The Best Remote Connection Manager Software in 2026
We researched these products from official websites, including pricing pages, plan tables and product documentation. They are ranked on the category’s core job, value for money and verified features, so buyers can compare how effectively each tool organizes remote desktop, SSH, RDP and VNC connections.
Our top picks
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Top ranked
9.4/10A broad connection manager for governed IT access across desktop and mobile platforms.
Free plan · 14-day trial
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Runner-up
RustConn#2 of 299.0/10A broad, free desktop connection manager for technical teams that need protocol and credential flexibility.
Free plan
-
Top-ranked free plan
BURSU Connection Manager#3 of 298.8/10A capable free manager for mixed protocols, embedded sessions, and mobile access.
Free plan
Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.
The full ranking 29 tools, best first
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Best forIT teams needing broad, governed connection management
A broad connection manager for governed IT access across desktop and mobile platforms.
- Mobile apps
- Session recording
- Team connection sharing
9.4/10★★★★★Visit Devolutions -
Best forTechnical teams wanting a free open-source manager
A broad, free desktop connection manager for technical teams that need protocol and credential flexibility.
- Session recording
- Team connection sharing
- Credential vault
9.0/10★★★★☆Visit RustConn -
BURSU Connection ManagerVerified
Best forCross-platform users wanting a capable free manager
A capable free manager for mixed protocols, embedded sessions, and mobile access.
- Mobile apps
- Session recording
- Team connection sharing
8.8/10★★★★☆Visit BURSUsofts -
Best forOrganizations needing browser-based self-hosted access
Free, open-source remote access for organizations prepared to self-host.
- Session recording
8.6/10★★★★☆Try Apache Guacamole -
Best forTeams wanting free self-hosted remote access
A broad, free self-hosted remote access hub for technical teams.
- Mobile apps
- Session recording
- Team connection sharing
8.4/10★★★★☆Visit Nexterm -
Best forTeams wanting affordable modern connection management
A cross-platform connection manager with a useful free plan and AI-agent support.
- Mobile apps
- Team connection sharing
- Credential vault
8.2/10★★★★☆Visit Conduit -
Best forEnterprise teams needing controlled remote access
A controlled remote access gateway for teams managing varied infrastructure and internal applications.
- Session recording
- Team connection sharing
- Credential vault
8.1/10★★★★☆Visit Keeper -
Best forIndividuals wanting broad free desktop connectivity
A broad, free connection manager for individuals across desktop and mobile.
- Mobile apps
8.0/10★★★★☆Visit electerm -
Best forPower users needing a broad desktop toolkit
A broad desktop toolkit for technical users managing varied remote systems.
- Credential vault
7.9/10★★★★☆Visit uniTerm -
Best forWindows administrators managing VNC-heavy environments
A Windows-focused manager for VNC-heavy teams that also need RDP, SSH, Hyper-V and discovery tools.
7.8/10★★★★☆Visit SmartCode -
Best forWindows teams wanting one-time licensed management
A capable Windows connection manager with perpetual licensing and useful team controls.
- Team connection sharing
7.7/10★★★★☆Visit Royal TS -
Best forWindows users needing a polished terminal hub
A capable Windows terminal hub with broad protocol support and a focused desktop scope.
- Team connection sharing
7.6/10★★★★☆Visit MobaXterm -
Best forDesktop users needing VPN-aware remote sessions
A broad, open-source desktop toolkit for VPN-aware remote access and file work.
- Credential vault
7.5/10★★★★☆Try Remote Commander -
Best forWindows users wanting a focused free manager
A focused free Windows manager for multi-protocol remote sessions.
- Team connection sharing
- Credential vault
7.4/10★★★★☆Visit 1Remote -
Best forSmall teams wanting a lightweight open-source manager
A free, open-source desktop manager for teams handling varied remote connections.
- Team connection sharing
- Credential vault
7.3/10★★★★☆Visit MremoteGO -
Best forWindows users wanting a simple connection hub
A free Windows hub for organizing varied remote sessions in one tabbed interface.
