TeamViewer is hired to do one job: let one person see and control another computer, for support or for unattended access. Many companies hold a subscription for a handful of machines. Below: what the vendor does and does not publish, open-source tools people run instead, and the checks that keep you from locking yourself out.
It gets installed once to fix one problem and then it is on a server, a home computer and a manager's laptop. Removing it feels risky because nobody remembers which machines depend on it.
The renewal is annual and a single-vendor line is easy to approve. The saving is rarely in the tool; it is in knowing which machines need remote access at all.
Only alternatives we have checked. An open-source project is listed with the license its repository reports, on the date shown; one whose license could not be read as a single standard id is not offered as open source. Read the license guide before running any of them.
| Alternative | Kind | License | Read from |
|---|---|---|---|
| RustDesk | Open source | AGPL-3.0 | RustDesk repositoryChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
| MeshCentral | Open source | Apache-2.0 | MeshCentral repositoryChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
Each feature below is what the product's own page or README says, linked to where we read it on the date shown. Pros and cons are limited to what those pages state and to what the path itself changes. We do not rank products on quality.
Remote access is a small job with a large blast radius: a tool that can control a computer is a door into the business. A cheaper replacement is only a saving if someone owns its security, updates and access list.
Samples are made up and are not TeamViewer's prices. Type in the figures from your own invoice or order form.
The honest yearly cost of running open-source software yourself, set against the bill it replaces, with the seat count where it stops paying.
Paid seats against seats in use: what the idle ones cost a year, and what you save by right-sizing at renewal.
Arithmetic only, not tax, accounting or legal advice. Check the figures against your own order form.
Moving remote access is moving machines, one at a time. In outline:
List every computer with unattended access, who connects to it, how often, and what add-ons are in use.
Stand up the replacement, install its agent on two or three machines and connect from the devices people really use. Test from outside the office network.
Set access controls before the rollout: who may connect to what, two-factor authentication where the tool supports it, and where logs go.
Install the new agent on the rest, confirm each connects, and only then remove the old one. Never remove the old agent from a machine you cannot reach another way.
Keep the old subscription through its term unless the contract lets you end it earlier, and let it lapse at the renewal date.
Run the vendor report for QuickBooks Online or Xero, then open the free audit.
General information, not legal advice. See cancelling without penalties. Last reviewed Oct 25, 2026. Product names belong to their owners and are used only to identify them.
Send us the export and see which lines are worth a second look. A connected version is planned. TeamViewer is one of the lines worth a look.
Worked example. Type over it.
Result
| Self-hosting, per year | Amount |
|---|---|
| Hosting, backups, tooling | 720.00 |
| Admin and restore-test time | 2,640.00 |
| Total | 3,360.00 |
| One-off set-up (not in the yearly total) | 1,200.00 |
The saving holds only if the time is real. Price the admin hours at what that person's time costs the company, not at zero.
Worked example. Type over it.
Result
“In use” is your call: last sign-in in the past 30 or 90 days from the vendor's admin report. A seat for someone on leave is not idle.