A direct comparison across latency, encryption, the account model, platform support, and pricing. Splashtop is the established enterprise option; Remio is the free, modern, no-account alternative. Numbers are current as of May 2026 and name where Splashtop still wins.
Thirty-one rows across performance, security, the account model, platform support, and pricing. Where Splashtop is genuinely ahead — compliance certifications, ChromeOS coverage, unattended Android fleet management — the table says so.
| Capability | Remio | Splashtop |
|---|---|---|
| Performance | ||
| LAN glass-to-glass latency | 8 ms | ~18 ms |
| WAN typical latency (same region) | 22 ms | ~45 ms |
| Maximum resolution | 4K (3840 × 2160) | 4K (paid tiers) |
| Frame rate ceiling | 60 fps | 60 fps |
| 4:4:4 chroma (text-grade) | Yes | No (4:2:0) |
| HDR pass-through | Yes | No |
| Video codecs | H.265 · AV1 · VP9 | Proprietary (H.264-based) |
| Connection model | Direct P2P first, TURN fallback | Relay-based via Splashtop cloud |
| Security | ||
| Transport encryption | DTLS 1.3 + SRTP | TLS 1.2 / AES-256 |
| Data-channel encryption | AES-256-GCM, end-to-end | AES-256, in-transit only |
| End-to-end between devices | Yes (no relay decrypts) | No (relay re-encrypts) |
| Public security whitepaper | Yes, on remio.net | Sales-gated for enterprise |
| Compliance certifications | In progress | SOC 2 Type II · ISO 27001 · GDPR |
| Two-factor authentication | Not applicable (no account) | Yes (mandatory on Business) |
| Account & access | ||
| Account required | No | Yes, mandatory for every user |
| Pairing model | 4-digit PIN | Email + password + 2FA |
| SSO / SAML | Planned | SAML 2.0, all major IdPs (Enterprise) |
| SCIM provisioning | Planned | Yes (Enterprise) |
| Central user database | None | my.splashtop.com |
| Platform support | ||
| macOS · iOS · iPadOS | Native | Native |
| Windows · Android | Native | Native |
| visionOS | Native | No |
| Linux · ChromeOS | Linux host: Yes (v1.0, X11); ChromeOS: No | Yes, both |
| Unattended Android device fleet | No | Yes (kiosks, POS, signage) |
| File transfer | In progress | Full drag-and-drop (Pro tier) |
| Remote printing | No | Yes (Pro tier) |
| Session recording | No | Yes (Enterprise tier) |
| Pricing (May 2026) | ||
| Personal / individual use | $0 (every feature) | $5 / month (Business Access Solo) |
| Small-team plan | $0 | $9.99 / user / month (Pro) |
| Enterprise plan (SSO, recording) | $0 | $40+ / user / month |
| Commercial-use detection | None | None (paid tiers required) |
Remio wins on latency, end-to-end encryption, the no-account model, native 4:4:4 colour, and total cost — every feature is free at every tier. Splashtop wins on enterprise depth — a decade of MSP and IT-fleet tooling. Here is the honest split.
You want the lowest latency on a LAN, native 4:4:4 colour for sharp text and design work, end-to-end encryption where no relay can decrypt your session, and you would rather pair with a 4-digit PIN than manage yet another account. Every feature is free, on every platform, with no per-seat pricing ladder gating file transfer or session recording behind a subscription.
You need SAML SSO and SCIM provisioning out of the box, mature SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 compliance, full file transfer and session recording, remote printing, and unattended Android device management for kiosks, POS, and signage — plus a decade of proven MSP and IT-fleet tooling. If you manage a large fleet under compliance, Splashtop is the safer choice today.
Five categories, one paragraph each. The numbers in the table above are the headline; the paragraphs below are the why.
Remio targets 8 ms glass-to-glass on a LAN at 4K 60 fps. Frames are encoded with H.265 on your GPU, streamed device-to-device, and decoded on the other side's hardware — no server in between. Splashtop's proprietary codec is solid at 1080p 60 fps and reaches 4K 60 fps on paid tiers, but its default 4:2:0 chroma subsampling blurs sub-pixel text on terminal windows, IDEs, and Figma artboards. Remio's native 4:4:4 mode is sharper for typing and design work; for video playback and gaming the gap closes.
