ISL Light vs. Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection Manager (RDCMan)

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
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
RDCMan
Score 7.7 out of 10
N/A
RDCMan, or Remote Desktop Connection Manager from Microsoft, is a utility for managing multiple remote desktop connections. Once shut down due to a vulnerability in version 2.7, RDCMan is now updated and part of the Sysinternals family of tools. The 2.8 release fixes CVE-2020-0765, the XML parsing vulnerability. As of May, 2025, RDCMan is in version 3.1.N/A
Pricing
ISL LightMicrosoft Remote Desktop Connection Manager (RDCMan)
Editions & Modules
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
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
ISL LightRDCMan
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
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
ISL LightMicrosoft Remote Desktop Connection Manager (RDCMan)
Considered Both Products
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.
RDCMan
Chose RDCMan
The Avanti Software needed alot of attention if you are new to such tools. So for that reason we chose Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection Manager because of the more user friendly use of it. Also because it integrades great with windows and the remote servers we have. Thats …
Chose RDCMan
While these tools are completely different I think the ease of use and reliability is really reflected well in this case for Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection Manager. I find Adobe to be very unintuitive and difficult to use and there can be a lot of confusion. While …
Chose RDCMan
RDCMan outshines TeamViewer in every possible way. It’s fast, more reliable, and easier to use. I have had frequent crashes and issues when using TeamViewer, while none with RDCMan. Screen responsiveness also seems much better with RDCMan versus TeamViewer. I would often …
Chose RDCMan
Like with everything IT, we have many tools in the tool box. Sometimes you can use different tools to do the same job. It can often depend on the user and experience of the situation. Many things have it's pro's and cons. But the main thing is that you fix the issue and the …
Chose RDCMan
We haven't needed to test or compare any other Remote Desktop Management solution, as Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection Manager (RDCMan) works so well, and does most everything we need it to do. There is also the benefit that it is both a Microsoft product (which has good …
Features
ISL LightMicrosoft Remote Desktop Connection Manager (RDCMan)
Remote Administration
Comparison of Remote Administration features of Product A and Product B
ISL Light
8.0
Ratings
1% below category average
Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection Manager (RDCMan)
8.1
Ratings
0% below category average
Screen sharing8.30 Ratings6.70 Ratings
File transfer7.70 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Instant message7.60 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Secure remote access with Smart Card authentication7.90 Ratings5.00 Ratings
Access to sleeping/powered-off computers6.70 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Over-the-Internet remote session8.60 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Initiate remote control from mobile7.40 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Remote management of servers & workstations8.50 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Remote Active Directory® management8.70 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Centralized management dashboard8.20 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Session record8.20 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Annotations8.20 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Monitoring and Alerts7.90 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Multi-platform remote control8.20 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
ISL LightMicrosoft Remote Desktop Connection Manager (RDCMan)
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
Remote Desktop Manager
Score 9.0 out of 10
Remote Desktop Manager
Remote Desktop Manager
Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
ISL LightMicrosoft Remote Desktop Connection Manager (RDCMan)
Likelihood to Recommend
8.6
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.2
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.1
(0 ratings)
8.3
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
ISL LightMicrosoft Remote Desktop Connection Manager (RDCMan)
Likelihood to Recommend
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
It is a useful tool and definitely beats other alternatives and options. There is always room for improvement however which is why I gave a rating of 8. From a core function perspective Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection Manager is definitely what you want but down the line I think certainly some bells and whistles would be nice.
Read full review
Pros
  • 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
  • One thing it does well is being able to deploy it quickly and easily. It takes very little space to install the actual program and also installs quickly. Once installed, it is relatively to start creating groups and adding servers/machines, without users needing to be trained in how to do this, or consulting the documentation.
  • Another thing it does well is having an easy to use layout within the Microsoft Remote Connection Manager (RDCMan) window. There is a tree directory structure, showing groups, and corresponding servers/machines. There are also thumbnails of servers/machines that are displayed. This helps IT, Administrators, to see what is connected and what is not, along with understanding what is on the actual screen of the live server/machine in realtime.
Read full review
Cons
  • 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
  • You can't drag and drop files between local and remote sessions—something many modern RDP tools allow, and it saves a ton of clicks.
  • You can export settings, but not as CSV or something readable/editable outside RDCMan. Makes documentation or sharing config info harder.
  • Hovering over minimized or background sessions shows nothing—no live thumbnail or last screen capture like some tools do.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
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
No answers on this topic
Usability
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.
Read full review
As alluded to in previous responses it is a very functional tool. It allows me to do my job quickly and efficiently every single day. There are little to no issues using the connection on a day to day basis. It handles everything you need from a remote connection perspective.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
During the entere time of use, I have never come across any availability issues.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Performance
High performance!
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
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.
Read full review
Plenty of information and support online, and with many things it's pretty straight forward for the average tech to navigate and work with. But with most things online you're not the only person that's had the issue before, and using a search engine you should be able to figure it out.
Read full review
Implementation Rating
It was so easy!
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
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
The Avanti Software needed alot of attention if you are new to such tools. So for that reason we chose Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection Manager because of the more user friendly use of it. Also because it integrades great with windows and the remote servers we have. Thats also why we dont use TeamViewer either.
Read full review
Scalability
Easy to deploy onto new devices. Ability to group devices so they can managed remotely efficiently.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
  • 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
  • I can troubleshoot application errors faster for clients.
  • While troubleshooting, I spend less time fumbling to find credentials and other machine-specific settings.
  • Being able to connect to the same machines from multiple devices helps me when I'm not in the office.
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.

RDCMan Screenshots

Screenshot of a view of RDCMan 2.22Screenshot of a view of RDCMan 2.22Screenshot of a view of RDCMan 2.81