Swiss hosting + Swiss law
Servers in Switzerland and the EU. revFADP + GDPR. Lightnet Multimedia GmbH is a Swiss limited-liability company without a US parent — no CLOUD Act.
Swiss company · GDPR-compliant
Remote desktop
The Swiss alternative to TeamViewer
Looking for a remote-desktop tool with TeamViewer's features but with Swiss data protection, cross-platform incl. Linux + Pi and clear flat pricing? WinDesk is probably your best choice.
Switch offer
Start for free
Switching from TeamViewer?
Try WinDesk on the free plan — no account, no card, two hours of session time a month. Pro costs CHF 29.90 per month plus 8.1% VAT and is billed from the first month.
0
hops via the cloud
CH
location of signalling
4
platforms including Pi
2h
free per month, business too
Why users look for an alternative
TeamViewer is an established product with a broad feature set. Users who switch to us most often cite these reasons:
- Tier-based pricing that gets expensive quickly with growing user counts
- Data is routed through globally distributed cloud relays
- Complex licence terminology (named user, concurrent, …)
- Frequent version incompatibilities between client versions
These points reflect feedback from our conversations with prospective customers, not value judgements about the vendor.
“Commercial use detected” — what is behind it
The most common reason people land on this page has nothing to do with features: the free version reports commercial use, the session drops after a few seconds, and it is not obvious why. The background is simple. TeamViewer offers its free version for personal use and checks automatically whether a given usage looks like that. Connecting from a company network, reaching many different endpoints or accessing servers all stand out — even when the use really is personal.
An objection can be filed with the vendor. It takes time, and it may have to be repeated. Anyone working commercially on a regular basis needs a licence anyway — that is legitimate and it is what the terms say.
WinDesk has no such check. The free plan has a limit that sits on a clock rather than in a detection routine: two hours of session time per month, the same for personal and business use. Anything beyond that costs money — but no session ends because a routine formed a suspicion. Full details are on the pricing page.
What both have in common
- AES-256-GCM end-to-end encryption
- Attended and unattended access
- File transfer, multi-monitor
- Central host management
- Two-factor authentication
- Cross-platform (Windows + Mac + Linux)
Where WinDesk differs
True P2P by default
Session data flows directly between client and host — pure P2P with no media relay. Only signaling runs over our Swiss server; your screen data never touches it. TeamViewer routes through cloud relays by default.
Pi + Linux
arm64 builds for Raspberry Pi 4/5. .deb for Ubuntu/Debian, .rpm for Fedora/RHEL. Wayland and X11 native. Ideal platform for maker setups, education labs and CI builders.
Flat pricing instead of bundle matrix
Pro: CHF 29.90/month including 1 admin + 100 hosts. Additional users CHF 7.90/month, additional 100 hosts CHF 12.90/month. Linear scale. No enterprise tiers.
TeamViewer and WinDesk, feature by feature
✓ Yes
✕ No
~ Partial
? n/a
| Feature | TeamViewer0/0 | WinDesk0/0 |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | ||
| Peer-to-peer default connection | ~ | ✓ |
| No media relay (screen data never leaves the P2P path) | ✕ | ✓ |
| Cross-platform (Windows/Mac/Linux) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Raspberry Pi support | ✓ | ✓ |
| Open source | ✕ | ✕ |
| Self-hostable | ✓ | ✕ |
| Security & privacy | ||
| End-to-end AES-256-GCM | ✓ | ✓ |
| Server location Switzerland (default) | ✕ | ✓ |
| GDPR / revFADP-compliant | ✓ | ✓ |
| Hardware-bound device tokens | ~ | ~ |
| Two-factor authentication | ✓ | ✓ |
| Passkey / WebAuthn | ✓ | ✓ |
| Features | ||
| Attended remote support | ✓ | ✓ |
| Unattended access | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multiple sessions in parallel (tabs) | ✓ | ✓ |
| File transfer | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi-monitor | ✓ | ✓ |
| System audio (incl. macOS) | ~ | ~ |
| Session recording | ✓ | ✕ |
| Central host management | ✓ | ✓ |
| Roles & permissions | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pricing (checked September 2026) | ||
| Free tier available | ✓ | ✓ |
| Transparent price list, no tier matrix | ✕ | ✓ |
| Pro includes unattended access | ~ | ✓ |
| Company | ||
| Headquarters | Germany | Switzerland |
| Subject to US CLOUD Act | ✕ | ✕ |
TeamViewer, AnyDesk, RustDesk, Splashtop and Chrome Remote Desktop are registered trademarks of their respective owners. WinDesk and Lightnet Multimedia GmbH have no business relationship with these companies. All data is based on publicly available information as of September 2026.
