# Apache Guacamole review (2026): is it any good? > Open-source clientless remote desktop gateway Checked Nov 12, 2026 ยท graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA. Apache Guacamole is a remote desktop gateway you install on your own server. It supports VNC, RDP and SSH, and users reach their machines from an HTML5 web page with no plugin or client software. It is free and open source under the Apache License 2.0, with community support and third-party commercial support available. - **Category:** Remote Desktop - **Made by:** The Apache Software Foundation - **Website:** https://guacamole.apache.org - **Runs on:** Web - **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you don't want to host and update software yourself. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 12, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 12, 2026, Apache Guacamole is free to use. - **Pricing model:** Free - **Free plan:** None. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Open source | $0 | Free under the Apache License 2.0; you host the gateway yourself. | Read from https://guacamole.apache.org on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Apache Guacamole before buying. ## Key features - **Clientless access:** Once Guacamole is installed on a server, a web browser is all a user needs to reach a desktop; no plugins or client software are required. - **Standard protocols:** The gateway supports VNC, RDP and SSH, so existing machines can be reached without installing a special agent on them. - **Cloud-hosted desktops:** The project notes the desktops need not be physical, so a desktop OS running in the cloud can be reached through a cloud-hosted Guacamole. - **Documented APIs:** Guacamole is built on its own documented core APIs, which let it be integrated into other open source or proprietary applications. ## Good for - IT teams that want browser-only access to internal machines - Organizations that prefer to host their own gateway - Developers embedding remote desktop in another application ## Worth knowing - You install, host and update it yourself; the project site offers no hosted service. - Support is community mailing lists, with commercial support only from third-party companies. - It is a gateway to machines that already run VNC, RDP or SSH. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.0 out of 4**, graded Nov 12, 2026. Apache Guacamole is a free, open-source gateway that lets you reach machines over VNC, RDP or SSH from a web browser, with nothing to install on the client. You host it yourself, and support is community mailing lists. It's a gateway, so the machines behind it still need their own servers. - **Value for money: C.** Free under Apache 2.0 only if you host it yourself, so the real cost is a server. The project site offers no hosted service. - **Free plan and trial: B.** The whole project is free, with no paid tier. The server you run it on is yours to pay for. - **Features: C.** Clientless access, the standard protocols, cloud-hosted desktops and documented APIs. It reaches machines that already run VNC, RDP or SSH and doesn't replace them. - **Ease of use: D.** No rating on record. You install, host and update it yourself. - **Platforms and integrations: C.** Web only through a browser, with documented APIs but no phone or desktop apps listed. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Apache Guacamole's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among remote desktop apps - Apache Guacamole's GPA of 2.0 is higher than 0 of the 35 other remote desktop apps we grade, and level with 1. - It stands best on free plan and trial (B, above 19 of 35) and worst on ease of use (D, above 0). - Apache Guacamole has no paid plan. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 1.7 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/remote-access ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** Apache Guacamole is free, so making your own would save you nothing. And it is not the kind of software a weekend replaces. That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 34 of the 35 other remote desktop apps grade higher. - You could not: A fast, secure link to another computer through any network. - You could not: An API that other software can build on. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. **Tags:** Remote desktop, Open source, Self-hostable, Public API ## Alternatives - [MeshCentral](https://toolgpa.com/tools/meshcentral): Self-hosted open-source remote device management site. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/apache-guacamole-vs-meshcentral) - [Remmina](https://toolgpa.com/tools/remmina): Free Linux remote desktop client for RDP, VNC and SSH. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/apache-guacamole-vs-remmina) - [RustDesk](https://toolgpa.com/tools/rustdesk): Open-source remote desktop you can run on your own server. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/apache-guacamole-vs-rustdesk) - [mRemoteNG](https://toolgpa.com/tools/mremoteng): Free tabbed connection manager for RDP, VNC and SSH on Windows. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/apache-guacamole-vs-mremoteng) - [RealVNC Connect](https://toolgpa.com/tools/realvnc-connect): Remote access from the makers of VNC, with end-to-end encryption. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/apache-guacamole-vs-realvnc-connect) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026: - https://guacamole.apache.org Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/apache-guacamole Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).