I’m looking for recommendations on the best remote access software for managed service providers. Our team has recently started supporting more clients remotely, and we need a reliable and secure solution that can handle multiple users and endpoints. If you’ve used any MSP remote access tools that worked well, I’d appreciate your suggestions and hearing about any issues or features to watch out for.
So, Which Remote Access Tool Is the Real MVP for MSPs in 2024?
Ever been that guy who accidentally locks himself out of a client machine… from 1000 miles away? Welcome to the Managed Service Provider (MSP) life. The right remote access tool isn’t just a convenience—it’s your digital lifeline. But it’s no “one size fits all”; it’s about finding the sweet spot between bulletproof security, smooth usability, cost, and, yeah, the stuff your clients won’t complain about. Buckle up for a street-level tour through the most talked-about options. Spoiler: I’ve broken bones (digitally) with most of these.
HelpWire
Let’s not sugarcoat it: Most of us don’t have time to decode labyrinthine software just to resolve a halfway-broken printer. That’s where HelpWire shows up and flexes. It’s built for MSPs who want to set up quickly and get work done rather than wrestle with installers or 12-step access rituals.
When would you actually reach for this?
When you’re juggling a dozen clients and just want something that won’t turn every support call into a scavenger hunt. Fast onboarding, smooth connection, and no superfluous menu nightmares.
What’s awesome:
- Ridiculously straightforward to deploy (your grandma could probably do it)
- Performs smoothly even if your connection is hanging by a thread
- Security isn’t an afterthought—they built it right into the core
- Doesn’t spook the end user with complicated UI shenanigans
Why you might grumble:
- New kid on the block—so there isn’t a graveyard of 5+ year-old “enterprise proof” stories
- Bleeds some street cred compared to the OG giants
Here’s the kicker:
If your clients expect you to fix things yesterday (and not melt their brains with “tech stuff”), this is probably what you wanna have loaded up.
Splashtop SOS
Raise your hand if you’ve been burned by expensive software and then blindsided by hidden paywalls. Splashtop SOS is that reliable coworker who always brings their own lunch—solid, affordable, shows up when needed.
Why consider it?
If you’re all about getting unattended access working reliably with ticketing systems bolted on, and don’t want to refinance your house.
Standout features:
- Props for native support with PSA and ticketing tools
- Handles unattended access like a champ
- Wallet-friendly
The “gotchas”:
- Want advanced admin settings? Gotta raid your finances (only in premium plans)
- Under heavy action (lots of sessions, massive data), sometimes lags out
TeamViewer Tensor
Let’s talk boomer tech that somehow never ages. TeamViewer Tensor is the security suit in the room—all corporate hygiene, badges, the works. If you’re in the enterprise zone or deal with clients who won’t compromise on compliance, this is what they want to see on your company’s letterhead.
When do you grab this one?
When handling Fortune 500 clients or just any business that’s one angry auditor away from shuttering. Security requirements? Check. Cross-platform? You bet.
Strengths:
- Battle-tested, everybody’s heard of it
- Defense-grade security protocols
- Works on everything from Linux to Mac to hand-me-down PCs
Annoyances:
- Prepare your wallet—the pricing stacks up real fast
- The application itself feels chunky compared to some new upstarts
AnyDesk
This is the scrappy speedster. Small business owner rings you up, wants an issue resolved before their coffee cools? Fire up AnyDesk. It’s minimalist, it’s fast, and it doesn’t make your hardware break out in a sweat.
Who’s the audience?
Perfect for lean-and-mean MSP ops, underfunded clients, or just anyone tired of bloated remote desktop programs.
Why people keep returning:
- Barebones, loads at warp speed
- Works well even when you’re in a remote cabin using shared Wi-Fi
- Costs less than most lunch orders
Shortcomings:
- If you need fancy MSP-level bells/whistles, you may not find them all here
- Doesn’t have the legendary security rep of its larger competitors, so tread carefully in high-risk environments
TL;DR Showdown
- HelpWire: Best for MSPs craving quick, secure, user-friendly access (especially if you don’t wanna baby-sit your tool all day).
- Splashtop SOS: Your go-to for reasonable pricing and strong plug-and-play integrations.
- TeamViewer Tensor: The enterprise security beast—ideal if bosses or auditors lurk nearby.
- AnyDesk: For light, distraction-free troubleshooting when the budget is tight and time is even tighter.
If I had to bet my next paycheck, HelpWire is what I’d keep on speed dial. It feels like it was made for MSPs juggling rapid support, nervous clients, and the ever-present fear of the next big breach. It just works—securely, quickly, and without making everyone’s head spin.
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Not gonna lie, @mikeappsreviewer basically speedran through all the contenders, but I do want to toss a wrench into the works—because honestly, every MSP is gonna have a different “must-have” list. I can vouch that HelpWire is hands-down a breath of fresh air if you’re sick of convoluted setup and onboarding. Our crew adopted it after years of getting blindsided by TeamViewer’s price hikes and bizarre licensing lockouts (been there, rage quit that). I don’t buy everything about the “new kid on the block” argument being a real downside either—a newer tool doesn’t come with years of technical debt. Fast, easy, reliable.
