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RealVNC Connect
Some of your machines run Linux; some sit on networks with no internet. Remote access should still reach every one of them — RealVNC Connect reaches Windows, Mac, Linux and Raspberry Pi machines through RealVNC’s cloud, directly over your LAN, or fully offline — priced by the sessions your team runs at once, from the company that created VNC.
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Same software. Better outcome — at a lower cost.
How it’s rated
Full scoreboard ↓Quick answer
The RealVNC platform family
This page covers RealVNC Connect — every plan, HelpDesk and the offline Enterprise option. The rest:
Quick facts
30-second orientation- Product
- Remote access and support, attended and unattended
- Built on
- VNC, from the company its creators founded in 2002
- Connectivity
- Cloud-brokered; direct LAN on Premium; offline on Enterprise
- Licence
- Per active connection (sessions at once), annual
- Price
- Essentials $8.75/month billed annually, USD
- Targets
- Windows, macOS, Linux, Raspberry Pi OS
- Security
- AES-GCM up to 256-bit; ISO 27001:2022
- Analysts
- No analyst placement; G2 and Capterra are reviews
- India
- No India data centre; offline Enterprise stays local
- In India via
- TechBag — INR/GST, sizing and support
Understand VNC remote access before you choose a tool
Most product pages skip this. We start here — so you buy a capability, not a buzzword.
What is VNC remote access?
VNC shares a computer’s screen, keyboard and mouse with another device; RealVNC Connect adds accounts, cloud brokering and support tools on top.
An open VNC port and a VPN vs RealVNC Connect — the honest table
What consolidation actually replaces, dimension by dimension.
| Dimension | An open VNC port and a VPN | RealVNC Connect |
|---|---|---|
| Reaching a machine from outside | Port 5900 forwarded, or a VPN client | Outbound-only brokering, no inbound ports |
| Proving who is connecting | One shared VNC password | Account 2FA plus the machine’s own login |
| Helping someone who asks | Talk them through it on a call | HelpDesk session code or a 120-second guest code |
| Evidence of the work | Nothing kept | Recordings on the technician’s machine, from Plus |
| Sites with no internet | A different tool, or none | Offline licensing on Enterprise, no phone-home |
| What it is NOT | — | It connects only; no patching, scripts or monitoring |
The cheapest test is the 14-day trial: put RealVNC Server on a Windows PC, a Mac and a Linux box, and time the sessions.
The five pieces of the platform
Vendors love diagrams; buyers need to know what they’re actually operating. Here’s the whole platform, demystified.
Server
Installed on each Windows, Mac, Linux or Raspberry Pi machine, it asks for that machine’s own system or domain login before a session opens, separate from the RealVNC account.
App
Since v8 one app both serves and views. The Connect Viewer (renamed in April 2026) needs a sign-in, while the v7 Classic Viewer remains for offline and direct use.
Broker
Both ends connect outward, so no ports are opened; the broker tries peer-to-peer first and falls back to RealVNC’s own relay, run in its US and UK data centres.
Console
Teams, devices, permissions and audit logs live in the web portal; offline Enterprise estates can add a self-hosted console on Windows Server in its place.
RealVNC Server on each machine, the Connect app on yours — meeting through RealVNC’s broker, your LAN, or fully offline.
Nine capabilities. Connect, secure, manage.
RealVNC Connect lets a team reach and support computers through the cloud, over its own network, or with no internet at all.
Device Access with nobody there
Managed devices stay reachable with no one present — 3 on Essentials, 50 on Plus and 150 on Premium — once RealVNC Server is licensed.
On-Demand Assist by session code
A user who needs help joins an attended session by code on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android; it comes with Premium and Enterprise.
A guest code that lasts 120 seconds
A one-time code, valid for two minutes, lets a technician join an attended session between two licensed RealVNC Connect accounts.
AES-GCM with forward secrecy
Sessions are encrypted end to end with AES-GCM at 128 or 256 bits and perfect forward secrecy; an RSA key fingerprint confirms each server.
