Aspia vs Remotely
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted remote access & vpn options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Aspia | Remotely |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 67 · Good | 21 · At risk |
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | C++ | C# |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,927 | ★ 5,080 |
| First released | 2016 | 2019 |
| Replaces | TeamViewer, AnyDesk | TeamViewer |
What are Aspia and Remotely?
Aspia
Aspia is a free, open-source remote desktop and file-transfer application supporting desktop management, view-only sessions and a self-hostable relay and router. It works across Windows and Linux.
- Remote desktop and file transfer
- Self-hostable relay/router
- End-to-end encryption
- Cross-platform
Remotely
Remotely is an open-source remote support and remote scripting solution built with ASP.NET Core and SignalR. It offers attended and unattended remote access through the browser.
- Attended and unattended access
- Remote scripting
- Browser-based control
- Cross-platform agent
Aspia vs Remotely: key differences
Aspia is written in C++, while Remotely is built with C#. Aspia is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Remotely. Aspia is the more established project (first released 2016), while Remotely arrived in 2019. Remotely has the considerably larger community, at 5,080 GitHub stars versus 1,927. Remotely lists first-class Docker deployment; Aspia does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Aspia if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Active community (1.9k GitHub stars)
- Written in C++
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Choose Remotely if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 5.1k GitHub stars
- Written in C#
Frequently asked questions
Is Aspia or Remotely better?
Neither is universally better. Remotely has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Aspia and Remotely free and open-source?
Yes. Aspia is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Remotely under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Aspia and Remotely with Docker?
Aspia: check the project docs for container support. Remotely: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Aspia or Remotely?
Aspia has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Remotely. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.