ORelay vs Chrome Remote Desktop
Chrome Remote Desktop is Google’s free remote desktop: install its host on a Windows, Mac or Linux computer, sign in with a Google account, and reach the computer from Chrome or the phone app with a PIN; or share your screen once with a one-time code.
For driving one of your own computers now and then, at no cost, Chrome Remote Desktop is hard to beat, and ORelay is not trying to. ORelay is for when the screen is not enough: you want to know the computer is up before you connect, hear when its disk fills, run a fix without opening the desktop, and keep several computers, and who may reach them, in order. Its free plan covers 5 computers, so for a family or a small office the price is the same.
Side by side
Chrome Remote Desktop’s column is what its own pages said on October 28, 2026; the sources are at the end.
| What | ORelay | Chrome Remote Desktop |
|---|---|---|
| Free use | Yes: Free for up to 5 computers, no time limit, personal or commercial | Yes: Free for everyone, personal or commercial, with a Google account |
| Cheapest paid plan | Yes: Pro, $20 a month: 3 people and 50 computers included | Partly: There is none: no paid tier, no business plan, no support line |
| Computers it reaches | Yes: Windows, Mac, Linux | Yes: Windows, Mac, Linux |
| From a phone | Yes: Android and iPhone apps: see the screen and take control | Yes: Android and iOS apps: see the screen and control it |
| From a browser | Yes: Yes, any browser, nothing to install on your side | Yes: Yes, at remotedesktop.google.com |
| Unattended access | Yes: Yes: the agent connects out, and stays connected | Yes: Yes, with a PIN set on the computer |
| Files | Yes: Browse, upload, download, send from your phone | Partly: Google’s pages describe file transfer only on managed ChromeOS kiosk devices; the web client’s file panel is not described |
| Terminal | Yes: bash, sh, PowerShell or cmd, or one command with its output | No: None on Google’s pages |
| Health readings and alerts | Yes: Processor, memory, disk, network; alerts by e-mail, webhook, ntfy or app | No: None: the list shows a computer as offline, and nothing more |
| Scheduled tasks, software inventory | Yes: Scheduled tasks; software inventory with CSV export | No: None on Google’s pages |
| More than one person | Yes: Organizations with owner, admin, support and viewer roles; share one computer with a code | Partly: One Google account per computer; share a session with a one-time code |
| Nothing opens on the computer | Yes: Nothing opens on the computer: it only connects out | Yes: Outbound too, through Google |
| Self-hosted option | No: No: ORelay runs the service | No: No: the service is Google’s |
| Open source | No: No | Partly: The client code is in Chromium; the service is not |
Show the full comparison53 rows in 10 groups: signing in, people and permissions, directory, the screen, beyond the screen, files, monitoring, deployment, security, business
Both columns were last checked on October 28, 2026: Chrome Remote Desktop’s is what its own pages say, 15 of 53 rows answered there and the rest marked “not stated on its pages” rather than guessed. Each of its answers carries a footnote to the page it was read from, with the sentence as its tooltip.
