Apple Remote Desktop vs. ISL Light

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Apple Remote Desktop
Score 6.5 out of 10
N/A
Apple Remote Desktop (ARD), from Apple, is a remote administration tool for managing Apple computers running OS X across a network.N/A
ISL Light
Score 9.6 out of 10
Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
ISL Light is remote support and remote access software that enables SMBs and large enterprises to offer fast and efficient support and maintenance for Windows, Mac and Linux computers as well as mobile device support for Android and iOS.
$34.90
per month (billed annually) per concurrent user
Pricing
Apple Remote DesktopISL Light
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Standard
$34.90
per month (billed annually) per concurrent user
Self-Hosted
$44.90
per month (billed annually) per concurrent user
Premium
$54.90
per month (billed annually) per concurrent user
Enterprise (Managed Private Cloud)
$23,976
per year 20 concurrent users
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Apple Remote DesktopISL Light
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsISL Online's pricing model considers the number of licenses purchased, which determines the maximum number of concurrent users within the organization. A concurrent user is defined as anyone running one or more sessions simultaneously from any device. There are no restrictions on the number of ISL Light users within a company or the remote devices managed. For example, with three licenses, an unlimited number of people in a company can use ISL Light and can access an unlimited number of remote devices, but only three users can use it concurrently. When one of these three users ends their session, a fourth user can begin their session, and so on.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Apple Remote DesktopISL Light
Considered Both Products
Apple Remote Desktop
Chose Apple Remote Desktop
Apple Remote Desktop is very Apple specific, which as both good and bad aspects. We actually use both Bomgar/BeyondTrust and Apple Remote Desktop because each is good at certain aspects and bad at certain aspects. For instance, BeyondTrust is very good at ad hoc sessions with …
Chose Apple Remote Desktop
Apple Remote Desktop is far simpler than TeamViewer, especially for MacOSX. With Apple Remote Desktop native within OSX, it is simple and easy to use, and can be used with other Mac users with ease. I selected it because it has a much simpler design and is already integrated …
Chose Apple Remote Desktop
Apple Remote Desktop is Apple specific. There is no other software suite that controls the Mac like ARD. Apple built it specifically for Apple products and it has abilities that are definitely MacOS ONLY. If you administer Macs it is a must-have over the other solutions …
Chose Apple Remote Desktop
Apple Remote Desktop still requires more work on its functionality, but the other market giants are way ahead of it when it comes to utilities and services. Teamviewer was the first software that we used and it was so good, we wanted to try something else so we switched to …
Chose Apple Remote Desktop
Microsoft Remote desktop tends to perform better, especially over the internet and has multiple implementations, including open source.
AnyDesk is multi platform (both server and client) and more suitable for ad-hoc remote sessions.
Chose Apple Remote Desktop
Apple Remote Desktop is a good product when you have a need to manage Apple computers on-site and don't want a cloud solution with a recurring cost. We prefer it as an alternative or secondary solution in case your primary software has issues. I wouldn't use it as my only …
Chose Apple Remote Desktop
The Apple Remote Desktop application has a much faster connection once the computer has been properly configured.
Chose Apple Remote Desktop
For apple/mac products - hands down has the upper advantage when it comes to remote administration. It lacks in some areas that Datto and Kasyea have the upper hand on like some system monitoring. Overall, if I had multiple macs I needed to monitor and service, I would use …
Chose Apple Remote Desktop
I think that the one feature that sets ARD apart is the UI when in a remote session. There have been times where I've used Zoom, TeamViewer, etc. and couldn't access a part of the menu bar or accidentally closed a session due to the third-party UI that's been applied on the …
Chose Apple Remote Desktop
ARD does not have competition when it comes to working with Apple Devices in a 1:1 scenario.
Chose Apple Remote Desktop
Chrome Remote Desktop is cross-platform but lacks the cool features especially automation related features like Apple Remote Desktop does. For supporting Mac computers, Apple Remote Desktop was a clear choice.
Chose Apple Remote Desktop
I would feel much more comfortable having one of these alternative solutions as our Remote Desktop management tools. Each has their drawbacks and expenses associated with them, but we simply have too large of a deployment to not be considering alternatives. If it is the only …
Chose Apple Remote Desktop
Apple Remote Desktop is unique in some of the abilities it has. I feel like there is not much in direct competition for much of what it can do.
