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

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    ISL Light

    Score8.9 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.

    $16.90

    per month (1 concurrent user)

    RDCMan

    Score7 out of 10
    N/ARDCMan, 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.

    $0

    Pricing
    ISL LightRDCMan
    Editions & Modules
    Starter
    $16.90
    per month
    Standard
    $34.90
    per month
    Self-Hosted
    $44.90
    per month
    Premium
    $54.90
    per month
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    ISL LightRDCMan
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoYes
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesNo
    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 LightRDCMan
    Considered Both Products
    ISL Online
    Chose ISL Light
    is more accessible

    je bolj dostopno
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    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, …
    Incentivized
    Chose ISL Light
    None of these work when trying to connect from my personal computer. Guys in our IT offered to use ISL Light and it worked without a glitch ever since.
    Incentivized
    Chose ISL Light
    Much cheaper licence then TeamViewer and much more user friendly than UltraVNC for example. Better performance then AnyDesk or Chrome Remote Desktop. It has simple user interface which can be immediatly understood. But if you dig deeper you see there is in depth capabilites for …
    Incentivized
    Chose ISL Light
    ISL light is a corporate tool that takes security into account first and foremost and that is something that these tools do not really take into account. The control of users, the reports and the roles that can be assigned definitely led us to make the decision.
    Incentivized
    Microsoft
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    100%
    Would buy again
    108 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    6 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    98%
    Delivers good value for the price
    101 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    6 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    99%
    Happy with the feature set
    107 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    6 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    99%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    87 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    99%
    Implementation went as expected
    101 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    ISL LightRDCMan
    Remote Administration
    Comparison of Remote Administration features of ISL Light and Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection Manager (RDCMan)
    Feature
    ISL Light
    8.1
    108 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection Manager (RDCMan)
    6.4
    6 Ratings
    21% below category average
    Screen sharing8.6102 Ratings7.04 Ratings
    File transfer8.3102 Ratings5.36 Ratings
    Instant message8.183 Ratings1.02 Ratings
    Secure remote access with Smart Card authentication8.125 Ratings5.03 Ratings
    Access to sleeping/powered-off computers6.378 Ratings9.03 Ratings
    Over-the-Internet remote session8.799 Ratings7.55 Ratings
    Initiate remote control from mobile7.964 Ratings5.04 Ratings
    Remote management of servers & workstations8.787 Ratings9.36 Ratings
    Remote Active Directory® management8.832 Ratings7.34 Ratings
    Centralized management dashboard8.364 Ratings8.03 Ratings
    Session record7.671 Ratings4.93 Ratings
    Annotations8.456 Ratings4.03 Ratings
    Monitoring and Alerts7.947 Ratings7.74 Ratings
    Multi-platform remote control8.179 Ratings8.04 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    ISL LightRDCMan
    Small Businesses
    N-able Take Control
    Score7.2 out of 10
    N-able Take Control
    Score7.2 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Remote Desktop Manager
    Score9.6 out of 10
    Remote Desktop Manager
    Score9.6 out of 10
    Enterprises
    BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access
    Score9.1 out of 10
    BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access
    Score9.1 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    ISL LightRDCMan
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.7
    (108 ratings)
    8.0
    (6 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.0
    (5 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    8.7
    (71 ratings)
    7.7
    (3 ratings)
    Availability
    9.6
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    9.6
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.0
    (5 ratings)
    8.3
    (2 ratings)
    Online Training
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    9.0
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Configurability
    9.6
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    7.9
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    8.5
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    9.6
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    9.6
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    ISL LightRDCMan
    Likelihood to Recommend
    ISL Online
    ISL light is suitable for anyone who plans to provide remote assistance services on a medium to large scale. Due to the high entry price, it is less suitable for consultants with a smaller number of clients or remote stations that need management. Their smallest package in which minutes are rented does not seem suitable for most cases.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    As a IT specialist we have some servers we need acces to. I like to use Remote Desktop Connection Manager because it feel like you are on the computer. Is feel very trusted. Some colleagues use the Azure remote desktop version but I always recommend the windows integrated option. We also have our primary business application running on a server so they use a remote desktop connection too to log on to the server.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    ISL Online
    • 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
    Microsoft
    • I can see previews of all the machines working at the same time.
    • Having all password in one place.
    • Organization of devices based on purpose, configuration, etc.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    ISL Online
    • 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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • When trying to connect to a server/machine, and it doesn't connect, there is a "Disconnected" message that is displayed in the thumbnail. There is no information beyond this that explains why the server/machine did/could not connect. It would be helpful to the IT Administrator to know this information, even if Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection Manager (RDCMan) kept a log somewhere where this information can be analyzed.
    • There doesn't seem to be an option for connecting to a server that is usually only able to be accessed from a jump server. This will not connect if the server is set up as a server/machine within RDCman. This would be a beneficial feature to have within RDCman. Maybe one of the missing options is to be able to set this in the prospects for the jump server (within the Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection Manager (RDCMan) window).
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    ISL Online
    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
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    ISL Online
    Everything works well and quickly, and that's all we need. ISL Light always works, and we've never had a situation where the server was inaccessible or the website was down. It simply gives us a 100% guarantee that we can always log in to our customers' systems. We can install the ISL Light client at our customers' sites without any problems, even though security is high.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    ISL Online
    During the entere time of use, I have never come across any availability issues.
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    ISL Online
    High performance!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    ISL Online
    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
    Microsoft
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    ISL Online
    It was so easy!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    ISL Online
    The main reason was price initially, after TeamViewer jacked up the price 3 fold come covid in start of 2020, told them to get stuffed and went elsewhere, back then they had a good reliable product, then after I switched to another provider, the came crawling back and offer me the same price I was paying before the COVID tax (3 times increase in price) like I said, told them to get stuffed, ISL on the other hand didn’t increase their price when covid started, so have been with them ever since.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    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 experience lag issues when using TeamViewer.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    ISL Online
    tot perfecte
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Scalability
    ISL Online
    Easy to deploy onto new devices. Ability to group devices so they can managed remotely efficiently.
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Professional Services
    ISL Online
    No professional services used
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    ISL Online
    • It allows you to hold meetings with clients from other cities.
    • Ease of training staff from large groups
    • Resolving problems in a short time, which is an optimal strategy for improving delivery times
    • permite realizar reuniones con clientes de otras ciudades
    • Facilidad de capacitar personal de grupos numerosos
    • Resolucion de problemas en tiempo corto, lo cual es una estrategia optima para mejorar los tiempos de entrega
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • its less time consuming for IT engineers because they have everything on one please
    • less FTE for the tasks
    • Lack of MFA option
    Incentivized
    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