7.2/10★★★★☆Visit mRemoteNG -
Best forLinux users wanting free SSH and RDP organization
A capable free option for Linux users managing SSH, RDP, VNC and Telnet sessions.
- Credential vault
7.1/10★★★★☆Visit Ásbrú -
Best forSolo developers managing SSH-based fleets
A capable local-first connection manager for solo developers running SSH-based fleets.
- Credential vault
7.0/10★★★★☆Visit TermDesk -
Best forLinux users wanting inexpensive offline-first management
An offline-first Linux manager with broad protocol support and a free tier.
- Credential vault
6.9/10★★★☆☆Visit Connect-rs -
Best forLinux users needing a straightforward free client
A free Linux client with broad protocol support, but limited team-management depth.
6.8/10★★★☆☆Visit Remmina -
Best forLinux users needing secure SSH/RDP basics
A focused Linux tool for organizing SSH and RDP connections securely.
- Credential vault
6.7/10★★★☆☆Visit Remota -
Best forWindows users needing simple SSH and RDP sessions
A free Windows manager for organized SSH, RDP, and SFTP sessions.
6.6/10★★★☆☆Visit RemoteSM -
Best forWindows users focused on SSH workflows
A free Windows desktop tool centered on organized SSH sessions and file transfer.
- Team connection sharing
- Credential vault
6.5/10★★★☆☆Visit WinSSHTerm -
Best forSelf-hosted teams prioritizing auditing
A broad, audit-focused remote access layer for teams that want self-hosting.
- Session recording
6.4/10★★★☆☆Visit Webterminal -
Best forDelinea customers managing audited RDP and SSH access
A focused desktop manager for audited RDP and SSH access in Delinea environments.
- Session recording
- Credential vault
6.3/10★★★☆☆Visit Delinea -
Best forLinux users needing basic free RDP and VNC access
A free, focused Linux client for basic VNC and RDP remote desktop access.
6.2/10★★★☆☆Explore KRDC -
Best forUsers needing a local file-management utility
A capable local terminal file manager, but not a remote connection manager.
6.1/10★★★☆☆Visit Termix -
Best forWindows administrators managing startup entries
A focused, free Windows startup utility—not a remote connection manager.
5.9/10★★★☆☆Visit Autoruns -
Best forTeams needing remote infrastructure monitoring
A capable open-source fleet monitor, but not a full remote connection manager.
5.2/10★★★☆☆Visit Heimdall
No tools match those filters.
Compare at a glance
| # | Tool | Free plan | Paid from | Supported protocols | Desktop platforms | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Devolutions Remote Desktop Manager | Yes | $30/user/mo | RDP, SSH, VNC, ARD, FTP, FTPS, SFTP, Telnet, Citrix, VMware, Hyper-V, TeamViewer, VPN and 150+ protocols | Windows, macOS, Linux | 9.4 |
| 2 | RustConn | Yes | Free | SSH, RDP, VNC, SPICE, MOSH, SFTP, Telnet, Serial, Kubernetes, Web, Zero Trust | Linux, macOS, Windows via WSL2/WSLg | 9.0 |
| 3 | BURSU Connection Manager | Yes | Free | SSH, WinRM, RDP, VNC, AppleRD, Telnet, Serial, Web, FTP, FTPS, SFTP | Windows, macOS, Linux | 8.8 |
| 4 | Apache Guacamole | Yes | Free | 8.6 | ||
| 5 | Nexterm | Yes | Free | SSH, VNC, RDP, Telnet | Windows, macOS, Linux | 8.4 |
| 6 | Conduit | Yes | $10/mo | SSH, RDP, VNC, Web | macOS, Windows, Linux | 8.2 |
| 7 | Keeper Connection Manager | No | RDP, SSH, HTTP/HTTPS, VNC, Telnet, Kubernetes, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server | Windows, Linux | 8.1 | |