Chose Apple Remote Desktop
If you are managing Apple systems, ARD is hands down the number one way to manage these systems. It beats every other product out there with its deep macOS integration. No other product has as much focus on Apple as this one. We are primarily a Mac environment so it makes total …
Chose Apple Remote Desktop
I actually use ConnectWise and ARD, if within my LAN. If I have VPN access I use ARD, if it's a new client and I haven't worked on their network or it's too small to warrant a VPN setup then I'll use ConnectWise
Chose Apple Remote Desktop
Apple Remote Desktop is the best device we were able to use for education that served the function. Being a school with all Apple products and Mac labs, using Apple Remote Desktop was the most logical choice. The only other alternative was to use the Adobe screen share software …
Chose Apple Remote Desktop
For multi-site remote support we utilize TeamViewer and for enterprise-wide device management we are using Cisco Meraki System Manager. ARD is a great Mac tool, but there are many options out there, that are cloud-based, that don't require you to have network tunnels into your …
Chose Apple Remote Desktop
Apple Remote Desktop allows me access and control that Casper doesn't always have. I love the use of the Remote sessions to be able to get on and see what exactly is going on and then to be able to fix it without having to run across campus to that classroom.
Chose Apple Remote Desktop
I use Teamviewer with users who are having trouble connecting to the VPN. I think TeamViewer is a good alternative when ARD isn't working. However supporting the number of users we support, Teamviewer can come with a pretty hefty price tag.
Chose Apple Remote Desktop
We use both of these products and both are great in their own way.
Chose Apple Remote Desktop
No other product does remote desktop management of multiple Macs as good as ARD does, some come close, some have less features.
Chose Apple Remote Desktop
I have not used other applications--perfectly happy with Apple Remote Desktop.
Chose Apple Remote Desktop
Apple Remote Desktop provides a different level of support than programs listed above. Its a nice support tool built in the OS.
Chose Apple Remote Desktop
I have used the above two remote desktop services and have found it to be much harder than using the Apple Remote Desktop. They are slow to login with a lot of errors, time outs constantly, and interface its self moves incredibly slow. I felt a sense of relief when I started …
ISL Light
Chose ISL Light
Fast, quick, nonsense free, can downgrade picture quality for clients on mobile broadband

The three above mentioned softwares like CWA, Splashtop and Teamviewer can require you to lookup information on how to use the software, in-comparison to ISL where it's easy graphically.
Chose ISL Light
Much more intuitive when compared to remote desktop and as no changes are required on the firewall on the server side, it's a much more secure connection.
Chose ISL Light
Support is always quick and responsive, although I only had to contact support for license renewals over the past few years, so in essence, once a year. We made use of ISL Online at other companies too, at that time there was no real contender in the market according to my …
Chose ISL Light
TeamViewer is too expensive and I don't like the unattended management. AnyDesk doesn't have the functions that I like most about ISL Light.

TeamViewer es demasiado caro y no me gustó la gestión desatendida. AnyDesk no tiene las funciones que más me gustan de ISL Light.
Chose ISL Light
AnyDesk, TeamViewer and Splashtop
Chose ISL Light
Fairness, Support and License-Costs are quite important for us. Also the abbility to install an own ISL Light-Server onPrem, if we need it in furture.
Chose ISL Light
ISL Light is easy to use and covers all our permanant access devices but is also easy to manage our ad-hoc clients, the only negative over some is you can't automate remote tasks
Chose ISL Light
I used LogMeIn Rescue for several years, and it has more features rich but is horrifically expensive compared to ISL Light, which was the main reason I changed. Chrome Remote Desktop must be viewed as a threat in the remote desktop application sphere. The features and usability …
Chose ISL Light
Cheaper and more reliable. ISL gets the basics right.
Chose ISL Light
Functionality is similar but that where it end for us.
If you prefer value for money, no surprising price increases (or any increase!), instant support from UK based team who can resolve any product related query then I think ISL Light is product for you.
Chose ISL Light
each of these solutions mised some functionailty that was included in ISL Light, and they were all more expensive.
Chose ISL Light
Multi-monitor handling is super easy with ISL Light. The licensing model of ISL Light's self-hosted version is unbeatable. Great technical support, which often used before I purchased. The unbelievable price increase during and after the covid time of remote tools, has ended, …
Chose ISL Light
ISL Light has support. At AnyDesk, I've paid for 6 years, but after four years, they wanted more money, as they had a new license with only one concurrent session. ISL Light has support, but AnyDesk Support almost does not exist. The ISL address book works fine, but AnyDesk has …
Chose ISL Light
More user-friendly. More affordable. A Slovenian product (which means it supports the Slovene language). User support is very satisfactory and responsive. Simple installation and does not require additional knowledge from colleagues.
