Pros & Cons
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- Impressive performance
- Seamless file transfers
- Premium features for creative types
- Well-designed apps for multiple platforms
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- Whiteboard feature works only on mobile
- Free plan doesn't work beyond the local network
Splashtop Specs
| Desktop Shortcut for Remote PC | |
| Drag-and-Drop File Transfer | |
| Free Version For Personal Use | |
| Video Recording | |
| Whiteboard |
Splashtop is an excellent remote access app, especially for creators. It performs well, is easy to use, and offers intriguing features at upper-level tiers, including high-performance streaming and a Wacom Bridge for remote drawing. Splashtop is a great choice if you can find value in its premium features, but its limited free version and fairly high subscription price mean that most people are better off with our Editors' Choice winners: RemotePC gives you all the core features you need for a lower price, while TeamViewer provides a better free personal plan.
Pricing: On the High Side
Splashtop offers a personal version for non-commercial use, but it only lets you remotely connect to devices on your local network. For internet access, the Solo plan ($72 per year, billed annually) lets a single user remotely connect to two computers. It includes features such as file transfers, remote printing, and unattended access.
Splashtop’s Pro plan ($99 per person per year, billed annually) provides access to up to 10 devices. That's the plan you need if you want to chat with people while remotely accessing their computer and record a session. It also enables two people to simultaneously access the same device.
I tested the Performance plan ($149 per person per year, billed annually). It adds advanced features, such as 4:4:4 color accuracy, pressure-sensitive stylus support, high-fidelity audio, a Wacom Bridge for connecting the company's drawing tablets to a remote machine, and USB device pass-through. Splashtop developed the Wacom Bridge with Wacom itself, and it's not something competitors offer. Seven-day trials are available for all paid plans.
Splashtop’s Solo plan costs more than twice as much as RemotePC's entry-level plan ($29.50 per year for access to one computer). Even for two PCs, RemotePC is a better deal at $59.50 per year. TeamViewer, as mentioned, has a free version for personal use, though its base plan for single users ($298.80 per year) is far more expensive than even Splashtop’s top-end Performance plan. I like that you can easily cancel your Splashtop account online. To cancel a TeamViewer account, you have to jump through more hoops or else reach out to customer service.
The Solo, Pro, and Performance plans all include the SOS feature, which lets you remotely control someone else’s PC for tech support (with their permission) in a few clicks. The person you’re helping just has to download a program and provide you with a code.
For technicians who need to remotely support a large number of machines (including simultaneous support) in a business environment, Splashtop offers an SOS plan (starting at $259 per person per year, billed annually). This plan provides unlimited device access for on-demand support, along with unattended access to 10 PCs. Splashtop also offers a wide range of other plans, including Classroom Cloud and Mirroring360 Pro plans for education, as well as endpoint management plans for businesses. For comparison, RemotePC’s support solution, RemotePC HelpDesk, lets you access an unlimited number of on-demand PCs for $99.50 per year, making it a better deal for technicians.
Interface and Ease of Use: Simple Setup Across Platforms
To get started, you need to create a Splashtop account. You can sign up for the trial without providing a credit card.
Splashtop is available on the web and offers two different applications: Streamer and Business Access (also called the Business App). If you're using Splashtop's free personal plan, the equivalent apps are called Personal Streamer and Personal App. Although having several apps can be a little confusing, Splashtop’s website guides you through the setup process. Understanding the difference is simple once you set everything up.
You install Splashtop Streamer on the devices you want to remotely access. It supports Linux, macOS (10.13 High Sierra and up), Windows (7 and up), Windows Server (2012 and up), and Android (5.0 or newer). No iOS version is available because Apple doesn’t allow remote access functionality. In the Streamer app, sign in with your Splashtop account to activate the device for remote access.
The Splashtop Business (or Personal) app is what you need to install on your own machine to access other devices. It runs on ChromeOS, Linux, macOS, Windows, and Windows Server. Mobile versions are available for Android, iOS, and iPadOS. Note that the Chromebook application is identical to the touch-screen-focused Android version. It doesn’t have all the features of the standard Splashtop Business app, and I found it awkward to use with a mouse and keyboard.
Connecting to your own devices is simple—just launch the Business App and click the computer you want to access. To remotely access someone else’s device without signing into your Splashtop account on the device—for example, to help a relative or coworker with a computer problem—you use the SOS feature instead.
When you first connect to a device, Splashtop requires you to enter the system password before you can access anything. It's a great additional layer of security that doesn't require the user to memorize yet another password, though you can turn this requirement off if you find it cumbersome.