A second login at the machine
By default every session needs the remote computer’s own credentials; Premium adds smartcard, Duo or RSA SecurID MFA over RADIUS.
Recordings kept on your side
From Plus, sessions can be recorded, or recording enforced, as .webm files on the controlling computer; RealVNC says it cannot access them.
Profiles, groups and rights
Plus brings standard permission profiles plus user and device groups; Premium adds granular and advanced permissions for each group.
Audit trail from Premium
Session events go to the local system log and, for cloud sessions, to the portal’s audit tool and API; the on-prem console exports CSV.
MSI, Group Policy and SSO
Enterprise adds MSI mass deployment, Group Policy settings and account sign-in through Entra ID or Okta using OIDC, not SAML.
Watch RealVNC Connect in action
The January 2026 product demo, getting started and permissions in v8, and RealVNC’s podcast on on-premises remote access. All from RealVNC’s official channel.
RealVNC Connect Demo January 2026
A full tour of the current v8 app and portal.
RealVNC Connect v8 | Get Started | Add a device | Invite another device
Adding a device and inviting another to the team.
RealVNC Connect v8 | Permissions and Settings
Deciding who may do what in a session.
Remote Access Redefined S2 E3: The Advantages of On Premises Remote Access for Enterprise Security
RealVNC’s case for offline, on-premises access.
Want a live, India-context walkthrough for your environment?
Book a guided demo →Remote machines now sit on clouds, shop floors and closed networks. RealVNC Connect reaches them through the cloud, your LAN, or fully offline.
Here’s what genuinely sets it apart — and exactly where it stops.
Cloud, direct or completely offline
Every plan can connect through RealVNC’s cloud broker without opening a port. Premium adds direct connections over your LAN or VPN, and Enterprise adds offline licensing, where neither Server nor Viewer contacts RealVNC at all — the route for plants, labs and other sites with no internet.
Priced by sessions running at once
Since November 2024, Essentials, Plus and Premium are sold per active connection: the number of sessions your whole team can run at the same moment. Plus and Premium include unlimited users, so a team of ten that rarely works on more than three machines together pays for three.
Made by the people behind VNC
RealVNC was founded in 2002 by the team that created VNC, and it shows in the reach: Linux and Raspberry Pi OS sit alongside Windows and macOS on every plan, and the app can also open other vendors’ VNC servers — one on Essentials, up to 15 on Premium.
Where it stops
There is no India data centre and no INR price. Single sign-on is OIDC and Enterprise-only, with no SAML. Phones can be viewed as unattended targets only on Enterprise. Recordings stay on each technician’s computer, so there is no central archive, and there is no patching or monitoring.
The numbers behind the platform
What your RealVNC Connect rollout looks like
Count sessions at your peak
Log how many remote sessions your team runs at the same moment and which machines need unattended access — that sets the plan.
Choose cloud, direct or offline
List sites that block the internet or forbid vendor clouds; direct LAN connections need Premium and offline licensing needs Enterprise.
Run the 14-day trial
Install RealVNC Server on a Windows PC, a Mac and a Linux or Pi machine, then time unattended and Code Connect sessions.
Tighten sign-in and sessions
Enforce TOTP for the team, keep system logins on every server, switch on recording for sensitive machines and read the audit log.
Roll out and fix the renewal
Push RealVNC Server by MSI or Group Policy on Enterprise, or install by hand on smaller plans, then diarise the annual renewal.
The review scoreboard
Modelled on Gartner Peer Insights structure. *Counts and breakdowns are illustrative pending verified review collection.
Quick poll — what’s driving your evaluation?
Talk to an advisor“Our test rigs run Ubuntu and a few Raspberry Pis. It was the one tool we tried that treated them like the Windows boxes.”
“The shop floor has no internet by design. Offline licensing on Enterprise let us keep remote access without an exception to that rule.”
“Eight of us share support, but rarely more than two sessions at once, so buying connections instead of seats halved our quote.”