Signing in
| What | ORelay | Chrome Remote Desktop |
|---|---|---|
| Single sign-on (SAML or OIDC) | No: No SAML or OIDC yet | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
| Sign in with Google, Microsoft, Apple or GitHub | Yes: Yes: Google, Apple, Microsoft and GitHub, once added under Account | Partly: Sign-in is with a Google Account only; no Microsoft, Apple or GitHub sign-in is described1 |
| Two-step sign-in with an authenticator app | Yes: Yes, with recovery codes | Partly: Admin policy turns on two-factor for hosts in place of the PIN; the method (authenticator app) is not stated2 |
| Passkeys | Yes: Yes, on the web and in the apps | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
| Require the company sign-in | Partly: With Microsoft Entra ID only; MSP and Enterprise | Partly: Admin policy requires hosts to be registered with a given domain name; not a company identity provider3 |
People and permissions
| What | ORelay | Chrome Remote Desktop |
|---|---|---|
| Roles | Yes: Yes: owner, admin, support and viewer; admin, support or viewer on a single computer | Partly: ChromeOS devices in the Admin console only: delegated admins may connect but not change device details4 |
| Access per computer or group | Yes: Yes, per computer or by group; support and viewers see only what they are given | Partly: Admin settings for ChromeOS devices apply per organizational unit; not described for Windows, Mac or Linux hosts4 |
| Access that expires by itself | Yes: Yes: a day, a week, a month or always; share codes expire | Partly: A support access code works once and sharing is re-confirmed every 30 minutes; no expiring access for a computer5 |
| Share one computer with someone outside | Yes: Yes, with a share code made at the computer, which stays in its owner’s account | Yes: Share your screen with anyone by sending a one-time access code; they get full access5 |
| Several organizations under one login | Yes: Yes, each with its own database | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
| Audit log | Yes: Yes: every session, command, file, power and settings change, with who did it | Partly: Admin audit log for remote sessions on ChromeOS devices only; not described for Windows, Mac or Linux4 |
Directory
| What | ORelay | Chrome Remote Desktop |
|---|---|---|
| Active Directory | Partly: Read-only: users, computers and groups through a domain controller you allow; MSP and Enterprise | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
| Microsoft Entra ID sync | No: No: Entra ID is used for sign-in only | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
| LDAP | No: No | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
The screen
| What | ORelay | Chrome Remote Desktop |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple monitors | Yes: Yes: switch between monitors in the session | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
| Ctrl+Alt+Del | Yes: Yes, on Windows | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
| The Windows sign-in screen | Yes: Yes, with nobody signed in | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
| Clipboard | Partly: Text pasted into the computer through a box; no two-way clipboard | Yes: Clipboard synchronization between client and host exists; an admin policy sets its maximum size6 |
| Remote printing | No: No | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
| Session recording | No: No, by design: the screen is never stored | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
| Sessions start view-only | Yes: Yes: taking control is a separate, logged step | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
| The person at the computer can switch it off | Yes: Yes: the ORelay window on the computer shows what remote users may do, and any of it can be switched off | Partly: Support sessions: the sharer sees who connects, approves with Share and can Stop Sharing; PIN access is not described5 |
| Blank the physical screen | Yes: Yes, on Windows and Mac; the blanked screen says who is connected | Partly: Admin policy "curtain mode" hides the screen from someone at the host; Windows Professional, Ultimate, Enterprise or Server only1 |
Beyond the screen
| What | ORelay | Chrome Remote Desktop |
|---|---|---|
| Terminal, or one command with its output | Yes: Yes: bash, sh, PowerShell or cmd, or one command with its output, in the browser and the apps | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
| Scripts across many computers | Partly: Quick fixes run on one computer or several at once; no script library yet | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
| Scheduled tasks | Yes: Yes: timer or cron, with every run’s output; Pro and above | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
| Software inventory | Yes: Yes: every installed program, searchable, with a CSV export; refresh on Pro and above | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
| Patch management | No: No | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
| Power actions | Yes: Yes: shut down, restart, sleep, hibernate, lock, sign out; now or up to an hour later | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
| Wake-on-LAN | No: No | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
Files
| What | ORelay | Chrome Remote Desktop |
|---|---|---|
| Browse folders without a session | Yes: Yes, from the browser and the phone | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
| Upload and download | Yes: Yes, from the browser or the phone, over the agent’s own connection | Partly: ChromeOS kiosk devices only, switched on by an admin; a host policy for file transfer exists, its reach is not described4 |
| Files kept in the service | Yes: Yes: copies kept in ORelay per plan; the vault encrypts files into your own Google Drive or OneDrive | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
| Size limits | Partly: 10 GB per file sent to a computer; stored files 1 GB on Free, 25 GB on Pro, 100 GB on MSP | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
Monitoring