Chose ISL Light
Price fit our needs, and it had all the functions we needed. The others all had issues that were preventing me from using it as we do on a day to day basis. Teamviewer especially has declined to a horrible state, and they trap you in with forced renewals which is seriously …
Chose ISL Light
At first we were impressed by how easy it is to get help from a remote partner. Later we found out that ISL Light is also a local product and we are happy to support local businesses.
Chose ISL Light
While these are all good products and provide a solution in other use cases, at the time we were searching, ISL Light fit our use case best. It is a completely self-contained and privately hosted solution with a tool for each step, user contact, information gathering, remote …
Chose ISL Light
While both apps have their strengths, we found ISL Light to be a better fit for our usecase.
Chose ISL Light
Easier to use, easier to install and easier to manage. No dropping in connectivity and the GUI is much better than any other program.
Chose ISL Light
We chose ISL Light because of ease of use for our customers and end users, as it's the fastest way of getting a connection to the mentioned user or PC. A big role also plays the reliability of secure connection.
Chose ISL Light
ISL has better and simpler pricing also thie support is 10/10.
Features
Apple Remote DesktopISL Light
Remote Administration
Comparison of Remote Administration features of Product A and Product B
Apple Remote Desktop
8.0
Ratings
1% below category average
ISL Light
8.0
Ratings
1% below category average
Screen sharing8.90 Ratings8.40 Ratings
File transfer9.00 Ratings7.70 Ratings
Instant message9.30 Ratings7.60 Ratings
Secure remote access with Smart Card authentication8.50 Ratings7.90 Ratings
Access to sleeping/powered-off computers7.20 Ratings6.70 Ratings
Over-the-Internet remote session9.00 Ratings8.60 Ratings
Initiate remote control from mobile7.00 Ratings7.40 Ratings
Remote management of servers & workstations8.40 Ratings8.50 Ratings
Remote Active Directory® management7.00 Ratings8.70 Ratings
Centralized management dashboard8.50 Ratings8.20 Ratings
Session record7.30 Ratings8.20 Ratings
Annotations7.00 Ratings8.30 Ratings
Monitoring and Alerts8.30 Ratings7.90 Ratings
Multi-platform remote control6.30 Ratings8.20 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Apple Remote DesktopISL Light
Small Businesses
Getscreen.me
Getscreen.me
Score 9.7 out of 10
Getscreen.me
Getscreen.me
Score 9.7 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Remote Desktop Manager
Remote Desktop Manager
Score 9.0 out of 10
Remote Desktop Manager
Remote Desktop Manager
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Remote Desktop Manager
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Score 9.0 out of 10
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Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Apple Remote DesktopISL Light
Likelihood to Recommend
8.4
(0 ratings)
8.6
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(0 ratings)
8.2
(0 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
10.0
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Apple Remote DesktopISL Light
Likelihood to Recommend
ARD for me is based on a LAN, but can be used over WAN via VPN, but the latency makes ARD a less ideal tool. There are other cross platform tools that can do what ARD does which to me add value when managing a mixed environment
Read full review
Perfect for remotely accessing user machines. Better than any of the competitors such as Anydesk etc. Feels a lot safer and the auto rollout makes it perfect for large organisations and small Cannot think of a case when it's less appropriate!
Read full review
Pros
  • Automator Actions: This is a very cool feature and cost saving as it reduces human effort by automating the workflow of tasks.
  • Curtain Mode: This lets you block your local user's view of the desktop while performing administrative tasks.
  • Spotlight Search: It can perform lightning fast searches on machines using the spotlight search feature of OS X and thus saves a lot of time.
Read full review
  • Prikaz strani na kateri se nahaja uporabnik
  • Prikaz kontaktov uporabnikov
  • Zgodovina pogovorov s strankami
  • Možnost spreminjanja statusa dosegljivosti
  • Nalaganje datotek, zajemov slik,..
  • Klepetalnik, ki je enostaven za uporabo
  • Nas obvesti, da smo dobili sporočilo, tudi če smo izven klepetalnika
  • Display the page the user is on
  • Displaying user contacts
  • Customer conversation history
  • Ability to change availability status
  • Uploading files, capturing images, etc.
