AnyDesk vs. TeamViewer : Best Remote Desktop Software for You

While many people choose to use Microsoft Windows’ Remote Desktop Feature (RDP) feature to access other computers remotely, this is by no means the only way to do so. RDP is no doubt reliable as it has cemented itself as one of the primary online services in different VPS providers. Still, much like many other features that are built-in different operating systems, other developers have aspired to take this feature and elevate its basic functions using different features and qualities. 

Two of the most pre-eminent, well-renowned, and powerful software that offers such services are AnyDesk and TeamViewer. For years, these two have eclipsed all other rivals when it comes to remote desktop applications. And for a good reason. Simply put, there are few apps that come close to offering the facilities and properties that these two rivals bring to the table for their users. However, their overarching popularity has also given rise to the “AnyDesk vs. TeamViewer” debate. In this article, we’ll go over their unique backgrounds, offering you insight into how they work as independent applications. Following that, we will move on to comparing them in a head-to-head contest to determine a winner and the best option for users.

What Is A Remote Desktop Application?

In the normal sense, remote desktop applications do exactly what their name suggests. They 

allow you to remotely control another desktop computer using another one. This will allow the users to use the target desktop computer as if it was locally present. While most remote desktop applications tend to establish connections only on a 1-to-1 basis, there are more advanced and less accessible examples of RDAs that offer the chance to control multiple devices from a single desktop unit. 

While the RDP features are built-in for many operating systems, they often do not venture far from the bare-bone features of allowing to simply control a computer. Normal RDPs also falter when it comes to latency and other important factors. This is where a remote desktop application shines the brightest. The entire development cycle of apps like AnyDesk and TeamViewer is entirely dedicated to perfecting the RDP concept in the form of standalone software that enhances and adds new features to the basic concept. This enables users to get a much more comprehensive experience out of their remote desktop software. You can learn more about the differences between RDP and AnyDesk and the differences between RDP and TeamViewer here.

Many businesses and developers use this software to access a central desktop server where all their shared business info and assets are located, which is a major opportunity and facility at a rather small cost of paying for the program of choice. Now let’s move on to the general review of AnyDesk and Teamviewer before running a direct AnyDesk vs. Teamviewer head-to-head contest to see which one is best for you.

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AnyDesk General Review

Let’s start with AnyDesk. AnyDesk is significantly older than TeamViewer, being released in early 2014, 9 years later than TeamViewer. This makes it have a more sophisticated base code. However, the shorter development cycle means that the newer base code is not a huge advantage. AnyDesk offers a great and seamless experience with custom latency managing tools that will ensure you will have easy access to your target desktop system regardless of its location. It comes with its own unique file transfer utility featuring a 60 FPS transfer rate over land and internet alike.

AnyDesk’sFeatures

AnyDesk’s unique facilities compared to TeamViewer are as follows.

• Server Monitoring

Anydesk allows its users to run several different servers at the same time and remotely manage and perform a host of different functions. This is very useful for businesses that want to run servers in regions other than their own without physically being present there. It’s also useful for managing said server updates, installing new features, and performing intra-server file transfers.

• Multilingual Support

AnyDesk correctly understands its role as a tool to make distances irrelevant. And to that end, they have a diverse and impressive set of languages that they support in their program. Aside from the default language English, it also supports Arabic, German, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Korean, French, Greek, and many others. Their language support remains one of the main reasons that many users around the world can easily use it to access remote desktops.

• Widget UI

As part of one of its recent updates, AnyDesk’s user interface design has changed to a newer model that transcends the traditional desktop type of design and instead employs a widget-inspired universal model of design. This widget-Esque model maintains a high level of user-friendliness and familiarity across different platforms. This makes users adapt much more easily to the program as they begin using it on different platforms. 

• Mobile Support

AnyDesk allows you to control your target system from beyond the desk as well. You can use their apps on Android and IoS to remotely control any desktop computer. This is extremely useful for people who might have sudden business inquiries that require them to access their work PC. With AnyDesk’s mobile support, they can simply bring out their phone and access their computer at a moment’s notice.

• Whitelists

One of the most annoying aspects of using many different remote desktop protocols is the fact that the admin has to repeatedly allow other users access to the target system. AnyDesk’s whitelist feature allows the admin to select its desired users once as part of the whitelist. These users then will have permanent access to the target PC. This makes AnyDesk ideal for running large projects without much hassle about related permissions. 

AnyDesk’s Pros

Based on the unique features that are offered by AnyDesk, as well as the independent general review, the following are the main pros of using AnyDesk.

• Low Latency

Perhaps the most important feature of AnyDesk is its smart latency management that will allow you a smooth remote desktop control experience regardless of the distance.

• AnyDesk For Mobile

AnyDesk’s mobile support makes it ideal for people who work around the clock and may need to suddenly access their working system.

• Brilliant Interface

AnyDesk’s smart widget-inspired interface design has made it incredibly easy to use on different platforms with a very easy learning curve.

• No Session Limit

Most free remote desktop applications only allow you to run a single control session at a time. With AnyDesk, you get an infinite number of sessions as part of the free plan.

