Splashtop Alternatives for MSPs in 2026: A Technical Comparison
Splashtop requires an agent on every device — which means NVRs, switches, and PBX systems are unreachable. Here's what MSPs use instead.
Splashtop is one of the more affordable remote access platforms aimed at MSPs. Pricing is competitive with TeamViewer and AnyDesk, and for remote desktop access to managed Windows machines it does the job. But MSPs who manage mixed environments — client sites with network switches, NVR camera systems, PBX phone equipment, or any server that cannot run an agent — eventually hit a wall that no amount of Splashtop licensing resolves.
This post covers where Splashtop falls short for MSPs in 2026, what alternatives exist, and the architectural difference that determines which approach actually scales.
Where Splashtop Works Well
Splashtop is a capable tool for a specific use case: remotely accessing Windows and Mac desktops that have an agent installed. Performance is solid, per-technician pricing is lower than TeamViewer, and setup is straightforward for managed endpoints. If your client base is entirely Windows PCs on standard internet connections, Splashtop covers the basics.
Where It Breaks Down for MSPs
Agent-only architecture. Every device you want to reach needs Splashtop's agent installed and running. This is fine for Windows endpoints. It is not possible for:
- NVR camera systems (Hikvision, Dahua, Uniview) — embedded Linux, no third-party agent support
- PBX telephone systems (Matrix, Yeastar, Grandstream, Avaya) — same constraint
- Managed switches and routers (Cisco, Ubiquiti, MikroTik) — network equipment does not accept arbitrary software installation
- Industrial controllers and IoT devices — no general-purpose OS, no agent path
For an MSP managing a hotel, a small clinic, or a manufacturing floor, the devices that generate the most urgent support calls are often exactly the ones Splashtop cannot reach at all.
CGNAT and no-static-IP sites. Splashtop's agent handles CGNAT by dialling outbound to Splashtop's relay servers — so managed Windows PCs work fine. But if the agent is offline, there is no fallback for the rest of the network. Clients on Starlink, LTE backup connections, or ISPs that do not assign static IPs are entirely dependent on agent uptime. Unmanaged devices on those networks are permanently unreachable.
Per-device pricing at scale. Splashtop Remote Support charges per technician up to a device limit, then additional fees beyond each tier. For MSPs managing hundreds of endpoints across dozens of client sites, the per-device model accumulates quickly — and it still only covers the devices that can run an agent.
US-hosted relay infrastructure. Splashtop is US-based and its relay network is primarily US-hosted. For EU MSPs managing clients under NIS2, GDPR, or sectoral data regulations, routing session traffic through non-EU infrastructure creates compliance questions that auditors will raise. This is not a hypothetical concern — it comes up directly in NIS2 audit checklists for supply-chain security.
The Architectural Alternative: Router-Level Tunnel
The agent-per-device model is one way to solve remote access. The other approach is a single tunnel at the network level — on the router or firewall that connects the client site — that makes every device on that LAN reachable without touching individual machines.
WireGuard on the client router creates this. The router initiates an outbound connection to a relay server, establishing a persistent tunnel. Once it is up, the relay can route to any IP on the LAN — including devices with no software at all. The relay sees the entire subnet; it does not care whether the target is a Windows PC, a Hikvision NVR, a Cisco switch, or a PBX admin panel. CGNAT is irrelevant because the connection is outbound from the router.
This is how ProxyLink works. One WireGuard peer per client site. No agent on any individual device. From the ProxyLink dashboard, each device on the LAN gets its own URL:
- HTTP/HTTPS proxy links — NVR web UI, PBX admin panel, switch management interface, Synology DSM, Ubiquiti controllers — open in a browser tab on any port
- Browser RDP — full RDP session for Windows PCs in a browser tab, no mstsc.exe, no client software
- Browser SSH — terminal for Linux servers, MikroTik, Cisco (including enable mode), and any SSH-capable device
- TCP/UDP links — raw forwarding for RTSP streams, SIP/VoIP, and proprietary protocols
Sites with multiple VLANs — a hotel with a main LAN, a PBX VLAN, and a camera VLAN — need exactly one WireGuard peer on the router. Declare all three subnets when creating the tunnel and all become reachable through that single peer.
Pricing
Splashtop Remote Support Plus runs roughly €85–110/month for one technician covering 25 devices, with add-on costs above that limit. For MSPs managing 50+ devices across 10 or more sites, costs compound quickly — and the device count only includes endpoints that can run an agent.
ProxyLink's MSP plan at €69/month covers 300 tunnels and 1,000 proxy links — effectively unlimited for most MSP operations. One fee covers every device on every client site regardless of whether those devices can run software. Subscribers who sign up during early access lock in that rate permanently.
Security Architecture
Both Splashtop and ProxyLink avoid exposing ports on client networks. The security profiles differ in other ways.
Splashtop routes all session traffic through its own relay infrastructure. You are trusting their relay network, their encryption implementation, and their security posture. TeamViewer and AnyDesk — direct competitors using the same relay model — both suffered significant breaches in 2024.
ProxyLink routes traffic through a dedicated server (Hetzner, Germany) using open-protocol WireGuard. Peer isolation is enforced at the firewall level: no two client sites can reach each other through the relay regardless of configuration. Two-factor authentication, per-session audit logs, and optional session recording are included on paid plans. For NIS2-regulated clients, the audit log answers access control requirements directly.
When to Choose What
If your client base is exclusively Windows and Mac desktops on standard connections, Splashtop is a workable choice at small scale. If your clients have any network devices, NVRs, PBX systems, or sites on CGNAT or Starlink — or if you are managing EU clients under NIS2 — the agent-per-device model has fundamental limitations that licensing upgrades do not fix.
The router tunnel model scales differently: one tunnel per site, every device on that site reachable, no per-device overhead, no agent maintenance across hundreds of endpoints.
Try ProxyLink free — 14-day trial, no card required. Setup guides for MikroTik, pfSense, OPNsense, and OpenWRT are in the docs.