RemotePC pricing, alternatives, and review

The short answer

Buy RemotePC if the job is reaching your own computers from wherever you are, across a mix of Mac, Windows and Linux hosts, and the features that matter are the practical ones: moving files, printing locally from a remote machine, viewing several monitors and recording a session.

Skip it if you need a help desk tool for supporting other people's devices at scale, because that is a separate product in this vendor's line, or if your users run GPU-heavy creative workloads where interactive responsiveness is the deciding factor.

Where RemotePC fits

RemotePC is IDrive's remote desktop product. The home page's copyright reads "© 2026 IDrive Inc. RemotePC™ is a trademark of IDrive Inc.", which matters more than it sounds: the vendor's main business is backup, so this sits in a portfolio alongside storage rather than being a standalone bet. The product describes itself as giving "fast, secure remote desktop access to your computers from anywhere", and the emphasis throughout is on your own machines rather than on supporting someone else's.

Platform coverage is the broadest claim on the page and it runs in both directions. Hosts: the page says RemotePC supports "Mac, Windows, and Linux computers". Clients: you can "connect from devices running macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, or Android". There is also a browser path, described as "RemotePC™ Viewer Lite", for reaching "configured remote Macs and PCs directly through a browser". Linux as a first-class host is worth noting, because several products in the remote desktop software category either omit it or treat it as a secondary target.

The feature set is practical rather than ambitious, and the page is specific about it. File transfer works "between your local and remote computers, including mapped drives". Remote printing lets you "Print files stored on your remote computer directly to your local printer without transferring the files first", which is the sort of thing that sounds trivial until somebody needs to print a contract from an office machine. Session recording saves recordings "on your local PC or Mac". Multiple Screen Viewing offers a Switch Monitor option or all screens at once. None of this is novel, and all of it is what people reach for daily.

There is an attended path, and it is deliberately lightweight. Instant Remote Access shares "a unique one-time Access ID and Key", and the Collaborate section covers temporary access to a machine. That is enough for an occasional ad hoc session with a colleague, and it is not a help desk. The vendor separates that out: RemotePC HelpDesk is described as "Fast, simple remote desktop and mobile support with unlimited technicians and computers", which is a different product with a different model. If support is the use case, you want that one, not this one.

Where the fit breaks is performance-critical and enterprise-control requirements. The page says nothing about colour fidelity, stylus support or GPU passthrough, so creative teams should look at tools built for that, and the comparison with Parsec for Teams is a genuine one rather than a stretch. On the other side, the page describes no single sign-on, no policy engine and no device inventory, so an enterprise buying this at scale is buying access, not management. Splashtop's remote access product is the closest direct comparison on shape and it publishes an edition ladder, which makes it easier to see where the features sit.

RemotePC pricing

ITCommons has not checked RemotePC pricing, so there is no figure here and nothing to date. What is still worth knowing is how products of this shape get metered and where the line between this product and the vendor's support product falls, because that boundary is where buyers in this category most often get the wrong quote.

The home page publishes no rate and names no unit, so nothing below is a figure. These are the things to count and the questions to put to the vendor:

1. The number of host computers you want always-on access to. Self-access products in this category generally meter the machines you configure rather than the people connecting, which is the opposite of how support tools work. Confirm which it is here before counting anything.
2. The number of people who need to connect, and whether concurrent connections are capped. A machine reachable by one person and a machine reachable by a team of five are often different products.
3. Which product line the quote covers. RemotePC and RemotePC HelpDesk are described separately, and HelpDesk's pitch mentions unlimited technicians and computers, which is a fundamentally different model. Ask for both in writing if your needs span the two.
4. Whether the features you depend on are in the tier quoted. Remote printing, session recording and multi-monitor viewing are all named on the home page without tier labels, and in this category those are common tier boundaries.
5. The term. The page gives no indication of billing basis or commitment length, so ask whether the rate is monthly or annual, what the renewal looks like, and whether a first-year promotional rate is involved, which is common in this vendor's wider portfolio.

The practical move with a product like this is to work out your host count first, then ask for quotes on both RemotePC and RemotePC HelpDesk so you can see which model fits before anyone anchors you on a per-user figure. Then measure what it is worth: the IT downtime cost calculator prices an hour of someone unable to reach the machine their work lives on, which is the figure remote access is competing against rather than the figure on the invoice.

ITCommons has not verified RemotePC pricing. There is no checked figure for it in our records and we are not publishing an estimate. The URL cited here is the product home page we read on October 16, 2026 for product facts rather than rates. Get the current rate from the vendor, and ask what the unit is, what the minimum commitment is, and what is excluded.

Checked October 16, 2026 against the RemotePC product page.

What RemotePC gives up

You give up the management layer. The home page describes access, not administration: no single sign-on, no policy engine, no device inventory, no patch state, no compliance reporting. For an individual or a small team that is exactly right, and it means an organization deploying this across hundreds of machines is adding an access tool to its estate without adding any control over that estate. Budget for the management product separately or accept the gap knowingly.

