Compare › Chrome Remote Desktop
Chrome Remote Desktop is the closest thing to ManyScreens: free, from Google, and the viewer is a web page. If it works for you, keep it. People come looking when one of four things gets in the way — the Google account, the Chrome requirement, a Linux desktop that is not the one they are logged in to, or the iPhone.
Chrome Remote Desktop signs you in with Google: its access page goes straight to Google sign‑in [1]. ManyScreens needs an email address and a password, nothing else, and is not tied to any Google, Apple or Microsoft account.
Google’s own page for other browsers says: “In order to configure or manage remote access for this device … Chrome is required”, and offers to continue with a warning that “your experience may be limited” [2]. ManyScreens checks for no browser at all: Chrome, Edge, Safari and Firefox all work, on a computer, an iPhone or an Android phone. Chrome and Edge additionally let full screen capture shortcuts such as Alt+Tab.
On Linux, Chrome Remote Desktop starts its own session: “The virtual desktop session is created … when Chrome Remote Desktop starts” [3]. ManyScreens shows the desktop you are logged in to, the windows you left open: on X11 every monitor, and on Wayland under GNOME and KDE through the desktop’s own portals.
Google’s help for iOS now sends iPhone users to the browser and suggests adding the page to the Home Screen [4]. ManyScreens was a browser on the iPhone from the start, and draws a touch interface for it: a look‑or‑control switch, pinch zoom up to 8×, press and hold to right‑click, and a key row with the shortcuts a phone keyboard lacks. How it works on an iPhone →
| Chrome Remote Desktop | ManyScreens | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free; Google lists no paid plan | Free for up to 3 computers; Pro €4.99 a month for unlimited (from 1 January 2027; everything free until then) |
| Account | Google account [1] | Email and password |
| Browser | Chrome required to set up and manage remote access [2] | Any current browser |
| Linux | A separate virtual desktop session [3] | Your logged‑in desktop; X11, or Wayland on GNOME and KDE |
| Sessions with your own computers | No maximum duration by default [5] | No maximum duration |
| Helping someone once | They share a code; asked to confirm every 30 minutes; no file transfer in these sessions [3] | A code shown on their screen, valid ten minutes, single use, approved there; no account needed on their side |
| Two-factor sign-in | Through Google’s 2‑Step Verification | Yes, with an authenticator app |
No card, no Google account. After that, Free stays at three computers with no time limit.
Checked on 3 October 2026 on Google’s own pages. Chrome and Chrome Remote Desktop are trademarks of Google LLC; ManyScreens is not affiliated with Google.