Let’s be honest, it’s time to move on from TeamViewer for remote access. Once dominant, it’s showing its age while the open-source contenders have caught up fast. These modern alternatives are faster, more flexible, and customizable. Additionally, you won’t feel the pinch in your wallet with subscriptions and restrictive licensing terms.

While TeamViewer makes it easier for non-technical users, it has quickly become a favorite tool for most scammers. For the fairly tech-savvy, it’s natural to lean towards more open and transparent tools that are easy to set up and give you control over the data. Let me explain why open-source remote desktop tools are sufficient, so you no longer need to use TeamViewer.

RustDesk

Best self-hosted remote desktop tool for daily use

RustDesk has quickly become a community favorite and for good reason. It’s a go-to option for quick, fuss-free support and troubleshooting. It’s an appropriate TeamViewer alternative that’s open source and straightforward. The default RustDesk client is a native, lightweight, and spiffy client, while browser-based access is limited to third-party web wrappers. Install the client and get started without any tedious sign-ups. After that, you need the displayed ID and One-Time Password to have complete control over your data and infrastructure (if you self-host).

Indeed, you can self-host RustDesk’s remote desktop server to control your own relay instead of using its public relay server. You can make the most of unattended and persistent access when offering support or when checking your own machine remotely. Built-in file-transfer and basic chat capabilities make it appear to be a collaborative tool. RustDesk shines without any bloat or “commercial use detected” naggings.

RustDesk

Written in Rust, its a popular open-source tool for remote desktop access and you can self-host its server.

Remotely

Suitable for script-based automation and integrations

Remotely can be your top choice in your toolbox if you manage multiple servers or a growing home lab. Unlike a typical remote desktop app, it offers you full control and management of your infrastructure. With Remotely, you can configure tasks using scripts, execute commands, and automate workflows directly from its web UI. It’s like a centralized control panel to keep track of your machines, minus the licensing headaches. And since you can self-host it, you fully control your scripts, automation, and data.

Remotely shines with its flexibility to integrate community plugins and scripts. However, it requires extra effort, but the payoff is huge if you like tinkering and tweaking your setup. You can set up monitoring dashboards, trigger API calls, and create automations using webhooks. This tool is a worthy choice for remote automation, container management, and orchestrating deployments via remote desktop.

Remotely

Remotely is a remote desktop tool that supports scripting, automation, and third-party integrations.

MeshCentral

Managing several devices with enterprise-grade features

If you are managing a large fleet of machines for a company, school/college, or multiple home labs, MeshCentral is an alternative to TeamViewer. You can deploy it on your own server and gain complete control with enterprise-grade tools, including access control lists, two-factor authentication, detailed logging, remote shells, and secure file transfers. You don’t need to add any third-party apps or cloud.

MeshCentral shines in its scalability. In fact, you can even set up admins in IT teams to help you support numerous machines using scripts, remote KVM, and even firmware updates or operating system deployments. That means it requires considerable effort to set up and maintain, unlike other “set and forget” options. Built for serious users, its user interface might seem highly technical, but that’s a small price to pay for full control.

MeshCentral

Manage thousands of machines from a single remote desktop access tool

Apache Guacamole

Centralized, clientless gateway for a variety of environments

Imagine not having to install any clients and just self-hosting a remote desktop access gateway? Apache Guacamole offers exactly that. It’s a self-hosted gateway that you can deploy on your server and connect to your systems through a browser. No other client installation needed. It supports the Remote Desktop Protocol, VNC, and SSH, making it suitable for mixed environments. For better security, you can add an authentication layer on top using SSO or multi-factor authentication to provide controlled, secure access. Of course, configuring it all from shell access to file transfers will require you to roll up your sleeves.

When juggling various machines with multiple operating systems, such as Windows, Linux, and macOS, Apache Guacamole can be a good stepping stone. Its clientless approach serves as a reliable bridge, letting you scale your home lab to an enterprise-grade environment while maintaining flexibility to tinker with any installations.

Apache Guacamole

Just deploy the gateway and try this clientless remote desktop access and management software from Apache.

DWService

Don’t want to install a native client? Try DWService. It’s an entirely web-based remote desktop access solution and is quite suitable for quick, one-off support sessions. You’ll need to install DWService’s agent on the remote machine, and you’re good to go. The remote sessions are encrypted by default. And after connecting, you can browse the remote computer, transfer files, or even open a shell from the web dashboard.

That said, it has a caveat. While the client-side agent is open source and easily inspectable, there’s no way to audit the server-side code. That means you can’t audit or peek into the backend, so keep that in mind if transparency is paramount to you. Its fast, no-fuss file transfer capability makes it a convenient remote access tool with minimal setup.

DWService

DWService is an open-source remote desktop tool that lets you control machines using a web browser.

Time to try open-source tools, especially self-hostable ones

These open-source remote desktop tools have come a long way, offering fast, secure, and full control over your data. From simple remote support to managing multiple systems with enterprise-grade features, these remote desktop tools may fit your team usage, and will help you say goodbye to TeamViewer woes.