What are the best ways to share your screen with others?

Question

19

Options
Considered

306

User
Recs.

Nov 16, 2020

Last
Updated

Here’s the Deal

The Best 1 of 15 OptionsWhy?

Best ways to share your screen with others	Price	Platforms	File Size
94 TeamViewer	-	-	-
77 Join.me	-	Windows, Mac, iOS, Android	-
75 Chrome Remote Desktop	-	-	-
72 Google Hangouts	-	iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, Linux, Web	0
-- AnyDesk	-	-	2GB

See Full List

14 Other Options Considered

Join.me

Top Pro

Joining a meeting is straightforward

To join you need only enter a 9-digit code on the join.me website, that you get from the person sharing. See More

Top Con

No Linux support

Only available on Windows and OSX. See More

Daniel A's Experience

easy to use and pretty reliable See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows, Mac, iOS, Android

Top Pro

Easy to set up

To start sharing, download and run a file from join.me. You'll be given a 9-digit code to share with anyone you wan't to be able to access your screen. See More

Top Con

Bought out by Logmein

Logmein is notorious for buying out small companies and disregarding the wants and needs of the customer base of the newly bought-out company. See More

Top Pro

Collaborative

You can give others the ability to control your screen. See More

Top Pro

Up to 10 participants

10 people can view your screen. See More

Top Pro

File sharing

Join.me allows for easy file transfers among participants. See More

Top Pro

Mobile support

Join.me supports iOS, Android and Kindle. See More

Top Pro

Multi-monitor support

Works well with multiple monitors. See More

See All

Chrome Remote Desktop

Top Pro

Impressively fast

Faster than most similar applications. See More

Top Con

Single user only

If multiple users want to connect to a device, they have to take turns. See More

Yonatan's Experience

It works really nice & smooth. So easy to set up I use it to help my grandma with her computer problems!! See More

Top Pro

Easy to install

Top Pro

Simple set-up

All you need to do is install a Chrome extension. See More

Top Pro

Completely free

There are no restrictions on how you use it. See More

Top Pro

Cross-platform

Works on Windows, Mac and Linux. See More

Top Pro

Keeps making sure connection is still wanted

Every few minutes the sharer gets a popup asking if they want to continue sharing the screen, while the popup is shown the viewer can't control anything. This is important in case the sharer forgets to close the connection. See More

Top Pro

Allows viewer to make actions

If the user that shares their screen doesn't touch the mouse/keyboard the viewer can control them which makes it easy take actions instead of explaining by voice. See More

See All

Google Hangouts

Top Con

Non-collaborative

You can only stream your screen, can't give someone else control. See More

Top Pro

Share whole screen or a select window

You can choose to share whole desktop or a select window. See More

Specs

Platforms:iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, Linux, Web

Top Con

Owned by Google

Top Pro

Easy to start using

Hangouts is integrated with Gmail & Google+, does not require you to download desktop software, and all chats can take place directly in your browser, significantly reducing the barrier to entry for a new user. See More

Top Con

Won't work on Windows 8-style UI

As Hangouts uses a browser plugin on the desktop and it doesn't work with Windows 8-style UI, it has to be used in desktop mode. See More

Top Pro

Comes with a Google account

For people that use Gmail or any other Google service, Google Hangouts is already included. No need to set up another account or manage another tool, as its already right there and integrated with Google accounts. See More

Top Con

Poor video call quality

Only goes up to 720p30 + low bitrate. See More

Top Pro

Live broadcasting and instant recording

With Google+ “Hangouts on Air”, you can broadcast any hangout to an unlimited audience via your Goolge+ Profile or simply a generic YouTube link. Moreover, any Hangout on Air (public or private) is automatically saved as YouTube video that you can keep for private reference or use in any way that you would normally share a YouTube video. This allows you to record conversations without additional obtrusive software. See More

Top Pro

Group video support

Hangouts offers group video support for up to 25 simultaneous video streams and 150 members in the chat room. See More

Top Pro

Integrates with Google Maps for sharing locations

When chatting with people while trying to plan a meet up, the share map button can be extremely useful. See More

Top Pro

Mobile support

Hangouts offers both an Android and iOS app so users can participate from nearly any mobile device in addition to his Desktop. See More

Top Pro

Screen sharing

Any user can share his screen (or only a specific desktop or window) while still continuing an audio conversation. See More

Top Pro

Free group video support

Hangouts works with up to 10 participants using video out of the box or up to 15 if you are a business, government or school. It determines who is the primary speaker at any given time, and the camera view automatically switches to that user. See More