You give up a help desk model in this product. Instant Remote Access with a one-time ID and key is enough for a colleague-to-colleague session and it is not a support console. The vendor sells RemotePC HelpDesk for that, so buying this one and expecting to run a service desk on it is a mistake the product line itself warns against.

You give up performance guarantees for heavy workloads. Nothing on the page addresses colour accuracy, high-fidelity audio, stylus input or GPU passthrough, which are the features creative and engineering users ask for by name. If your remote users are editors or CAD operators, treat this as unproven for that work until you test it on a real project file.

You give up transparency on what is in which tier. The home page names remote printing, session recording and multi-monitor viewing without saying where they sit, and ITCommons has not checked the pricing page, so the tier map is unknown from here. That is a question with a clear answer available from the vendor, and it is worth getting before comparing anything.

Finally, you give up the reassurance of a specialist. IDrive's primary product is backup, and RemotePC sits beside it. A diversified vendor is a stability argument as often as it is a focus concern, and it is worth knowing which way you read it before you standardise on the product.

How RemotePC compares

ITCommons verified no pricing for any product in this table, so every price cell reads Not verified here and links through. The comparison that matters is shape: self-access products reach machines you own and configured in advance, while support products reach machines belonging to someone who has just phoned you. Buying across that line is the common error.

How to evaluate RemotePC in a week

ITCommons has not verified the trial terms, so confirm what an evaluation gives you before you plan around it. A week is enough for a product of this shape, because the questions are concrete and most of them fail fast if they are going to fail.

1. Configure one host on each operating system you run, including Linux. Linux hosting is a specific claim on the page and it is the one most likely to behave differently from the Windows and Mac paths.
2. Connect from the clients your people carry, including a phone and the browser path, which the page calls RemotePC Viewer Lite. Browser access is the route that gets used in an emergency, so it is worth testing before the emergency.
3. Move a real file set both ways, including something on a mapped drive, since the page specifically claims mapped drive support and that is where file transfer in this category usually gets awkward.
4. Print a document from the remote machine to a printer beside you. Remote printing is the feature people miss most when it is absent and the one least likely to be tested in a demo.
5. Record a session and watch the recording back, then check where the file landed. The page says recordings save locally, which has implications for anyone expecting centrally retained audit evidence.
6. Ask for a quote on both RemotePC and RemotePC HelpDesk, with the host count, the user count, the tier that includes the features you tested, the billing basis and the renewal rate stated in writing.

Frequently asked questions

What is RemotePC used for?

Reaching computers you own from somewhere else. The product page describes "fast, secure remote desktop access to your computers from anywhere", with file transfer, remote printing, session recording and multi-monitor viewing. It is built around your own configured machines rather than around supporting other people's devices.

Who owns RemotePC?

IDrive Inc. The product page's copyright line reads "© 2026 IDrive Inc. RemotePC™ is a trademark of IDrive Inc." IDrive's main business is backup, so RemotePC sits in a portfolio alongside storage products rather than being the company's sole focus.

How much does RemotePC cost?

ITCommons has not verified RemotePC pricing and is not publishing an estimate. Ask the vendor whether you are billed per host computer or per user, which tier includes remote printing and session recording, the billing basis, and whether a first-year promotional rate is involved.

Which operating systems does RemotePC support?

The page says RemotePC supports "Mac, Windows, and Linux computers" as hosts, and that you can connect from devices running macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS or Android. There is also a browser client the page calls RemotePC Viewer Lite for reaching configured Macs and PCs.

Does RemotePC need software installed on the remote computer?

Effectively yes for the main use case. The page says moving files requires an active internet connection and the RemotePC application installed on the computer being accessed, which implies host software on any machine you want to reach. The one-time Access ID and Key path is for ad hoc sessions.

Can RemotePC be used for IT support?

Only lightly. Instant Remote Access shares a one-time Access ID and Key, which suits an occasional session with a colleague. For a service desk, the vendor sells RemotePC HelpDesk separately, described as remote desktop and mobile support with unlimited technicians and computers. Get a quote for that instead.

Does RemotePC support multiple monitors?

Yes. The page describes Multiple Screen Viewing, with a Switch Monitor option or the ability to view all screens at once. It does not say which tier includes it, which is worth confirming, since multi-monitor support is a common tier boundary in this category.

Can RemotePC record remote sessions?

Yes. The page says you can record remote desktop sessions and save the recordings on your local PC or Mac. Note the storage location: recordings landing locally rather than centrally matters if you expected session recording to serve as retained audit evidence.

What are the best RemotePC alternatives?

For the same self-access job with a clearer edition ladder, Splashtop's remote access product. For GPU-heavy creative work, Parsec for Teams. For attended support in the same tool, Zoho Assist. For an open-source option you host, RustDesk under the AGPL-3.0 licence.