Best remote desktop software for Canadian small businesses

A Smithville shop does not need an RMM bake-off. It needs a session on the client PC, an honest CAD or USD sticker if you pay, and a clear line between a $0 Google PIN and a commercial license. US “best remote desktop 2026” lists skip the part that changes the bill: GST/HST on TeamViewer or Splashtop, and the fact that free TeamViewer is not for supporting clients.

This comparison is five paths shops and small MSPs actually open: TeamViewer (annual license; free is personal-use only), AnyDesk (outgoing commercial seat; incoming client is free), Chrome Remote Desktop ($0 Google account), Windows Quick Assist / Microsoft Remote Desktop ($0 Windows tools — different jobs), and Splashtop (public cards; official blog lists CAD as a supported currency). Remote-desktop prices checked against public vendor pages, 6 September 2026.

Who this page is for

• A Canadian sole prop or two-person shop that needs to open the office PC from home, or walk a client through a jammed printer.
• A small MSP quoted TeamViewer or AnyDesk who needs official unattended limits and currency honesty, not a US list converted to loonies.
• Anyone about to pay for remote access who already has Chrome Remote Desktop or Quick Assist for the job they actually do.
• Not a hands-on lab. Not an RMM / PSA bake-off. Not Intune architecture.

Snapshot (public pages, 6 September 2026)

Sources: TeamViewer pricing; TeamViewer personal use; TeamViewer payment; AnyDesk pricing; AnyDesk licenses; AnyDesk currency; Chrome Remote Desktop help; Windows Quick Assist; Enable Remote Desktop; Splashtop.

TeamViewer — commercial when you support a client

Official teamviewer.com/en-ca/pricing (6 September 2026 retrieve): the license-grid dollars did not print in the static page. Official FAQ on that page: subscriptions are annual and renew every 12 months unless cancelled in text at least 28 days before the term ends. Only the expert needs a paid license — the person being supported does not. Do not invent a CA$ or US$ TeamViewer SKU from a blog. Source: https://www.teamviewer.com/en-ca/pricing/.

Official TeamViewer KB “For personal use” (last modified 18 August 2025): the free version is for connections between your own personal devices or helping friends and family. It is not free for employment, an organization, connecting to a work computer, working from home, or supporting clients — including not-for-profit work that creates revenue or compensation (NFP pricing is a separate path). Source: For personal use.

Official same personal-use KB: the Host module is unattended access and stays running; it does not make outbound connections. QuickSupport is attended — someone on the other side must share a password; it does not install and is not unattended. The Full Version can be set up for unattended access or a random password. Official TeamViewer KB “All about Payment” (last modified 29 September 2025): invoice currency follows the default currency of the country where the order was placed. Canada and Latin America is a listed payment region (wire, PayPal, credit/debit). If you need a different currency than the invoice, contact support. No Canadian GST/HST matrix was retrieved — confirm tax on the invoice. Not tax advice. Sources: https://www.teamviewer.com/en-us/global/support/knowledge-base/teamviewer-classic/licensing/personal-use/for-personal-use/; https://www.teamviewer.com/en/global/support/knowledge-base/teamviewer-classic/licensing/payment/all-about-payment/.

Buy TeamViewer when the shop already lives in TeamViewer IDs and you need Host on the client PCs. Do not stay on the free build to support a paying client. Do not invent a CA$ Remote Access price from a US blog.

AnyDesk — the outgoing seat; the client install is free

Official AnyDesk help “AnyDesk licenses” (updated 30 October 2025): Solo — 1 licensed user, 1 simultaneous outgoing connection, up to 100 managed (unattended) devices. Standard — up to 20 users, 1 outgoing connection by default (add-ons up to 19 more), up to 500 unattended devices; named as a fit for IT departments and MSPs. Advanced — up to 100 users, 2 outgoing connections by default, up to 1,000 unattended devices. Ultimate is quote, cloud or on-premises. Source: AnyDesk licenses.

Official same article: only outgoing clients that initiate commercial connections need a license. Incoming clients that only accept or reject sessions do not. Licenses are annual subscriptions managed in my.anydesk. Personal vs professional use is a separate AnyDesk page — supporting a paying client is not the free personal path. That is the MSP-useful line: the bakery does not buy AnyDesk so you can fix the POS.

Official AnyDesk help “Can I change the payment currency?” (updated 16 June 2026): payment currency is determined by your country and may not be changed afterward. anydesk.com/en/pricing is the public card. This retrieve was blocked by a bot check and did not print a static CAD or USD sticker. Confirm the live widget and the invoice. Do not invent a CA$ AnyDesk SKU. No Canadian GST/HST matrix was retrieved. Not tax advice. Sources: https://anydesk.com/en/pricing; https://support.anydesk.com/docs/can-i-change-the-payment-currency.

Buy AnyDesk when you want a named unattended cap (100 / 500 / 1,000) and clients should not need seats. Confirm CAD vs the country-locked currency at checkout. Skip it if Chrome Remote Desktop already covers your own two PCs.

Chrome Remote Desktop — $0, and often enough

Official remotedesktop.google.com and Chrome Help “Access another computer with Chrome Remote Desktop”: a Google account plus the host install. No subscription SKU, no CAD card, no GST line. Workspace or Chrome Enterprise admins can turn it off. Source: remotedesktop.google.com.