Switch or stay?
Not every point favours us. The honest reading:
You need session recording for audit obligations
Stay with TeamViewer. WinDesk does not record sessions today; the audit trail records who connected when, not what was on screen.
You want data and a contracting party in Switzerland
WinDesk. A Swiss company, signalling in Switzerland, invoicing with Swiss VAT.
Your free sessions end because commercial use was detected
WinDesk. The free plan applies to personal and business use alike; the limit is two hours a month.
You pay for tiers and add-on packages you do not use
WinDesk. One price per user, no bundle matrix, cancellable monthly.
You maintain Raspberry Pi or Linux machines
WinDesk. arm64 builds for Pi 4 and 5, .deb and .rpm, Wayland and X11 natively.
You need self-hosting in your own data centre
Stay with TeamViewer. WinDesk is a managed service today and cannot be self-hosted.
Try WinDesk in 30 seconds
Free plan with no account, no credit card. Direct comparison table if you would rather see the facts side by side.
Frequently asked questions
Is WinDesk really cheaper than TeamViewer?
For small teams, yes — significantly. WinDesk Pro is CHF 29.90/month including 1 admin + 100 hosts; additional users CHF 7.90/month, additional hosts CHF 12.90/100. TeamViewer is tiered in bundles — the entry tier covers one user and a handful of devices, and more devices or users push the price into the next tier. For large enterprise setups TeamViewer can be cheaper in some cases — but rarely transparent.
Can I migrate from TeamViewer to WinDesk?
Yes. We have a migration guide with the necessary steps: account setup, host installation, device import, team onboarding.
What about session recording?
WinDesk currently has no built-in session recording like TeamViewer Tensor. On the roadmap. If recording is mandatory, TeamViewer is currently the clear winner.
Does WinDesk run on Mac and Linux?
Yes, both production-ready since 0.5.0. macOS Apple Silicon (signed + notarised), Linux x64 as .deb and .rpm, Raspberry Pi 4/5 as arm64. Mac details · Linux details.
Why does TeamViewer say “commercial use detected”?
The free version is meant for personal use, and the vendor checks automatically whether a given usage looks like that. Connections from a company network, many different endpoints or access to servers all trigger the detection — even when the use really is personal. An objection is possible but takes time. WinDesk’s free plan has no such check: it applies to personal and business use alike and is capped at two hours a month.
Is there a free TeamViewer alternative?
WinDesk has a permanently free plan: two hours of session time per month, with no account and no credit card, for personal and business use. Beyond that it starts at CHF 19.90 per month. Open-source alternatives such as RustDesk are free as well but require your own server or the use of public rendezvous servers abroad.
Does WinDesk run on Raspberry Pi and Linux?
Yes. There are arm64 builds for Raspberry Pi 4 and 5 as well as .deb and .rpm packages for x64. The host runs as a service; on Linux it needs a graphical session (X11 or Wayland with wlroots, GNOME or KDE). Pi and Linux are equal platforms, not by-products.
Does the customer have to install anything for a session?
For one-off help the portable host is enough: a signed file, no installation, no administrator rights. It shows a session ID and PIN, and nothing is left behind once it is closed. For recurring access the host is installed as a service — see unattended access.
Is WinDesk GDPR and Swiss FADP compliant?
Yes. Signalling runs through a server in Switzerland, screen data never reaches it, and Lightnet Multimedia GmbH is a Swiss company with no US parent. The data processing agreement and the technical details are on the security page.
Does WinDesk support unattended access like TeamViewer?
Yes, on the Pro plan. The host is set up as a service and authenticates with a sign-in bound to the device’s security chip (TPM or Secure Enclave) where available.