  • An easy-to-use chatbot
  • Notifies us that we have received a message, even if we are outside the chat room
Read full review
Cons
  • It's onsite only without setting up a VPN or some other form of remote network access.
  • It can be a little slow sometimes when compared to local access.
  • It seems to be a neglected product by Apple and not continually developed.
Read full review
  • Need a control toggle at least on AlwaysOn. User moves the mouse and you lose all control instantly.
  • Clipboard features are a bit wonky still, and your clipboard seems to get emptied a lot. So if you're trying to copy and paste you might lose something
  • Passwords for the systems are saved per machine, so if you work from multiple devices it can be tricky if you have complex passwords
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
It is a fairly unique tool in the level of integration it has with Apple Desktop products. It definitely needs some engineering attention, and it should be expanded to the iOS arena. It is not perfect, but it is very useful and fills an otherwise fairly empty niche in the support toolkit realm. The built-in screen sharing app in macOS handles the direct screen control or viewing function fairly well, but it does not have all of the other mass control features that Apple Remote Desktop supplies.
Read full review
We are renew the license for 10 years now and we do not see why would change that. It just gets better with every new version.
Read full review
Usability
Once it is set up, it is quite straightforward to use. However, currently, it requires both a script to run to set up permissions and controls, AND a command from the MDM to authorize it to be active. The MDM management command is manual. This is not conducive to an automated workflow, and sometimes gets forgotten. Then, the endpoint is not contactable until someone realizes that the MDM command was not sent or was not successful.
Read full review
It is very easy to use. You hardly need any computer knowledge to learn how to use it, as everything is displayed in easily recognizable icons. Although its appearance does not look cutting-edge, it could have a more modern look, but it must be said that everything is understandable, and with just a couple of taps on each icon that appears, you already know what each thing is for, and it allows you to use it skillfully and fluidly. Everything is perfect in this regard.
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Reliability and Availability
No answers on this topic
During the entere time of use, I have never come across any availability issues.
Read full review
Performance
No answers on this topic
High performance!
Read full review
Support Rating
I've never had to get support for ARD, so I can't give a real opinion.
Read full review
We had issues with mouse skipping on mobile devices. Support is immediatly availabe, they examined our case and in one of the new versions of the app this problem was gone.
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Implementation Rating
None, very easy to setup and install.
Read full review
It was so easy!
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Alternatives Considered
I would feel much more comfortable having one of these alternative solutions as our Remote Desktop management tools. Each has their drawbacks and expenses associated with them, but we simply have too large of a deployment to not be considering alternatives. If it is the only solution you can afford, it is OK to start here. I could see where this would have a return on investment, but it is really only suitable for a very small and localized scale. If employees are at all mobile, the duct taping of products necessary (VPN, distribution points, script repositories) would be very cumbersome.
Read full review
In our specific case user console simplicity in ISL light is a major positive for ISL light. ISL always on agent for unattended access is vastly superior to TeamViewer's solution. TeamViewer has become bloated in recent years, changing things for the sake of changing them, rather than improving their offering. One advantage TeamViewer has is a copy-paste file function that does not require the use of cumbersome file transfer tool.
Read full review
Scalability
No answers on this topic
Easy to deploy onto new devices. Ability to group devices so they can managed remotely efficiently.
Read full review
Return on Investment
  • Apple Remote Desktop has a positive return on investment because for the expense to the school, the value it brings to teachers is important. The return on improved student performance is very difficult to measure financially, but there is a definite return.
  • The overall objective of education is to increase student learning, ARD does that phenomenally. Parents see the tool used and are impressed at what the capabilities of the tool can do and how it impacts how active their students are as well as how well they can learn.
  • One negative impact is that teachers rely too much on this tool rather than on actually teaching sometimes.
Read full review
  • We can now help our customers within minutes. Sending a technician could take hours or even days.
  • We can immediately help customers who are stuck and unable to refuel so that they can continue their journey.
  • We can now quickly resolve warranty cases, so that it hardly costs us any money.
Read full review
ScreenShots

ISL Light Screenshots

Screenshot of remote access control in ISL Light.Screenshot of unattended access setup. Access can be allowed to as many computers as desired.Screenshot of a connection with a remote client, which can be set up by sending an email or sharing a link.Screenshot of interactions with the Windows UAC on a remote device.Screenshot of the dual panel File Manager, used to transfer files.Screenshot of the web console where remote desktop sessions can be managed from a web browser.