Top Pro

Cross platform

Hangouts work on Android, iOS, Chrome OS, web and as a Chrome extension. See More

Top Pro

Useful for businesses

Hangouts can scale to become a videoconferencing solution for an entire company, since the software can run on nearly all platforms. In fact, Google itself uses Hangouts as its meeting room video conference software. See More

Top Pro

Google Voice integration

Allows for a fixed phone number, receiving and making calls. Calling US or Canada is free. See More

Top Pro

Completely free

Google offers all features of Hangouts completely free. There are business, education and government solutions that increase the participant count to for video calls to 15 and offers support. See More

Top Pro

Cross-platform

You can use your web browser, Android or iOS device. See More

Top Pro

Chrome Remote Desktop extension

We can delegate input into our computer. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/chrome-remote-desktop/gbchcmhmhahfdphkhkmpfmihenigjmpp See More

See All

AnyDesk

Top Pro

Unattended

You can leave your computer unattended and connect from anywhere by just setting up a password. AnyDesk lets you set up a name for our computer so you don't need to remember the 9 digit numbers. See More

Top Con

Very delayed support on Linux

Specs

File Size:2GB

Top Pro

Cross-platform

Available for Windows, Mac OSX, Android, iOS, and Linux. See More

Top Con

Frustrating user experience

There are many malfunctions (bugs) in the program. See More

Top Pro

Very lightweight file size

At 1.1MB, it's a lightweight program that you can set up quickly. See More

Top Pro

Fast

Super-low latency, high quality desktop rendering. See More

Top Pro

Free version has no time restrictions

The free version of the program has no time restrictions or nag screens, and you don't need to give your email when signing up. See More

Top Pro

Copy and Paste Files

You can copy files between the local computer and the remote computer just by using Ctrl-C in one and Ctrl - V on the other See More

Top Pro

Portable version

Install it only if you want. You can use it in portable mode without installing anything. See More

See All

LogMeIn

Top Con

Not free

There are other programs that do the same and are free. See More

Top Pro

Access through a website

You can access a computer that you've previously installed LogMeIn on from any computer that has an internet connection through their browser. There is nothing to install on the computer you are accessing from. See More

adamlogan's Experience

Logmein as a corporation often buys out smaller companies and has a long history of not honoring the wants and needs of the customers of the newly bought-out company. See More

Top Con

The sound and chat can be buggy

The quality of the sound and chat is fairly inconsistent. See More

Top Pro

Easy setup

To set up, you need to create an account on LogMeIn, download and run their software on the computer you wish to be able to access, and set the software to allow accessing that computer from the Internet. See More

See All

Skype

Top Pro

Group video for free

You can hold video calls with up to 10 people and share your screen at the same time. See More

Top Con

Non-collaborative

You can only stream your screen, can't share control. See More

KindheartedAeternitas's Experience

skype for linux doesn't have this option (to share screen) See More

Specs

Platforms:iOS, Android, WP, OSX, Windows, Linux, Web. Blackberry. Chrome OS. BSD, iPadOs

File Size:Varies with device

Audio recording:yes

Videoconferencing:yes

See All Specs

Top Pro

Easily connect with others due to how popular the service is

There's a good chance that whoever you're trying to reach has Skype already set up and familiar with it, avoiding the hassle of installing and getting to know new software. See More

Top Con

Obnoxiously large ads

Ads take up over 25% of the usable space. See More

Top Pro

File sharing

You can transfer files simply by dragging and dropping. See More

Top Con

Subpar video quality with more than 5 users

Skype has significant problems with multiple users and video quality. Skype recommends that a max of 5 users group chat as video quality is severely affected. Even webcams tested with other chat services showed lower quality when used with Skype. See More

Top Pro

Cross-platform

There's software for Windows, Mac & Linux and apps are available on iPhone, Android, and Windows Phone. See More

Top Con

Requires both ends to be online (if neither end is using a cloud-enabled device)

Messages are sent and received only when both ends are online, if neither end is using a cloud-enabled device. In this case, if you are online 9-17 and your recipient is online 18-3, messages will never be delivered. See More

Top Pro

Choice in what you share

You can show your whole desktop, a select part of the screen or a specific window over Skype. See More

Top Con

Plagued by bugs on all platforms

Crashes and other bugs are prevalent on Android, Windows and other platforms. See More

Top Con

Owned by Microsoft

Top Con

Poor Linux support

The version available for Linux users is quite outdated, and does not support some of the newer functionality, such as the free group video calling and screen sharing. See More

