glance
| SolarWinds Dameware | Zoho Assist | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $370 (Mini Remote Control, no monthly fees); billing basis not stated | $10 per technician / month, billed annually ($12 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | 1 remote support technician, 5 unattended computers and 1 concurrent session, with no limit on session length. File transfer, screen blanking and reboot-and-reconnect need a paid plan. |
| Free trial | 14-day fully functional free trial | 15-day free trial, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | SolarWinds | Zoho Corporation |
| Price read from | solarwinds.com | zoho.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Worth knowing
SolarWinds Dameware
- The pricing page shows only starting prices ($370, $520, $972) and a quote option; it does not say how long a license runs.
- Remote Everywhere is licensed for one concurrent technician and 500 endpoint agents per license; the self-hosted products allow unlimited end devices.
- Dameware is a technician tool, not a personal remote access service, and has no free plan.
- Remote Support and Mini Remote Control are installed on your own servers, so you maintain them.
Zoho Assist
- Remote Support and Unattended Access are sold separately, one per technician and one per 25 computers, so many teams need both.
- The free plan allows one concurrent session and leaves out file transfer and screen blanking.
- A session-based Corporate plan lists $75 a month for 50 technicians, 2 concurrent sessions and 1,000 managed devices; larger concurrent plans are quoted.
- Session recording and remote printing are not in the Standard plans.
Key features
SolarWinds Dameware
- Attended and unattended support
- Technicians can help a user who is present or connect behind the scenes, and Wake-on-LAN reaches sleeping or powered-off devices.
- Windows, Mac and Linux targets
- The product pages describe remote connections to Windows, Mac OS X and Linux computers, plus remote control of Android and iOS devices.
- Mobile app
- A Dameware mobile app lets a technician control Windows computers from an iOS device using the same protocol as the desktop version.
- Chat, video and session records
- Remote Everywhere adds chat, VoIP and video calls inside sessions, saved session logs and recorded sessions stored in the cloud.
- Security options
- The site lists smart-card authentication, multi-factor authentication, an internet proxy feature and RDP security.
- Cloud or on-premises
- Remote Everywhere runs in the cloud; Remote Support and Mini Remote Control are installed on your own systems.
Zoho Assist
- On-demand remote support
- Start a session with a customer's computer through an invitation, with chat, voice and video chat, file transfer, and session transfer to another technician.
- Unattended access
- Deploy the agent to many computers at once, group them, set permissions and reach them without anyone present, including Wake-on-LAN and power options.
- Help desk integrations
- Start sessions from tickets in Zendesk, ServiceNow, Freshservice, Freshdesk and Jira, with webhooks and Zapier on higher plans.
- Session recording and audit
- Record sessions, keep an advanced session audit and send scheduled reports on Enterprise and Unattended Access Professional.
- Rebranding and customer widget
- Put your own branding and domain on the support experience, and embed a widget so customers can ask for a session from your site.
- Zia AI
- The top Remote Support plan, Unattended Access Professional and the Corporate plan include Zoho's Zia AI features.
Plans
SolarWinds Dameware
Dameware Mini Remote Control$370
starting price, no monthly fees; licence term not shown
Self-hosted. One technician per license and unlimited end devices.
Dameware Remote Support$520
starting price, no monthly fees; licence term not shown
Self-hosted. One technician per license and unlimited end devices.
Dameware Remote Everywhere$972
starting price; billing basis not shown
Cloud service delivered as SaaS. One concurrent technician and 500 endpoint agents per license.
Zoho Assist
Free$0
One technician, 5 unattended computers and 1 concurrent session, on Windows, Mac, Linux and Chromebook, for personal and small business use.
Remote Support Standard$10
per technician / month, billed annually ($12 billed monthly)
Unlimited on-demand sessions per technician, 2 concurrent sessions, file transfer, session transfer, voice chat and help desk integrations.
Remote Support Professional$15
per technician / month, billed annually ($18 billed monthly)
Adds support for mobile devices, scheduled sessions, rebranding, session notes and audit, and 4 concurrent sessions.
Remote Support Enterprise$24
per technician / month, billed annually ($28 billed monthly)
Adds session recording, remote printing and scripts, video chat, a service queue, customer widget, webhooks, Zapier and 6 concurrent sessions.
Unattended Access Standard$10
per 25 computers / month, billed annually ($12 billed monthly)
Unlimited technicians reaching your configured computers, with grouping, bulk deployment, Wake-on-LAN, file transfer and power options.
Unattended Access Professional$15
per 25 computers / month, billed annually ($18 billed monthly)
Adds session recording, remote print and scripts, rebranding, mobile and IoT device support, a credential manager and virtual monitors.
Ways to pay less
SolarWinds Dameware
No public discounts listed.
Zoho Assist
- Annual discount
Yearly billing saves more than 15%
The pricing page says yearly billing saves more than 15%: Remote Support Standard is $10 a month billed annually against $12 billed monthly.
- Other savings
Volume discounts for larger teams
Zoho Assist offers volume discounts on both yearly and monthly billing as a team grows, arranged through its volume discount page.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, SolarWinds Dameware or Zoho Assist?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Zoho Assist is cheaper to start with: $10 a month, against $370 a month for SolarWinds Dameware. SolarWinds Dameware starts at $370 (Mini Remote Control, no monthly fees); billing basis not stated, and Zoho Assist starts at $10 per technician / month, billed annually ($12 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, SolarWinds Dameware or Zoho Assist?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Zoho Assist has a free plan. SolarWinds Dameware does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do SolarWinds Dameware and Zoho Assist run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Zoho Assist lists a web app. Both list macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android 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.