| What | ORelay | Chrome Remote Desktop |
|---|---|---|
| Processor, memory, disk, network | Yes: Yes, live, and buffered on the computer while the service is unreachable | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
| Alerts on a reading, or a computer going quiet | Yes: Yes: a reading over a threshold for a duration, or a computer offline; severity, acknowledge, history | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
| Where alerts go | Yes: Yes: e-mail, webhook (Discord, Slack or JSON), ntfy and the app; no SMS | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
| Network devices (SNMP) | No: No | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
Deployment
| What | ORelay | Chrome Remote Desktop |
|---|---|---|
| Silent installers | Yes: Yes: Windows MSI, Mac pkg, Debian and RPM packages | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
| Many computers at once | Yes: Yes: enrolment keys, each computer with its own certificate; Pro and above | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
| Intune, Jamf, Group Policy, Ansible | Yes: Yes: Intune, Configuration Manager, Group Policy, Jamf Pro, Kandji and Ansible kits, made in the browser | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
| The agent updates itself | Yes: Yes, signed updates | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
| Signed installers | Yes: Yes: Windows signed, Mac notarized, Linux packages signed | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
| Linux desktops, including Wayland | Yes: Yes: X11 and Wayland; under GNOME the person at the computer approves the first session | Partly: Linux host supported through a 64-bit Debian package; Wayland is not mentioned5 |
Security
| What | ORelay | Chrome Remote Desktop |
|---|---|---|
| Encryption | Yes: Yes: mutual TLS 1.3 between each computer and the service; HTTPS for the browser and the apps | Partly: Sessions are stated as fully encrypted; the network guide names WebRTC; TLS version and end-to-end claim are not stated5 |
| The screen never stored, keys never logged | Yes: Yes: the screen is never recorded and what you type is never logged | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
| SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA | No: None yet | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
| Where data is held | Partly: United States; no choice of region | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
Business
| What | ORelay | Chrome Remote Desktop |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Yes: A flat price per plan: Free, Pro $20, MSP $150, Enterprise $500 a month | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
| Trial or free plan | Yes: Yes: a free plan of 5 computers, with no time limit | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
| Monthly or annual | Yes: Yes: monthly, or yearly at ten months’ worth; cancel any time | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
| Support | Yes: Yes: e-mail and phone, by the people who build it | Partly: A help forum and the Help Center community are named; e-mail, chat and phone support are not described5 |
| API and webhooks | Partly: Webhooks for alerts; the viewers’ REST API is not yet documented for others | Partly: Not stated on its pages |
Chrome Remote Desktop’s pages, as read on October 28, 2026
- https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/2799701?hl=en
- https://chromeenterprise.google/policies/remote-access-host-require-two-factor/
- https://chromeenterprise.google/policies/remote-access-host-domain/
- https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/9547497?hl=en
- https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/1649523?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop
- https://chromeenterprise.google/policies/remote-access-host-clipboard-size-bytes/
Google publishes no comparison page for this product, so its help centre is the ceiling and most rows are unknown (not stated); the consumer help article says nothing about file transfer, multiple monitors, Ctrl+Alt+Del, printing or recording, which are unknown and not no. No page returned 403 or 404, but the chromeenterprise.google policy pages are drawn by script and return only their title and navigation, so quotes from them are the policy titles. Quotes end before the space-and-full-stop Google's help pages print after a link.
Where Chrome Remote Desktop is the better choice
- Price: nothing to pay, ever, for any number of computers.
- You already live in Google’s world: the same account, nothing new to trust.
- Supporting a stranger once: they generate a code, read it to you, and confirm every 30 minutes.
- A Chromebook as the thing you connect from.
Where ORelay is the better choice
- You know before you connect: online or not, processor, memory and disk, with an alert when a line is crossed.
- Fixing without the screen: a terminal, one command, quick fixes and a restart from the phone, each one logged.
- More than one person: roles, an organization, and sharing one computer with a code, without handing over a Google account.
- The person at the computer decides: they can switch remote access off, and every session starts view-only.
What each costs
ORelay
- Free: $0
- 1 person, 5 computers, no time limit
- Pro: $20 a month, or $200 a year
- 3 people, 50 computers, scheduled tasks, inventory, webhooks, the cloud vault, enrolment keys
- MSP: $150 a month, or $1,500 a year
- 10 people, unlimited computers, Active Directory, company sign-in
Yearly plans are ten months’ worth. Everything is on the pricing page.
Chrome Remote Desktop, as shown on October 28, 2026
- Free: $0
- Everything it does, with a Google account
Prices change; the sources below are the pages to check.
Try ORelay
Free for up to 5 computers, no time limit, nothing to open on your network.
Sources
- Google: access another computer with Chrome Remote Desktop (setup, PIN, one-time code)
- Chrome Remote Desktop
- Read on October 28, 2026. Chrome Remote Desktop is a trademark of its owner, which has no connection with ORelay Studios LLC.