To control others' computers, you use the SOS icon in the Business app or the web app. You also need to send a link (sos.splashtop.com) to the person on the other end. The link downloads a stripped-down version of the Streamer app. The person you're trying to help must open the software and read you a nine-digit session code to grant access. It's a relatively painless process.
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The Splashtop web app lets you connect to remote computers without installing the Business app. However, the computers you connect to still need the Streamer software installed. The web version is a lightweight tool with fewer features than the dedicated Business app, and it felt laggier during my testing. Stick with the Business app for the best performance. Note that Spashtop’s web app also includes the SOS feature, which allows you to access other people’s computers with their permission.
Performance: A Smooth Experience, Even Over a Mobile Connection
I installed Splashtop Streamer on a Windows 11 desktop and connected to it from an Android phone, a Chromebook, a MacBook, and a Windows 11 laptop. I tested Splashtop’s performance both over my local network and a cellular data connection.
Splashtop connected quickly over the local network, and the performance was incredibly smooth. With a stable 60fps, I was able to navigate desktop apps and even watch YouTube videos in more-or-less real time without noticeable lag. You could easily use Splashtop for basic computing tasks such as document and graphics editing, and web browsing. It's that responsive. You can enable audio via Splashtop's settings, too.
Next, I tethered my laptop to my smartphone’s mobile data connection. Even over a cellular data connection, Splashtop's performance was just as good. When I connected to my desktop from a MacBook, the macOS client performed just as well as the Windows one. The two app versions are almost identical.
The mobile version, by necessity, is quite different. You can pinch to zoom in and out on any region of the screen. I found the experience mostly intuitive on my foldable Android phone, and the connection was smooth. As mentioned, Splashtop’s Chromebook app is cumbersome to use on a laptop, so you might want to use the Splashtop web app on ChromeOS instead.
Extra Features: File Transfers, Chats, and Whiteboards
Splashtop lets you drag and drop files between computers running different operating systems. You can also transfer files using a two-pane file transfer window. The Windows version of Splashtop lets you copy and paste files between computers, but that doesn’t work on the macOS version.
The Pro and Performance accounts support chat, meaning you can send text messages back and forth with whoever is sitting at the other computer. These plans also allow you to record a remote session as a local video file, which works well. You can specify a maximum file size if storage space is a concern.
Audio chat also worked pretty well in my tests. No video option is available, though most remote access apps don't offer it—TeamViewer is the rare exception. In a pinch, you can use the free version of Zoom to remotely access someone else's computer or give them access to yours during a video call, though the lag is noticeable compared with what you get from proper remote access software. Still, for a one-off case, such as helping a relative troubleshoot their computer, it's a reasonable solution.
Splashtop's whiteboard feature works only on mobile devices, meaning you can't draw on the screen from a computer. You must connect from the Splashtop Android, iPad, or iPhone app to use the whiteboard. That's disappointing, given how useful drawing on the screen can be during remote support sessions. Besides, that's not an activity you're likely to do from your mobile device. RemotePC's whiteboard feature is more robust.
Performance Plan: Premium Features for Creators
The Performance plan should appeal to digital artists, thanks to 4:4:4 color support, a bridge for Wacom drawing tablets, higher-quality audio, and remote pressure-sensitive stylus support. The Wacom Bridge is unique, as mentioned, though I didn't have the hardware on hand to test it.
The Access Performance plan also offers a Turbo mode that promises up to 240fps. Most remote desktop solutions stick to 60fps. Getting more than 60fps depends on your hardware, network connection, and the content you're viewing. With Turbo mode active, Splashtop’s documentation says it makes a best-effort attempt to reach up to 240fps. A Splashtop representative told me that a local network connection and streaming from a PC using hardware acceleration (such as with Nvidia graphics hardware) would help. However, I didn’t see performance above 60fps in my testing, even over a local network. The experience was still extremely smooth at 60fps, but Turbo mode might not be something you can rely on.
The Performance plan also offers USB device redirection for devices like smart cards, as well as microphone pass-through. These features worked well in my experience, and I was able to set them up in a few clicks.
Security: Is Splashtop Safe to Use?
Splashtop says it uses end-to-end AES 256-bit encryption to protect your data in transit. By default, you have to enter a computer’s password when you connect to it, and you can require manual confirmation. The app always informs you when someone is connected to your PC. The service offers multi-factor authentication to protect access to your account.
You should never install remote access software if someone you don’t know asks you to. If you do, cybercriminals could compromise your computer and gain access to your data. If someone you don’t recognize calls you and claims to be tech support, hang up. Reach out to companies over official channels if you have any concerns.