Remio runs DTLS 1.3 for media and AES-256-GCM for the data channel, end-to-end between your devices. Keys never leave the endpoints. Splashtop encrypts to its relay with TLS 1.2 / AES-256 and re-encrypts on the way out — the relay sees endpoint metadata and, in some configurations, session payload. Splashtop counters with a mature compliance story (SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, GDPR) and a paid SSO tier. Remio publishes its security whitepaper on a public URL; Splashtop's is sales-gated. For most users that distinction is invisible; for anyone under compliance or legal-hold, it is the difference between "we cannot see your session" and "we promise not to."
Remio has no account. A four-digit PIN pairs two devices, the pairing record lives on each device, and there is no my.remio.net to log into, no password to reset, and no central user list for an attacker to dump. Splashtop requires every user to create an account with email, password, and (on Business tiers) mandatory 2FA — which is good security hygiene but adds friction and creates a credential database. For an enterprise this is the right trade; for a freelancer reaching one home machine it is overhead with no benefit.
Both apps cover macOS, Windows, iOS, and Android natively. Remio adds visionOS and ships iOS as a fully native app, plus a Linux host (X11, AppImage or .deb). Splashtop wins on ChromeOS and — uniquely — unattended Android device management for kiosks, POS, and digital signage. Splashtop also has the mature IT toolkit: SAML SSO and SCIM provisioning on Enterprise, full file transfer with drag-and-drop, session recording, scheduled access controls, and remote printing. Remio's IT toolkit is in progress; for a helpdesk team running ten support sessions a day with file uploads and printer redirection, Splashtop is the better tool today.
Remio is free with no per-device tier, no commercial-use detection, and no upgrade path that gates 4K or 60 fps behind a subscription. Splashtop's per-user, per-month ladder starts at $5 for Business Access Solo (one user, two computers) and climbs through Business Access Pro ($9.99 per user per month for file transfer and multi-monitor) to Enterprise ($40 per user per month for SSO, session recording, and granular admin). Five seats over three years on Pro lands near $1,800; on Enterprise it lands near $7,200. Remio for the same configuration is $0. For a small team that just needs to reach a few machines reliably, that gap is meaningful.
Remio streams a full desktop to a native app on every device — SwiftUI on Apple, Jetpack Compose on Android, C++/WinRT on Windows. No Chromium runtime in the rendering path: frames go from the hardware decoder to the screen the way the OS intends, which is where the sub-5 ms LAN latency and native 4:4:4 colour come from.
Pair with a 4-digit PIN. No account, no commercial-use timer.
Splashtop's ladder locks file transfer, multi-monitor, SSO, and session recording behind successively pricier tiers. Remio ships every feature at $0, at every tier, honestly marking what is still on the roadmap.
Last reviewed May 2026 · derived from public pricing at splashtop.com/pricing and remio.net/security-whitepaper
No migration tools, no exported address books, no account to create. Two installs, one PIN, and an optional toggle for unattended access.
On the machine you want to reach — macOS 15+ or Windows 10 (build 19041+)/11 — grab the host from the download page, launch it, and grant the screen-capture permission once. It then waits in the menu bar or system tray.
On the device you connect from — iPhone or iPad (iOS/iPadOS 18+), another Mac (macOS 15+), Android (10+), a Windows 10/11 PC, or Apple Vision Pro via the iPad app — install the Remio client from the same download page.
The host displays a 4-digit one-time PIN. Type it into the client within 60 seconds — the PIN expires after that — and the devices exchange keys over ECDHE-Curve25519 and remember each other. Reconnections are instant, no PIN required.
Flip on unattended access in the host settings to connect without anyone at the remote end, and enable Wake-on-LAN to wake a sleeping machine first. The full walkthrough is in the getting-started guide.
The four questions people ask before they replace Splashtop. Straight answers below.
Same numbers, same structure, twelve other tools. Pick the one closest to what you already use.
See every comparison on the compare hub.
Download once, pair with a PIN, see the latency on your own LAN. No account, no email, no per-seat pricing. If Splashtop still serves your IT department better — and for a large fleet under audit, it might — you are out exactly five minutes.