This comparison is for sysadmins, MSP technicians and consultants who keep dozens of RDP, SSH and VNC sessions open and want one window for all of them without paying for a team product. The usual candidates are Royal TS from Royal Apps and Remote Desktop Manager Free from Devolutions. The short answer: Royal TS is shareware (conditionally free) and its Shareware Mode caps you at 10 connections, 10 credentials and one open document per app instance. Remote Desktop Manager Free has no connection cap, but it is built for one person on one machine and leaves shared vaults, role-based access and audit trails to the paid editions. Over ten servers, RDM Free stays free; a handful of hosts on Windows or macOS, Royal TS costs nothing either. We have not run either tool in a lab, so interface comfort and responsiveness are “Not tested yet”.
Royal TS vs Remote Desktop Manager Free at a glance
| Question | Royal TS (Shareware Mode) | Remote Desktop Manager Free |
|---|---|---|
| Licence | Shareware (conditionally free); a paid licence is perpetual for the major version purchased | Free edition for individual use, commercial work allowed; Team and Enterprise editions are paid |
| Free-mode limits | 10 connections, 10 credentials, one open document per app instance; Royal TSX also disables AppleScript | Single user with a local workspace; no shared vaults, role-based access, audit trail or password-manager integrations |
| Time limit or registration | None: no key, no registration, no nag screens | No licence key; you sign in with a free Devolutions account |
| Current version (verified 29 October 2026) | Royal TS 7.04.50922 for Windows (22 September 2026); Royal TSX 6.4.5 for macOS | 2026.3.16.0 for Windows (27 October 2026); macOS and Linux builds have their own numbering |
| Desktop platforms | Windows 10/11 and Windows Server (x64, ARM64); macOS via Royal TSX | Windows, macOS, Linux (Ubuntu, RHEL and Manjaro are the tested distributions) |
| Protocols | RDP (Microsoft or FreeRDP), SSH, Telnet, VNC, web, FTP/SFTP/SCP, plus Hyper-V, VMware, Windows services and PowerShell on Windows | RDP, SSH, VNC, Apple Remote Desktop, PowerShell, Telnet, web and many other session types |
| Tunnelling | Built-in Secure Gateway (SSH port forwarding) for RDP, VNC, SSH and Telnet | No built-in relay; pair with a VPN or an RDP gateway |
| Interface comfort, speed | Not tested yet | Not tested yet |
What the free limits actually mean
Royal TS: 10 connections, 10 credentials, one document
Royal Apps publishes its Shareware Mode rules in a licensing FAQ. You can run Royal TS for Windows or Royal TSX for macOS without a licence key, without registration and without a time limit. Per application instance you cannot have more than 10 connections or 10 credentials, and you can open only one document. On macOS the AppleScript interface is switched off. The FAQ states that no other restrictions apply: every feature is available in Shareware Mode.
“Per application instance” matters. The limits count what is loaded in the running app, so a document generated from a 200-server CSV will not open in full. The free tier suits a short list: a home lab, a consultant with a few clients or a technician who only needs the jump-host workflow. Beyond that, the licence is perpetual for the major version you buy, a new major version needs a new key unless your maintenance period still runs, and Windows and macOS are licensed separately with a bundle covering both.
Remote Desktop Manager Free: no cap, but one person
Devolutions documents its editions as Solo (the Free edition) and Team. The Free edition has no connection or credential cap and includes the full connection management block: imports from other applications and from Active Directory, automated macros, a credential vault with encrypted passwords, multifactor authentication on the local vault, web browser integration, offline mode and exportable reports. Commercial use by an individual is allowed, and current releases do not ask for a licence key. You register with a free Devolutions account, and a local SQLite workspace is created on first launch.
What it lacks is everything that makes it a team product. Per the edition comparison, Team adds integrations with existing password managers (1Password, Dashlane, KeePass, LastPass and others), double encryption, role-based access control, an audit trail, a password usage audit trail, real-time connection status, connection warnings, a failed-login report and entry notifications. The activity log in the Free edition is for the local machine user only. Two technicians sharing one vault with permissions means a paid edition with Devolutions Server or Devolutions Hub behind it.
Credentials and sharing a connection list
Both tools separate credentials from connections, which is the main reason to use a manager instead of a folder of .rdp files. In Royal TS a credential is an object that connections inherit from a folder or reference by name. That is how teams share a list without sharing passwords: the shared document on a file share points at a credential called, say, DOMAIN-ADMIN, and each technician keeps a private, password-protected document holding a credential of that name. Several people can open the same document from a network share or cloud folder and synchronise changes without a database. This works in Shareware Mode as long as each instance stays within the caps.
Remote Desktop Manager Free stores entries and credentials in its local workspace and injects them into sessions: create a credential entry once, link RDP and SSH entries to it, and change the password in one place when it rotates. Sharing is the catch. The Free edition has no shared data source, so handing a list to a colleague means export and import rather than a live vault. Our remote access security checklist covers what to do with exported files that contain secrets.