Official Chrome Help: unattended access is remotedesktop.google.com/access — install the host, name the PC, set a PIN, connect from the same Google account. Remote support is remotedesktop.google.com/support — a one-time code; the sharer confirms, and Chrome asks again every 30 minutes. The code works once. Source: Chrome Help.

Official Chrome Enterprise Help “Control use of Chrome Remote Desktop”: a Workspace / Chrome admin can turn Chrome Remote Desktop on or off in the Admin console. Firewall-traversal policy can limit it to LAN or VPN. Official Chrome Help troubleshooting: antivirus can block the UDP/TCP ports CRD uses. Sources: https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/2799701; https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/1649523. Official Chrome Help also notes antivirus can block the ports CRD uses — the agent on that laptop is still antivirus for Canadian small businesses, not a reason to buy TeamViewer for one home PC.

Stay here for your own machines and the occasional family-and-friends code. Leave when you need a technician console, session recording, or unattended access that is not tied to one Google account. A Workspace admin who turned CRD off is not a pricing problem — it is a policy problem. Seat math: Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365 in Canada.

Quick Assist and Remote Desktop — two Microsoft tools, not one SKU

Official microsoft.com Windows tips “Quick Assist”: built into Windows (Ctrl + Windows + Q). Six-character security code. Helper needs a Microsoft account and internet. The other person must allow control. No extra download on a current Windows PC. That is attended support — not a shop unattended agent. Source: Quick Assist.

Official Microsoft Learn “Enable Remote Desktop on your PC”: use Windows App or the Microsoft Remote Desktop client. Enabling Remote Desktop opens a port; only enable it on trusted networks (Learn names a home network) and keep strong, unique passwords. The remote PC must be powered on, not asleep, and allowed through the firewall. Official same article: Pro, Enterprise, Education, and Windows Server can host incoming Remote Desktop. Windows Home cannot host; it can still be a client. Source: Enable Remote Desktop. That is why this page also points at a VPN when the host is not on the same trusted LAN.

Intune Remote Help (including unattended control on enrolled corporate Windows devices) is a different Microsoft SKU — Intune Suite, a Remote Help add-on, or listed Microsoft 365 enterprise seats. It is not Quick Assist and not the $0 Remote Desktop toggle. Confirm that bill separately. Not this page’s CAD card. Source: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/intune/remote-help/plan. Quick Assist and the built-in Remote Desktop host have no SaaS line. Tax, if any, sits on the Windows license or the Intune / Microsoft 365 seat you already pay. Not tax advice.

Use Quick Assist for a one-off Windows help session. Use RDP for your own Pro PC on a trusted network. Do not enable RDP on a café laptop “because it’s free.” Do not buy a third-party remote tool only because someone is still on Windows Home — Chrome Remote Desktop or a paid Host will sit on Home; RDP host will not.

Splashtop — the public card, and CAD is a listed currency

Official splashtop.com/pricing (6 September 2026): Remote Access Solo $6/month billed annually at $72 — unattended access from any device, file transfer, remote print. Pro $8.25/month/user billed annually at $99 — multi-monitor, roles, chat, session recording, up to 3 users into one computer. Performance $13/month/user billed annually at $149. Enterprise is quote. Dollars on that retrieve are unlabelled. Official same page: Remote Support SOS starts at $22/month per concurrent user license, billed annually at $259 or $399. On-demand session-code access; “with or without an end-user present.” Option 1: 10 managed computers per license. Option 2: 300, scaling to 1,200 at 4+ licenses. Official: business subscriptions are billed yearly. Source: https://www.splashtop.com/pricing.

Official Splashtop blog “Discounts” (updated 17 August 2026): depending on where you are located you may see USD or another supported local currency, including CAD. Confirm the live widget and the invoice. No official Canadian GST/HST matrix was retrieved. Not tax advice. Source: Splashtop discounts / currencies.

Pick Splashtop when you want a sticker you can read without a sales call, and you need unattended access or SOS support without pretending TeamViewer’s hidden grid is a CAD list. Do not treat the unlabelled $6 as loonies until checkout says CAD. The antivirus add-on on that page is not a substitute for the endpoint page.

When free Chrome Remote Desktop is enough

• The PCs are yours. One Google account. A PIN you did not write on a sticky note on the monitor.
• The host stays powered on. Official Chrome Help: you need internet on both sides.
• Helping someone else is a one-time code they confirm — and you can live with the 30-minute “keep sharing?” prompt.
• You do not need a technician roster, session recording, or 200 unattended bakery tills.
• A Workspace admin has not turned Chrome Remote Desktop off.

Move up when the work is commercial support, when the other person should not share a Google account with you, or when you need the session to start without anyone at the keyboard. That is Host, AnyDesk unattended, Splashtop, or RDP on a Pro PC — not another free TeamViewer ID you hope they never classify as business.

A practical pick

1. Your own Windows Pro PC, trusted LAN or a VPN: Remote Desktop. Home edition cannot host.
2. One-off Windows help, someone at the PC: Quick Assist.
3. Your own mix of Windows / Mac / Linux, one Google account: Chrome Remote Desktop. Stay here until it is not enough.
4. Supporting paying clients: buy a commercial outgoing seat. AnyDesk if the client should not pay. TeamViewer if that is already the ID on the till. Splashtop if you want a public sticker and a CAD-capable checkout.
5. The ticket still lives on help desk software for Canadian small businesses. The agent on that laptop is still antivirus. A remote session is not those tools.