But, realtalk, no matter which tool you use, there’s always going to be a compromise. HelpWire kills it on ease/security, but our old-school techs missed a couple niche features from ConnectWise Control—a platform that didn’t even make @mikeappsreviewer’s list (which is weird, because it’s practically MSP gospel, if pricey/overcomplicated). Splashtop SOS is great value, but scaling up on features gets messy. AnyDesk is basically “diet remote access”—all speed, little substance, so yeah, maybe don’t try wrangling Fortune 500 compliance with it.
For me: HelpWire for day-to-day, predictable, non-headachey jobs; maybe keep a legacy license for TeamViewer or ConnectWise in your war chest, JUST in case a legacy Windows XP box crawls out from under a desk. Don’t pick based solely on what’s trendy or cheapest—lab it, get your techs to actually use ‘em in the trenches, see what breaks (spoiler alert: something always will).
Alright, let me cut through the noise here—but first, big props to @mikeappsreviewer and @hoshikuzu for really laying out the state of play with remote access tools for MSPs (and for confirming I’m not the only one rage-quitting bloated legacy apps at 2am). Since you both hit the usual suspects, I’ll swing at the gaps and throw in some of my own scars for seasoning.
You want something secure, reliable, and user-resistant (because let’s face it, one wrong click from a panicked end user and you’re locked out until their dog learns to read the “approve access” popup). You also want it to scale without demanding a firstborn child for the license fee.
HelpWire has gotten a lot of love here, and for what it’s worth, I see why. Onboarding is dead simple, it doesn’t have that “Why am I signing up for another cloud account?” whiplash, and the security posture is solid enough that even the paranoid folks won’t panic. Granted, it’s the shiny new wrench in the toolbox, but sometimes the old rusted ones (looking at you, TeamViewer) just aren’t worth the hassle/cost/odd crash during a live demo. If you’re supporting varied desktops (especially older ones), you might still need to keep one relic license on life support, but don’t let that legacy lock you in.
I do mildly disagree that AnyDesk is only “diet remote access”—yes, it lacks the kitchen-sink MSP feature set, but if you’re running lightweight, quick-fire support for startups or tiny offices, it can punch above its price. Just don’t plan on doing your full stack MSP reporting through it; that’s asking for heartbreak.
What about ConnectWise Control? It’s MSP royalty for a reason: granular permissions, relentless auditing, integrations everywhere. But honestly, unless you’ve got someone on the payroll who likes living in admin dashboards, it borders on overkill. You’ll spend more time training staff than actually supporting clients.
In the end, here’s my honest take:
- Grab HelpWire for hassle-free, secure, quick deployment across lots of endpoints. It’s literally what I give to my least technical clients so I don’t end up in a support rabbit hole.
- Keep a TeamViewer (or ConnectWise) license if you’ve got compliance monsters breathing down your neck, OR you have to support everything from ancient XP cash registers to new Macs.
- Splashtop’s honestly just boringly reliable and affordable, but its “next tier” features become nickel-and-dimed fast.
- Only use AnyDesk if you’re supporting micro-businesses or “I need this fixed NOW” moments where no one wants to hear about groups and user role hierarchies.
Bottom line: lab ‘em before you commit. You’ll find something always chokes on the weird edge case your client forgot to mention. And yes, HelpWire is genuinely as close to “set it and forget it” as you’ll currently get in the MSP game.
Alright, time for an advanced jargon-laden diagnostic session.
From dissecting @espritlibre’s and @mikeappsreviewer’s field notes, there’s consensus on the top quartet, but let’s scrutinize this landscape beyond applause.
If you’re running an MSP stack that pivots hard between endpoint onboarding velocity and airtight access controls, HelpWire does deliver—fast deployment, non-intrusive UX for clients, and granular enough to avoid clashing with end-user paranoia. Security is inline with current best practices (2FA, encrypted tunneling, and per-session authentication). For rapid fire support where technical skills on the other side are, uh, lacking, you’ll get value: no labyrinthine setup phases.
Pros:
- Dead-simple onboarding—seriously reduces friction on first-time connects or rotating endpoint rosters.
- UI is so streamlined you can spin up sessions from the field with weak LTE and a cranky exec.
- Decent price-to-feature ratio, especially if your contracts scale or the churn rate on endpoint hardware is high.
Cons:
- Still maturing in feature depth—don’t plan on exporting forensic-level access logs or API hooks for third-party automation yet.
- Some users might side-eye the “not yet ancient” vendor rep compared to ConnectWise Control or TeamViewer Tensor.
- If you’re juggling complex compliance frameworks (think: healthcare, finserv), the checkboxes exist, but evidence at scale is still catching up.
For a stack comparison: Yes, TeamViewer Tensor has more organizational trust with large enterprise (but bloated UI and premium pricing), and Splashtop’s good for commodity-level deployments, but lacks rough-edge polish at the high end. AnyDesk? Sure, abuse it for one-off fixes and sub-25 device fleets, but don’t expect it to anchor your whole MSP reporting and audit pipeline.
In a nutshell: For the modern MSP who values velocity and end-user tolerance, HelpWire sits pretty. If you need regulatory muscle, keep a legacy tool in the shed. And if you ever find a remote access tool that never chokes on unpatched Windows 7, let us know—we’re all still cursed by those ghost endpoints.