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PCCommunicationsSysadminUtilitiesWindowsProductivity

What are the best free VNC servers for Windows?

6

Options
Considered

490

User
Recs.

May 6, 2021

Last
Updated

Here’s the Deal

The Best 1 of 4 OptionsWhy?

Best free VNC servers for Windows	Price	Platforms	Last Updated
93 TightVNC Server	-	Windows	May 6, 2021
-- UltraVNC Server	-	Windows	Apr 28, 2021
63 TigerVNC	-	Windows, Mac OS X, Linux	Mar 27, 2021
-- RealVNC	$0 - $50	Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Raspberry Pi, Solaris, HP-UX, AIX	Mar 14, 2021

TightVNC Server

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Top Pro

Supports file transfer

You can download and upload files to the server when connected. See More

Top Con

No encryption option

webwake's Experience

Easy to install and configure. Lightweight. See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows

Top Pro

Easy install

Got rid of Teamviewer. They say it's free for non-commercial use but they randomly shut you down claiming they "detected" commercial use. Tight VNC was an easy install after changing all computers on my LAN to static IP addresses. Setting up No-IP to connect remotely. Goodbye Team-commercial-use-detected-viewer. See More

Top Con

Crashes constantly

Can't be depended upon. See More

CourageousCottyto's Experience

SpontaneousZarik's Experience

Did not refresh the screen at all. I needed to ask for each refresh explicitly See More

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3 Other Options Considered

UltraVNC Server

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Top Pro

Free, full featured

Top Con

Runs like crap on Windows 8 and 10

MeticulousAnahita's Experience

File transfer and messaging is a big deal for me. Both work in free version See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows

Top Con

Encryption plugin was last updated in 2010

SpontaneousZarik's Experience

Works great. A little slow, but everything is updated (unlike other VNC servers I tried) See More

AgreeableVeles's Experience

ExpertArinniti's Experience

Free, full featured See More

TigerVNC

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Top Con

Impossible to connect to it even on the same machine

Top Pro

Faster than other VNC implementations

UnderstandingSurma's Experience

Seems to be very solid and adds features not in tightvnc. See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows, Mac OS X, Linux

Top Con

Incomplete user documentation

There is one page total about setting it up on Windows. That page is incomplete. One section has been truncated, and another is outright missing. One is critical, the other is security. See More

ImmaculateEmpusa's Experience

I couldn't connect to the server once I'd gotten it installed. The actual download was hard to find; I had to click five links to get it downloading(from their main site), and two of those are hard to spot(they have an open github issue about this, and they "don't see enough of an issue to give it priority right now" since August 2018), and the documentation is abysmally incomplete. See More

Top Con

The project is unmaintained

Top Con

Download is hard to find

Five links from their main website to get a download. Two of those are very non-obvious. See More

RealVNC

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Top Pro

Excellent cross platform support

As the original inventors of VNC and having operated and developed VNC over many years, RealVNC offers great cross-platform support in their product. See More

Top Con

Requires internet acccess and routing through their cloud servers, and requires a signup for an account

I don't know when the requirements changed, but unless you use the enterprise version of their software (with the enterprise license), you have to use the cloud to connect. No direct connections, even on a local network. See More

OpinionatedMeskhenet's Experience

RealVNC is easy to install, both the server and the client. Current servers include Windows 10 only. Current viewers include Windows 10 and Chromebook. See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Raspberry Pi, Solaris, HP-UX, AIX

Top Pro

Encryption support

Top Con

Requires you signup for an account

ExpertArinniti's Experience

In old licensing model it was perfect to have payed encrypted VNC, quality perfect ... See More

Top Con

Home subscription limits to 5 remote computers

https://www.realvnc.com/en/connect/docs/faq/license-entitlement.html See More

SpontaneousZarik's Experience

didn't work at all on my system. could not connect. See More

Top Con

Free version does not offer encryption

InfluentialPariacaca's Experience

Great cross platform service for those with mixed platforms or legacy devices in the house. Right now I am using free VNC to mirror my iMac display to my legacy HD TV via a Raspberry Pi, which in turn I can control with screen sharing. I can also mirror my legacy iPad. See More

Top Con

Free for non-commercial use only

You must pay a subscription fee for the Enterprise version. See More

AwesomestLuchtaine's Experience

does not work when connecting XP or Win7 computers to Win 10 target computers. See More

maken's Experience

Used it at work exclusively See More

TeamViewer

mRemoteNG

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