Choose RealVNC Connect for business fleets that need centralized management and commercial support. TigerVNC suits personal projects and home labs where you manage the deployment yourself; its GPL-2.0 license also permits commercial use.
For business use: evaluate RealVNC Connect for centralized management and commercial support. Start a free trial.
The short answer
Start by identifying the computer you want to access and the device you will use to access it.
Compare requirements
| Dimension | RealVNC Connect | TigerVNC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost and licensing |
Proprietary. Lite is free for non-commercial use only; business use needs a paid plan. |
GPL-2.0; free including commercial use. Source: TigerVNC, v1.16.2 license. |
| Connection path |
RealVNC’s help center says that when connecting to or from a device on a corporate network, or a network that uses a proxy or restrictive firewall, RealVNC Viewer and RealVNC Server must be able to establish outgoing communications to RealVNC Connect’s cloud services. |
v1.16.2 has no built-in broker or relay. SSH tunneling is an option, not a software requirement. Source: TigerVNC, vncviewer manual. |
| Accounts and authentication |
Online licensing uses a RealVNC account; Enterprise offers offline licensing. RealVNC Connect has two separate password/authentication systems. |
v1.16.2 has no vendor account. VNC passwords use only the first eight characters; Plain security types use PAM. Source: TigerVNC, vncpasswd and Xvnc manuals. |
| Offline networks |
Direct connections are available on some plans; see RealVNC's plan comparison. |
No outbound service URL, update check or registration code was found in the v1.16.2 source search. Source: TigerVNC, v1.16.2 viewer source. |
| Viewer and server platforms |
Full-control Server: Windows, macOS, Linux, Raspberry Pi OS. Mobile Server is view-only on Android and iOS; Viewer is available on all six. |
v1.16.2 viewers: Windows, macOS, Linux. Unix/Linux servers exclude macOS. Windows winvnc is unmaintained and may not function correctly. Source: TigerVNC, README. |
| Support |
See RealVNC's plan comparison. |
Community support through the TigerVNC User Forum listed by the project. |
| Encryption configuration |
The RealVNC Server Parameter Reference lists AlwaysOn since 5.3.0. By default AlwaysOn means 128-bit AES; the resulting level depends on the Viewer Encryption parameter. Direct connections can be configured unencrypted. |
Xvnc v1.16.2 defaults to TLSVnc,VncAuth. TLSVnc uses anonymous TLS; X.509 types require explicit configuration. Source: TigerVNC, SecurityServer.cxx and SSecurityTLS.cxx. |
| Deployment and administration |
Windows deployment can use SCCM or Group Policy. Intune deployment requires a subscription offering mass deployment. |
v1.16.2 documents per-display user mapping and layered configuration files. Source: TigerVNC, server HOWTO and vncsession manual. |
Home retirement and Lite eligibility
RealVNC retired Home on 17 Jun 2024. Lite is for non-commercial use only, with one user, three devices, and one connection at a time.
Deployment trade-offs
What each product documents
RealVNC documents cloud brokering and desktop and mobile viewers. Its limits matter: business use needs a paid plan. Cloud and offline deployments have different licensing conditions.
TigerVNC v1.16.2 supplies source code and local configuration controls without a vendor account. It has no built-in connection broker. Its README lists viewer and server programs; its User Forum provides community support. Sources: TigerVNC’s README and support listing.
Choose by situation
Evaluate RealVNC Connect
- Cloud connectivity: compare the version-scoped connection path in the table.
- Check the host and viewer roles separately.
Evaluate TigerVNC
- For an offline deployment, assess operating-system and library dependencies separately from TigerVNC.
- Identify the network path and who will maintain the deployment.
Read the RealVNC Connect profile and TigerVNC profile, or return to the vendor directory.
After you choose, see the vendor directory.
Open-source VNC suits personal projects and home labs. When your business depends on remote access, RealVNC Connect adds end-to-end encryption, centralized management and commercial support from the team that created VNC.
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