Peering

Apple Remote Desktop Alternatives

Written by the people who make Peering, so read it knowing that. Researched from each product's own pages, 2026.

The short version. Apple Remote Desktop is an administration tool that runs on a Mac. It has no iPhone or iPad app. If you want your own Mac on your phone, use Peering, Screens or Jump Desktop. If you manage many Macs from a Mac, ARD or a similar management tool is still the right shape.

What Apple Remote Desktop is for

Apple Remote Desktop (ARD) is an app for the Mac App Store that lets an administrator watch, control and manage many Macs at once: send files, run commands, take inventory, push software. It is a Mac-to-Mac tool for classrooms and offices. It has no iPhone or iPad version, and it assumes you are on the same network or have set up your own route to it.

People search for an alternative for two different reasons, and the answers differ.

You want your own Mac on your phone

This is the common case, and ARD does not cover it. Peering pairs one Mac with your iPhone or iPad using a six-digit code, with no account, and works from anywhere afterwards. Screens and Jump Desktop do the same job and also reach Windows and Linux. See all of them compared.

You manage a fleet of Macs

For many machines you want a management system rather than a viewer: an MDM such as Jamf or Kandji for policy and software, and a remote tool for the occasional session. Phone apps like the ones above are built for one person and one or a few computers.

What about Screen Sharing?

macOS already includes Screen Sharing, which is free and good between two Macs. It has no iPhone client. We compare it with ARD in Apple Remote Desktop vs Screen Sharing.

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Common questions

Is there an Apple Remote Desktop for iPhone?

No. Apple Remote Desktop is a Mac application for administrators. To reach a Mac from an iPhone or iPad you need a third-party app such as Peering, Screens or Jump Desktop.

What is the best alternative to Apple Remote Desktop?

It depends on the job. To control your own Mac from an iPhone or iPad, Peering. To reach Macs, Windows and Linux, Jump Desktop or Screens. For free and open source, RustDesk.

Is there a free alternative to Apple Remote Desktop?

Yes. Apple's built-in Screen Sharing works between Macs at no cost. For an iPhone or iPad, Peering is free on your own network, and Chrome Remote Desktop and self-hosted RustDesk are free.

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