Top Con

On Macs it can hijack the microphone of the machine

See All

Discord

Top Pro

User friendly

Discord follows the same type of interface design popularised by Slack, which is extremely clean and attractive, and doesn't clutter the interface with unnecessary chrome and cruft. See More

Top Con

Can't connect to own devices

This service is fine for sharing screens with other people, but no good for sharing screens among your own devices. See More

AffableKisshoten's Experience

Not good See More

Specs

File Size:8 MB free, 50 MB paid

Audio recording:no

Videoconferencing:Yes

Screensharing:yes

See All Specs

Top Pro

Cross-platform

Discord has native desktop apps for Windows, OSX and Linux, and mobile (Android, iOS) platforms and it's also accessible from the web. See More

Top Con

No self-hosting avaliable

Discord is wholly hosted by Discord (the company), you cannot run private instances, and all servers are hosted on their infrastructure. For most people, this won't really impact their usage. See More

Top Pro

Easy setup

You can quickly send invites to people and they can join in using the web client without having to create an account or install the app. See More

Top Con

Proprietary software

Discord is closed-source, meaning their code isn't available for inspection or reproduction See More

Top Pro

Free for unlimited users

Unlimited amount of users. See More

Top Pro

Can be used in browser

Users can invite others to join a Discord channel via a web link, which means no installation is required to use the software - which is one of the big typical barriers to entry for social software. See More

Top Pro

Good 1-click invite system

Discord allows inviting people to a specific channel with a link. Links can be set to expire. Low effort/passive invite mechanics. See More

Top Pro

Multiple people can share screens at the same time.

When in a group call or just in a private call with someone, everyone in the call can screen share and share video at the same time. See More

See All

WhereBy

Top Pro

No download necessary for video collaborations

Top Con

Requires a good network connection

When the internet connection is not stable, such as when communicating internationally, it doesn't perform well. See More

max's Experience

Appear.in allows for a quick and easy video conferencing solution for distributed teams, friends, and colleagues. No required registration makes this tool an obvious choice for video collabs. See More

Specs

Platforms:Web/iOS/Windows

Top Pro

Allows sharing your screen

Top Con

Lacks file sharing support

Top Pro

Includes instant messaging

Top Con

Requires upgraded plan for better screen sharing

Top Pro

Allows locking rooms

See All

Brosix

Top Pro

Great admin tools

The Enterprise version of Brosix allows the Administrator to manage their own and unique network. The Admin has also full-control over the archives of all chats within the network. See More

Top Con

Poor mobile version

The mobile version of the application contains only a few of the features that the Desktop client has. See More

pla.mi's Experience

My company has been using Brosix for years and we love it. See More

Top Pro

Affordable

For $1.70 per user per month voice & video chat, screen-sharing sessions, send unlimited files regardless of the size, etc. See More

Top Pro

Easy to use

Brosix IM facilitates the internal communication and increases office productivity. See More

Top Pro

Brosix is available on all platforms

This includes Android, iOS, Linux, Windows, Mac. See More

Top Pro

Excellent solution for companies who would like to encrypt their office communication

Brosix uses strong 256-bit encryption that secures ALL communication channels. See More

See All

Alpemix

Top Pro

Fast

No difference with others See More

ComposedEnbilulu's Experience

Stable, safe and cheap See More

Top Pro

Cheap

Maybe the chippest comparing to others See More

Top Pro

Multiplatform

Works on Windows, Linux, OS X, iOS and Android. Works crossplatform very well. See More

Top Pro

Great support

Very quick email support returns. Less than 1 hour. See More

Top Pro

Safe

For key transfers, 1024 bit RSA and 256 bit RSA are used. The key that is encoded with 1024 bit RSA can be sent directly. The key that is encoded with 256 bit RSA is not sent directly. The key that is encoded with 256 bit RSA is sent again after being encoded with 256 bit AES. See More

Top Pro

Easy Setup - No Installation

Download the client from http://www.alpemix.com/site/Alpemix.exe and run only 1 click See More

Top Pro

Free for personal use

Its free for limited individual usage. See More

Top Pro

Always Online Remote Desktop ( Service )

You can install Alpemix service for your computer to be able to connect it with only password 24/7. See More