• Ease of Use

AnyDesk’s download and installing process is incredibly easy. It features a single installation file of only 1.1 MB. Install it and you’re pretty much done, as everything else is just as easy to learn and perform on AnyDesk.

AnyDesk’s Cons

Now, although AnyDesk is a great remote desktop application, it doesn’t come with its own set of flaws. The following are the main issues of AnyDesk.

• Resolution Bugs

One of the main longstanding issues of AnyDesk is its inability to properly adapt itself to different screen resolutions that can cause bugs and discomfort for the user while using it. While the official update log states that this bug is fixed, some users continue to report it.

• Copy and Paste Glitches

Copy/Paste commands are known to cause glitches and performance hindrances to the point of even making the program unresponsive. Since copy and pasting is the main method of moving around data in a remote desktop environment, this is a major issue.

TeamViewer General Review

Now let’s move on to TeamViewer. TeamViewer was released in 2005. And as such is considerably older than AnyDesk. It is the world’s most popular remote desktop application. Despite its older legacy base code, the developers of TeamViewer have worked hard to ensure the health of their software through steady updates and patches. It connects users to their destination system through a unique generated ID which provides top-notch security. TeamViewer is known for its emphasis on making the barrier between the two systems as thin as possible by incorporating unique features such as integrated drag and drop.

TeamViewer’s Features

TeamViewer’s set of unique selling points and features are as follows. 

• Multi-Platform Access

TeamViewer, much like AnyDesk, is available on all major platforms and operating systems such as Windows, MAC OS, Linux, Android, and IOS. These platforms can also be accessed via different OS on TeamViewer, giving users extra flexibility in the process. TeamViewer also uses an advanced cloud management service that allows its users to use their program on the web without the need to actually install the program. This cloud management system also means that you will continue to have access to your remote desktop facilities even when TeamViewer’s main servers are down for maintenance. 

• Multimedia Support

A major unique quality of TeamViewer is its support of all major media formats such as text, video, sound, and text. These sorts of media formats can be used to effectively communicate between the system as well as local and remote users. This feature is incredibly useful for many computer repair shops that can use this feature to effectively communicate with their clients while they tend to whatever software issue is at play remotely. This is also useful for remote demonstrations and efficient exchange of information seamlessly in any format that users may desire.

• Security

TeamViewer has by far the best security performance out of any remote desktop application in the world. Not only the connection between the systems is secured using a randomly generated unique ID code, but all TeamViewer versions from version 12 onwards use the advanced encryption method known as ASE session on the user’s data to make it as safe as possible. This essentially makes the user’s security on TeamViewer essentially unbreachable unless in extremely rare cases. This great attention to security issues is one of the main reasons for TeamViewer’s popularity with larger firms and businesses. It is also a contributor to TeamViewer’s status as the most popular remote desktop application app in the world.

• Remote Hardware Control 

Remote desktop control is well known to be entirely based on software. Usually, remote desktop applications are either mostly or entirely limited when it comes to controlling hardware. TeamViewer, however, is unique in the fact that it allows you to control some hardware parts remotely through a series of remote hardware control tools. This grants users facilities such as using printers and other connected devices, and it even allows you to shut down or reboot the target PC at any time. Being unable to control hardware is the Achilles heel of remote desktop apps. TeamViewer tackles this issue efficiently, although not entirely. 

TeamViewer Pros

Based on the unique features that are offered by TeamViewer, as well as the independent general review, the following are the main pros of using TeamViewer.

• Easy Download and Installation

Teamviewer features an incredibly easy download and installation process. All versions have the same installation procedure, and the updating process is also smooth.

• Unique Drag and Drop

We already mentioned TeamViewer’s integrated drag and drop feature that allows users to move around items and files between the systems with ease.

• Multiple Sessions

Although it does not quite match the infinite amount of sessions that AnyDesk offers, TeamViewer versions of 12 and later allow you to run multiple remote access sessions at the same time. 

• Cloud-Based Operation

You can use TeamViewer’s advanced cloud-based running and data saving to access your target PC at any time through the use of a web browser without the need to install the program all the way again. 

• Designated Access List

Similar to AnyDesk, TeamViewer allows users to make a designated access list (known as a whitelist in AnyDesk) to grant permanent access to any person they wish without the need for constant validation. 

TeamViewer Cons

Even being the world’s most popular remote desktop application does not make you without flaws. The following are the main issues of AnyDesk.

• Proxy Incompatibility 

If you wish to use proxies or VPNs while using TeamViewer, then you’re in tough luck as the program simply refuses to work when proxies or VPNs are turned on.

• Low Bandwidth Weakness

Another area where TeamViewer suffers is when you use it with a low bandwidth network. While in use in such a state, it suffers from high latency and decreased efficiency. 

• Large File Sharing Limit

TeamViewer is perfect for transferring files so long that they are not too large. This is a major issue as it begins to have decreased output when files get too big and suffer from lags.

AnyDesk vs. TeamViewer: Head-to-Head Comparison

Now that we’re past the hefty part of reviewing AnyDesk and TeamViewer, let’s go over how they compare directly against each other in an AnyDesk vs. TeamViewer contest. To determine the results, we are going to put these two remote desktop application giants against each other in 5 different categories and see how they perform in each of them. These five categories will be performance, Flexibility, Security, Compatibility, and Costs.

