The 5 Best Remote Desktop Clients for Linux

If you wish to have control over another PC that you don’t physically have access to or help a not-so-technical friend, then you might surely want to know about the best remote desktop clients for Linux. Interestingly, There are numerous free and open-source remote desktop apps available for Linux that allow you to quickly establish connections and access a remote computer. But which one performs the best and has more features than the others? Let’s take a look.

The 5 Best Remote Desktop Clients for Linux

The 5 Best Remote Desktop Clients for Linux

TeamViewer

The 5 Best Remote Desktop Clients for Linux

TeamViewer is the preferred remote desktop client for Windows and macOS users, as well as Linux users. The app interface is simple to understand at first glance, with different sections categorizing the available options.

TeamViewer offers a variety of features to its users, including remote control access, file transfer, and text chat support, with two different licenses to choose from (personal and business).

Simply type in the other system’s partner ID, select the type of connection—Remote control or File transfer—and click Connect in order to connect to a remote computer. TeamViewer uses passwords to protect its connections, and it will ask you for one before connecting.

In the same way, if you want someone to connect to your machine, give them your ID and password from the Allow Remote Control section and ask them to send a connection request.

TeamViewer is available for the majority of Linux distributions and can be downloaded for free. You can get TeamViewer from the AUR using yay if you’re running Arch Linux.

yay -S teamviewer

Download: TeamViewer

Remmina

The 5 Best Remote Desktop Clients for Linux

Remmina’s simplistic appearance and complicated usage may appear unappealing at first, but the underlying features it provides are a game-changer.

You can connect to other remote systems using Remmina via SSH, VNC, RDP, FTP, and other protocols. To be honest, Remmina isn’t as simple as TeamViewer, but it’s not for those looking for a visually appealing user interface.

The only thing that matters is that it accomplishes its goal. Unlike other user-friendly remote desktop apps, you’ll need to set up a VNC server on the remote machine first, and then use Remmina to connect to it.

To add a connection, go to the top-left corner of the window and click the Add button. Then choose your preferred remote control protocol (in this case, VNC) and fill in the rest of the information, such as the server address, username, and password.

When you click Connect, the app will open a new window with the desktop of the remote system. Remmina can be found in the repositories of most Linux distributions and installed with the default package manager.

If your system supports snap packages, run the following command to install Remmina:

sudo snap install remmina

Download: Remmina

NoMachine

The 5 Best Remote Desktop Clients for Linux

If you’ve ever used TeamViewer, you’ll probably prefer NoMachine to the rest of the apps on this list. The reason for this is that they both have a similar look and feel.

You don’t use the username and password for the connection, unlike TeamViewer. Instead, users must add a connection manually, and NoMachine will save the connection details for future reference.

You can choose between three different protocols for your connections with NoMachine: NX (direct internet connection), SSH (secure shell connection), and HTTPS (secure connection through a web browser).

Click the Add button and type the server address next to the Host label to create a connection. Then give your connection a name and the port information. Then, from the dropdown menu, select the protocol and click Connect.

You must manually download the latest package archive from the website and install it on your computer to install NoMachine.

[su_note note_color=”#60d7fb”]If you’re using Arch Linux, an AUR helper like yay can help you download NoMachine quickly.[/su_note]

Download: NoMachine

TigerVNC

The 5 Best Remote Desktop Clients for Linux

Consider a Remmina variant that only allows VNC connections and nothing else. A simple and straightforward VNC viewer that gets the job done. That’s TigerVNC in action.

When you first open the app, you’ll notice that there’s not much to see or do. There’s a text field for the VNC server address, as well as some classic-looking buttons for setting up connections and preferences.

TigerVNC gives you the option to customize the settings by selecting Options from the menu bar. There’s also the option to save the configuration as a file if you plan on using the same settings again.

You can then load the file whenever you want to use the saved configuration, and TigerVNC will make the necessary adjustments automatically. If you want to install TigerVNC on Ubuntu and Debian-based systems, use this code:

sudo apt install tigervnc

For Arch-based distros:

sudo pacman -S tigervnc

For Fedora and CentOS:

sudo dnf install tigervnc

Download: TigerVNC

RealVNC

The 5 Best Remote Desktop Clients for Linux

Last but not least, RealVNC’s VNC Viewer is a remote desktop client that has everything you need. Its simple yet appealing interface, when combined with its extensive feature set, creates a breath-taking (not literally) user experience.

Although RealVNC’s VNC Connect software suite is a paid product, you can still get a free version of VNC Viewer from the company’s website. Professional and Enterprise are the two plans available.

Both subscriptions offer similar features and work on a “per-device” basis, which means you’ll have to purchase the plan again if you add a new device. The application is simple to set up.

All you have to do now is download the VNC Viewer package from the link below and make sure the file has executable permissions.

To use VNC Viewer, simply double-click on the file. When you first open the app, you’ll notice a simple interface with a dedicated field for entering the host address. To establish a connection to a remote system, type the address and press Enter.

Download: RealVNC

Bottomline

You can easily connect to a system located on the other side of the world using remote desktop clients.

Remote computing has grown exponentially since the internet and software development, to the point where working remotely has become the norm.

You don’t use Linux on a daily basis? There is no need to be concerned. Other operating systems, such as Windows and macOS, have a variety of remote desktop clients.

The Bottom Line

Well, that’s all we have here about the 5 best remote desktop clients for Linux. We hope this guide helped you to know the best remote desktop clients for Linux. If you liked this, don’t forget to check out our other best listsFurthermore, if you have any questions or suggestions, please use the comment below to contact us.

Posted by
Johnson Miller

Miller has been a video game journalist for over 3 years, contributing to publications all over the world in his freelance capacity. Magic: The Gathering, Dark Souls, Diablo, and Divinity: Original Sin are some of his favorite games.

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