“Recordings land on each technician’s laptop. Good for privacy, but we had to write our own process to collect them for audits.”
“We wanted SAML like our other apps. SSO turned out to be OIDC and Enterprise-only; Entra ID worked once we moved up.”
“Billing is in dollars and there is no local office, so we bought through a partner who could raise a GST invoice in rupees.”
Where everyone sits — the grids
Analyst firms bury this view behind paywalls, and G2 retired its Grid. So here’s TechBag’s synthesis of the remote access market — tap any vendor to see why it sits where it does.
TechBag Remote Access Grid
Execution strength vs product vision — the classic market map, minus the paywall.
Essentials $8.75/month per active connection, annual.
Deployment Reach × Platform Breadth
The grid nobody publishes — how many ways the tool can connect and where its data can stay, offline and India included, vs how many kinds of machine it can reach.
Cloud, LAN or fully offline; Linux, Pi and other VNC servers.
Positions are TechBag’s illustrative synthesis of public review-platform data and vendor documentation — not a reproduction of any analyst graphic. Verify before relying on it.
RealVNC Connect vs the remote access field
Against TeamViewer Remote Access, AnyDesk, Splashtop Remote Access, Zoho Assist and LogMeIn Pro — on deployment, platforms, licensing, price, limits, security and India.
| Dimension | RealVNC Connect | TeamViewer Remote Access | AnyDesk | Splashtop Remote Access | Zoho Assist | LogMeIn Pro |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | VNC access + support | Entry remote plan | Tiered remote desktop | Access to own computers | Two-licence cloud tool | Own-PC access packs |
| Deployment | Cloud, LAN or offline | TeamViewer cloud only | On-prem on Ultimate | Cloud; on-prem via Ent. | Cloud; on-prem on ask | GoTo gateways only |
| Platforms covered | Win, Mac, Linux, Pi | Mobile support extra | Desktop, mobile and Pi | Linux hosts included | Pi on all; mobile Pro+ | Linux host in beta |
| Pricing model | Per active connection | Per user, yearly | Per plan, yearly | Per user, annual | Per tech or 25 PCs | Per computer pack |
| Published entry price | $8.75/month, 3 devices | $24.90/month, yearly | $28.90/month Solo | $6/month, 2 computers | $10/month per 25 PCs | $30/month, 2 computers |
| Included vs add-on | Features rise by tier | Paid modules on top | Branding from Standard | Recording from Pro | Storage and VoIP extra | Antivirus in every pack |
| Scale and limits | 5 sessions, 150 devices | 1 user, 3 devices | 100 devices on Solo | 10 computers per user | 25-computer packs | Stops at 10 computers |
| Security depth | AES-GCM, two logins | AES-256 + RSA 4096 | TLS 1.3, RSA 2048 | AES-256, SOC 2, ISO | AES over TLS, IP rules | TLS, AES, host login |
| Integrations | Other VNC servers, API | Meet; ServiceNow higher | CRM links as add-ons | VDI and Wake-on-LAN | Zoho Desk, Jira, Zendesk | Event log, syslog |
| Governance and SSO | OIDC SSO, Enterprise | SSO through Tensor | OIDC SSO on Ultimate | SSO on Enterprise | No SSO on the chart | 2FA per user, no SSO |
| India storage region | US/UK broker; offline | No India region | Own server on Ultimate | US, EU or Oceania | India data centre | No Indian location |
| Support | 24x5 chat and email | Phone in 33 languages | SLA; phone on Advanced | No tiers published | 24x7 is a paid add-on | Web form first |
| Lock-in and exit | Annual; VNC stays open | Cancel 28 days early | Year-one discount only | Annual per user | Monthly, cancel anytime | Nothing to migrate |
| Best fit | Mixed and offline sites | One user, few devices | Many devices, one admin | Cheapest per computer | India-first SMB desks | Small office owners |
Which approach fits you?