Performance

When it comes to performance, we are going to look at the PC version of these apps to see which one has the better performance. The obvious thing here is that AnyDesk has a surprisingly high-performance ceiling compared to TeamViewer. It runs considerably smoother with less frustration for the user. However, we have to take into account that TeamViewer has more features and these extra features are one of the reasons it is slower compared to AnyDesk, which has a bare-bones approach to remote desktops. But overall, this category’s winner is AnyDesk with pure performance in mind.

Flexibility

Flexibility in the world of remote desktop applications is defined by having more programs that you can integrate within your program of choice. In this category, TeamViewer can run popular third-party apps like Zendesj and Cherwell. 

On the other hand, AnyDesk is compatible with lesser-known OS options such as Raspberry Pi. It also has a higher number of third-party apps that can run well with it. So while this category’s winner is a close call, this one will have to go to AnyDesk as well.

Security

If you thought that AnyDesk was running away with the contest, think again! Security is, without doubt, one area in which there is little contest between the two. Not only has AnyDesk been the subject of controversy due to its poor security at times, but simply put, there are few, if any, other remote desktop applications that have much to say against TeamViewer when it comes to security. TeamViewer’s unique ASE session feature alone is enough to declare TeamViewer the winner of this category.  

Compatibility

Although both of these programs have excellent compatibility with many different operating systems and platforms, it seems that TeamViewer has a slight edge by virtue of the sheer amounts of different OS versions it supports. 

For example, you can install TeamViewer on literally any version of Windows that has been out since Windows 98. AnyDesk does not support all these versions and sometimes can be lackluster on older versions that it does support. It also has a lower overall number of OSs that it supports. So this category will go to TeamViewer. 

Costs

Now we get to the costs, a major point of contention for the user base and the programs themselves. Both programs divide their paid plans into three parts, with each of them getting more expensive and, in turn, having more features. However, AnyDesk is considerably cheaper than TeamViewer. However, TeamViewer justifies its high prices by offering a huge amount of additional resources that are absent on AnyDesk.

AnyDesk divides its plans into three categories named Essentials, Performance, and Enterprise. These cost $9.99, $19.90, and $29.90 per month, respectively. AnyDesk also offers you a starting 14-day free trial.

By contrast, TeamViewer starts its plans with the cheapest option costing $34.90 per month, titled Business License. The cheapest option on TeamViewer is already more expensive than the most expensive option on AnyDesk. The other two plans are named Premium and Corporate, and they cost $102.90 and $206.90 per month, respectively. 

Obviously, AnyDesk has lower prices, but since you are paying for what you get, we are going to call this round a draw. Since you definitely get your money’s worth with TeamViewer as they simply have many more features to offer.

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Which Remote Desktop Application to Go For in 2022?

While there are numerous factors and features to consider when comparing AnyDesk vs. TeamViewer, there are a few key points to consider before deciding which one best meets your needs.

AnyDesk is ideal for people who want quick navigation, remote desktop control, remote server monitoring, and an interactive dashboard, to name a few features. TeamViewer, on the other hand, is appropriate for people who want features like secure file transfer and sharing, communication modules, and cloud-based access, to name a few. Overall go for AnyDesk for less demanding tasks, and go for TeamViewer if you have serious tasks that usually come up in businesses. I’m going to leave a chart so you can better decide which one of these remote desktop applications is the best for you and hopefully put the AnyDesk vs. TeamViewer debate to rest.

Features	AnyDesk	TeamViewer
Compatibility	High	Very High
Flexibility	High	Very High
Costs	Average	Very High
Security	High	Very High
Performance	Very High	Average

Conclusion

Both of these applications come with their own unique strengths and utilities and are helping in creating a more interconnected world. And both of them continue to dominate the RDP landscape in the services of prominent VPS providers. If you’re looking to run an efficient RDP operation using either AnyDesk or TeamViewer, you can get yourself exactly that on Cloudzy. 

Cloudzy offers its premium RDP server hosting service with great stability and minimal latency. Cloudzy has more than 15 locations for you to choose from. It has high-end infrastructure that minimizes latency, and to top it all off, Cloudzy also offers a 7-day money-back guarantee. Get yours now!

FAQ

Is AnyDesk Similar to TeamViewer?

Yes. They do the same thing, more or less. But TeamViewer offers a host of services that are absent on AnyDesk, and as such, it costs more. But the overall operation method of these two programs is the same.

Is AnyDesk A Security Risk?

No. While AnyDesk has had its fair share of security issues, it has received major updates that have made it ironclad against potential security issues. AnyDesk today is among the safest remote desktop applications in the world.

Can someone use TeamViewer to access my computer without me knowing?

The chances of this happening are extremely low. First, a hacker would need your randomly generated ID access code which is unique and quite long. But even if they have this code, your data will largely be encrypted and protected against major problems. However, the hacker can still use your computer. But overall, TeamViewer is the safest program of its type in the world.