Top Pro

Multiple remote sessions

you can connect multiple desktops simultaneously. See More

Top Pro

File sharing

You can share everyting crossplatform See More

Top Pro

Reliable

Alpemix runs since 2010 to nowaday with %99 uptime. See More

Top Pro

Good security

For key transfers, 1024 bit RSA and 256 bit RSA are used. The key that is encoded with 1024 bit RSA can be sent directly. The key that is encoded with 256 bit RSA is not sent directly. The key that is encoded with 256 bit RSA is sent again after being encoded with 256 bit AES. See More

See All

Brosix Instant Messenger

pla.mi's Experience

The ultimate tool for your business See More

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score 80 · Accepted Answer

TeamViewer

Top Pro

Easy setup

Download the client from TeamViewer and run the software. Optionally, you can also install the software for unattended control. See More

Top Con

Not Free

It is not free as other apps with the same functions. See More

Peter J. Mello's Experience

TeamViewer has long been on a level all its own for Remote Desktop functionality and very often I feel like I'd be crippled without it. See More

Top Pro

File sharing

You can transfer files over TeamViewer simply by dragging and dropping. See More

Top Con

Free version stops working

After a while your MAC address gets banned and the free version will stop working. See More

Yanis's Experience

Does more than share screen, love it. See More

Top Pro

Reliable

TeamViewer has been around since 2005 with an excellent track record. See More

Top Con

Naggy

Each time the application is in the process of being closed it stops to try to sell you the paid version. See More

Top Pro

Free for personal use

As long as you don't use TeamViewer for commercial use, it's free. See More

Top Con

Linux support is very slow. It is built on wine.

Top Pro

Cross-platform

Works on Windows, Linux, OS X, iOS and Android. Works seamlessly independent of platform and accessible for web, mobile, and desktop app usage. See More

Top Con

Compromised leading to many users having their personal information stolen

Users are reporting that TeamViewer has been compromised, leading to these users having their personal computers and browsers used in a remote session in order to purchase copious amounts of online codes. See More

Top Pro

Multiple remote sessions

You can connect to multiple computers at the same time and navigate them via tabs. See More

Top Con

Linux version's performance could be better

TeamViewer is powered by Wine, an emulator, on Linux and as such it runs slower than a native application would. See More

Top Pro

Can designate users that can always connect

Has option to give permission for someone to remotely connect with or without being granted. See More

Top Pro

Two-step authentication support

In tandem with TeamViewer mobile app, you can choose to set up two-factor authentication. See More

Top Pro

Clipboard passthrough

Things that you copy to your clipboard (ctrl + c), can be pasted on the remote computer (ctrl + v). See More

Top Pro

Wake-on-LAN

TeamViewer has the ability to wake up a sleeping computer and return it to sleep state on disconnect. See More

See All

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The Best 1 of 15 OptionsWhy?

My Recommendation for TeamViewer

My Recommendation for TeamViewer

Easy setup

Not Free

File sharing

Free version stops working

Reliable

Naggy

Free for personal use

Linux support is very slow. It is built on wine.

Cross-platform

Compromised leading to many users having their personal information stolen

Multiple remote sessions

Linux version's performance could be better

Can designate users that can always connect

Two-step authentication support

Clipboard passthrough

Wake-on-LAN

14 Other Options Considered

My Recommendation for Join.me

My Recommendation for Join.me

Joining a meeting is straightforward

No Linux support

Easy to set up

Bought out by Logmein

Collaborative

Up to 10 participants

File sharing

Mobile support

Multi-monitor support

My Recommendation for Chrome Remote Desktop

My Recommendation for Chrome Remote Desktop

Impressively fast

Single user only

Easy to install

Simple set-up

Completely free

Cross-platform

Keeps making sure connection is still wanted

Allows viewer to make actions

My Recommendation for Google Hangouts

My Recommendation for Google Hangouts

Non-collaborative

Share whole screen or a select window

Owned by Google

Easy to start using

Won't work on Windows 8-style UI

Comes with a Google account

Poor video call quality

Live broadcasting and instant recording

Group video support

Integrates with Google Maps for sharing locations

Mobile support

Screen sharing

Free group video support

Cross platform

Useful for businesses

Google Voice integration

Completely free

Cross-platform

Chrome Remote Desktop extension

My Recommendation for AnyDesk

My Recommendation for AnyDesk

Unattended

Very delayed support on Linux

Cross-platform

Frustrating user experience

Very lightweight file size

Fast

Free version has no time restrictions

Copy and Paste Files

Portable version

My Recommendation for LogMeIn

My Recommendation for LogMeIn

Not free

Access through a website

The sound and chat can be buggy

Easy setup

My Recommendation for Jitsi