Reaching servers behind a jump host
Royal TS ships a Secure Gateway object built on SSH port forwarding. Point it at a jump host on port 22 with its own credential, select the gateway in an RDP, VNC, SSH or Telnet connection, and the app opens the tunnel for you, so 3389 and 5900 stay closed to the outside. The gateway is a connection object and takes one of the ten free slots.
Remote Desktop Manager has no equivalent relay in the Free edition. It uses each protocol’s normal ports and relies on your VPN, an RD Gateway set in the RDP entry or an SSH tunnel you manage yourself. For self-hosted ways around that, see self-hosted remote access.
Automation and imports
Royal TS automates with Command Tasks (start a VPN before a session), Key Sequence Tasks that type into one or many sessions, Dynamic Folders that rebuild a list from a script or RoyalJSON on load, and the RoyalDocument.PowerShell module for generating documents from a CSV or Active Directory. A dynamic list larger than ten connections again needs a licence.
Remote Desktop Manager leans on its import wizard, which reads RDCMan files, Dameware and KeePass exports, CSV and Active Directory OUs, and on folder-level inheritance: set the gateway, resolution and credentials once on a folder and every server in it picks them up. Macros and scripting are included in the Free edition.
Platforms and install
- Royal TS 7 is a self-contained .NET 10 application for Windows x64 and ARM64; 32-bit Windows has not been supported since version 6. The official download page lists an MSI for x64. There is no Linux desktop version.
- Royal TSX 6 is the macOS build (currently 6.4.5) and reads the same document format.
- Remote Desktop Manager on Windows wants a 64-bit OS, 4 GB RAM, .NET Desktop Runtime 10.0 and the Edge WebView2 Runtime; the installer fetches both, the ZIP and 7z packages do not. Windows 11 22H2, Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016 to 2025 are listed. macOS Sequoia is the listed Mac platform. Linux has DEB and RPM packages, a Cloudsmith repository for apt and dnf, an AUR package and a Flatpak.
Limitations of both
- Neither tool gets you through NAT to a user’s PC by ID. They manage sessions to machines you can already reach. For remote support, see the best free remote desktop software hub.
- Royal TS Shareware Mode fits small lists only; a licence is per platform and per major version.
- Remote Desktop Manager Free is single-user by design and is the heavier client, with .NET 10 and WebView2 on Windows.
- Feature lists change between releases. Check the official edition comparison and licensing FAQ before depending on a specific feature.
- Startup time, memory use and session responsiveness: Not tested yet.
How to choose
- Count your connections and credentials. Under ten of each, either tool is free; over ten, Royal TS needs a licence and RDM Free does not.
- Decide whether you need macOS or Linux. Royal TSX covers macOS; RDM runs on macOS and Linux too.
- If you need SSH tunnelling inside the manager, Royal TS has it in the free mode. With RDM, plan a VPN or gateway.
- If several people need one list with permissions and an audit trail, neither free option is enough: that is Royal TS with Royal Server, or a paid Devolutions edition.
- Avoid the dormant alternative. Terminals is free and tabbed, but its last release dates from June 2017. On Linux desktops, Remmina remains the usual free choice.
FAQ
Royal TS free vs paid: what is the difference?
Shareware Mode has every feature but caps each app instance at 10 connections, 10 credentials and one open document, and disables AppleScript on macOS. A licence removes those caps for the major version you buy and is perpetual for that version.
Remote Desktop Manager Free vs paid: what do you lose?
The Free edition keeps connection management, imports, macros, the local credential vault and multifactor authentication. Team adds password-manager integrations, double encryption, role-based access control, audit trails and connection status reports, and needs a shared data source such as Devolutions Server or Devolutions Hub.
Is Remote Desktop Manager Free allowed for commercial use?
Yes. Devolutions positions the Free edition for an individual IT professional, including commercial work. What it does not cover is a team sharing one vault.
Does Remote Desktop Manager Free need a licence key?
No. Current releases do not require a licence key for the Free edition. You create a free Devolutions account and sign in; a local SQLite workspace is created on first launch.
Is there a portable version?
Devolutions publishes ZIP and 7z packages for Windows that run without the installer if .NET Desktop Runtime 10.0 and WebView2 are present. Royal TS has shipped as MSI and ZIP; the current download page lists the MSI.
Royal TSX vs Remote Desktop Manager on a Mac?
Royal TSX is the native macOS edition with the same Shareware Mode limits plus the AppleScript restriction. Remote Desktop Manager lists macOS Sequoia as its supported Mac platform. Which feels better on macOS is Not tested yet.
Last updated: 29 October 2026 · CtrlRemote editorial team. Licence, version and platform details are checked against each developer's official documentation.