Honest fit signals — because the fastest way to lose your trust is to pretend one product wins every scenario.
Choose RealVNC Connect if…
- ✓Some machines run Linux or Raspberry Pi OS, or you already depend on VNC servers
- ✓A site has no internet and needs remote access that never phones home (Enterprise)
- ✓You would rather pay for sessions running at once than for every technician seat
Compare alternatives if…
- ✓Data must sit in an Indian cloud region — Zoho Assist offers India data centres
- ✓You need SSO below the top tier — ScreenConnect includes it on every plan
- ✓You want a licence you own outright — Dameware Remote Support starts at $520 per technician
Do not expect…
- ✓An India data centre, office or rupee price list — RealVNC sells in USD
- ✓Full control of phones as unattended targets — Enterprise can view them only
- ✓A central recording archive — recordings stay on each technician’s computer
RealVNC Connect is one of 22 remote support & access products TechBag carries. The Remote Support & Access guide narrows them to a shortlist and shows the reasoning. →
What does reaching machines the hard way cost you?
Drag the sliders (computers your team reaches remotely; staff-hour cost). Estimates model time lost to site visits, VPN workarounds and walking users through fixes at an assumed 1.5 hours per computer a year, with 70% of it recovered through unattended, attended and direct remote sessions. Both figures are assumptions. Illustrative.
Loaded cost = salary + overheads per productive hour. Illustrative only — your TechBag quote models your actual environment and modules.
Three ways to consume it
Published, in USD: RealVNC Connect is priced per active connection, meaning sessions running at once, and billed annually — Essentials $8.75 a month (1 user, 3 devices), Plus from $18.25 (up to 3 connections, 50 devices) and Premium from $29.75 (up to 5 connections, 150 devices). Enterprise, with offline licensing and SSO, is custom-priced, and per-user HelpDesk plans list from $16.49 per user a month. There is no INR price. TechBag sizes your peak sessions first, then quotes in INR with GST.
Essentials to Premium
Best for teams that count sessions, not seats
- From $8.75/month per active connection, annual
- 3, 50 or 150 managed devices by plan
- Recording from Plus; audit and LAN on Premium
+ Platform add-ons
Best for a broader rollout
- Scoped to your estate
- Add-on modules as needed
- Phased, right-sized deployment
Enterprise
Best for offline sites and SSO estates
- Custom pricing, unlimited active connections
- Offline licensing and OIDC SSO (Entra ID, Okta)
- On-Prem Management Console as an add-on
Buy it for less — TechBag pricing beats list
Whatever the list prices above, TechBag negotiates a significantly better deal — with GST-compliant INR invoicing and local support. Ask us for your discounted quote.
Get an India-ready quote
Tell us your requirements and current tools — we’ll model it against what you spend today.
The 8 questions to ask every vendor
Take this into your next vendor call — including ours.
How many sessions does your team run at the same moment? Plans are sold per active connection, capped at 3 on Plus and 5 on Premium.
How many machines need unattended access? Essentials covers 3, Plus 50, Premium 150 and Enterprise more than 150.
Must sessions stay on your LAN or VPN? Direct connections need Premium; cloud brokering is on every plan.
Do any sites have no internet? Offline licensing is Enterprise-only and needs the RealVNC Classic Viewer.
Does your identity team require SAML? RealVNC’s single sign-on is OIDC through Entra ID or Okta, and only on Enterprise.
Do you need to reach phones unattended? That is Enterprise-only and view-based; attended phone help runs through HelpDesk.
Is a US or UK cloud broker acceptable? If not, only offline Enterprise keeps everything on your own network in India.
Can finance pay an annual USD charge, or do you need an INR invoice with GST through a partner?
Questions buyers ask
Ready to evaluate RealVNC Connect?
Count the sessions your team runs at once and the machines it must reach first, or let a TechBag advisor scope a trial that tests cloud, direct and offline access.
Stats, ratings, review counts and pricing are illustrative and sourced from public materials; verify before purchase.