| 8 | electerm | Yes | Free | SSH, Telnet, VNC, RDP, SPICE, Serial, FTP, HTTP/HTTPS | Windows, macOS, Linux | 8.0 |
| 9 | uniTerm | Free | SSH, Telnet, Mosh, Serial, Raw TCP, Local, WSL, SFTP, SCP, FTP, FTPS, SMB, WebDAV, S3, Zmodem, RDP, VNC, SPICE, X11, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQL Server, rqlite, Redis, MongoDB, Elasticsearch, Kubernetes, Docker, Podman, nerdctl, WSLC | Windows, macOS, Linux | 7.9 | |
| 10 | SmartCode VNC Manager | No | $58.99/user/yr | 7.8 | ||
| 11 | Royal TS | Yes | €49/user one-time | SSH, Telnet, RS232, Raw, Rlogin, RDP, VNC, HTTP/HTTPS, FTP, SFTP, SCP | 7.7 | |
| 12 | MobaXterm | Yes | SSH, SFTP, SCP, FTP, FTPS, Telnet, Rlogin, RSH, RDP, VNC, XDMCP, Mosh, Serial | 7.6 | ||
| 13 | Remote Commander | Free | SSH, SFTP, RDP, VNC, OpenVPN, WireGuard | Windows, macOS, Linux | 7.5 | |
| 14 | 1Remote | Yes | Free | RDP, SSH, VNC, Telnet, FTP, SFTP, RemoteApp, NoMachine and other applications | Windows | 7.4 |
| 15 | MremoteGO | Yes | Free | SSH, RDP, VNC, HTTP/HTTPS, Telnet | Windows, Linux, macOS | 7.3 |
| 16 | mRemoteNG | Yes | Free | RDP, VNC, SSH, Telnet, HTTP/HTTPS, rlogin, raw sockets, PowerShell remoting, AnyDesk, SFTP, SCP | 7.2 | |
| 17 | Ásbrú Connection Manager | Yes | Free | SSH, RDP, VNC, Telnet | Linux, Windows via WSL | 7.1 |
| 18 | TermDesk | Yes | Free | SSH, SFTP, VNC, RDP | macOS, Windows, Linux | 7.0 |
| 19 | Connect-rs | Yes | $39/user/yr | SSH, RDP, VNC, Telnet, SFTP, Local | Linux | 6.9 |
| 20 | Remmina | Yes | Free | 6.8 | ||
| 21 | Remota | Yes | Free | SSH, RDP | Linux | 6.7 |
| 22 | RemoteSM | Yes | Free | SSH, RDP, SFTP | Windows | 6.6 |
| 23 | WinSSHTerm | Yes | Free | SSH, SCP, Telnet, RDP, VNC, HTTP | Windows | 6.5 |
| 24 | Webterminal | Free | SSH, SFTP, RDP, VNC, Telnet | Linux, macOS, Windows | 6.4 | |
| 25 | Delinea Connection Manager | RDP, SSH | Windows, macOS | 6.3 | ||
| 26 | KRDC | Yes | Free | 6.2 | ||
| 27 | Termix | Free | 6.1 | |||
| 28 | Autoruns | Yes | Free | 5.9 | ||
| 29 | Heimdall | Yes | Free | 5.2 |
Head-to-head All 28 comparisons →
- Devolutions Remote Desktop Manager vs RustConn
- Devolutions Remote Desktop Manager vs BURSU Connection Manager
- Devolutions Remote Desktop Manager vs Apache Guacamole
- Devolutions Remote Desktop Manager vs Nexterm
- Devolutions Remote Desktop Manager vs Conduit
- Devolutions Remote Desktop Manager vs Keeper Connection Manager
- Devolutions Remote Desktop Manager vs electerm
- RustConn vs BURSU Connection Manager
- RustConn vs Apache Guacamole
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How we rank remote connection manager software
Every tool on this page was researched by iTechGuides Editors from its official website — pricing pages, plan tables and product documentation. We rank on how well each one does this category's core job, what the free or entry plan includes, and where it falls short. Where we have enough verified facts, the score out of 10 is a rubric — job fit, value and how much we could verify — shown with its breakdown on every tool's page; a tool we have not verified enough to score yet shows its rank without a number. Scores are re-checked when a product changes its plans. Read the full editorial policy, or submit a tool we missed.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Last updated · How we research and update