TideDesk vs AnyDesk, TeamViewer, RustDesk and VNC

There are many remote desktop tools. TideDesk does a few things on purpose and leaves others out. This page says which is which, so you can tell quickly whether it fits.

What TideDesk is

• Remote access between your own Windows computers: screen, system audio, keyboard and mouse, and optional text clipboard.
• No account. Connect by device ID or address, plus an access code.
• Always direct. Sessions are never relayed through a server; they are encrypted end to end with QUIC and TLS 1.3.
• Free for personal, non-commercial use; work use needs a licence.
• An early alpha, Windows only.

Compared with other tools

TeamViewer and AnyDesk

Long-established commercial products that run on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS, with paid plans for business use. Choose them if you need other platforms, support for many users or a mature, stable product. TideDesk is narrower: Windows to Windows, with no vendor account.

RustDesk

A free, cross-platform remote desktop, its source published under the AGPL, that can use a relay server when a direct connection is not possible and lets you host that server yourself. Choose RustDesk if you need other platforms or a relay. TideDesk never relays, so on networks that block direct connections you need a VPN or a forwarded port; see remote desktop over mobile data.

Chrome Remote Desktop

Google’s free remote access, which needs a Google account and Chrome. TideDesk needs no account of any kind and sends the remote computer’s sound.

VNC (TightVNC and others)

VNC tools send tiles of the screen over one TCP connection and carry no sound. TideDesk sends H.264 video and Opus audio over QUIC, so video, audio and input do not hold each other up; on the host it uses Windows’ desktop duplication, so nothing is captured or encoded while the screen is still.

Windows Remote Desktop

Built into Windows, but a computer can only be reached with it on Pro, Enterprise or Education editions. TideDesk works on Windows Home too.

Choose something else if you need

• macOS, Linux or iOS (planned for TideDesk, with no date), or a full Android app (TideDesk's Android viewer is an experimental preview).
• Several viewers at once, or control of the Windows login screen and UAC prompts.
• A relay for networks that block direct connections.
• A stable release: TideDesk is an early alpha.