Comparison · vs RMM platforms

RemoteD vs Auvik and RMM platforms.

Different categories doing different jobs. RMMs and Auvik monitor the network for you, 24/7, from the cloud. RemoteD is the workspace an engineer opens when they sit down to do the work — and walks away with the customer report when the visit ends.

Often the right answer is both. Auvik for monitoring + alerting; RemoteD for the sessions, topology, port maps, field work, and customer-ready reports. They do not conflict.
When Auvik / an RMM is the right pick
  • You need always-on monitoring with alerting — a switch goes down at 3am and someone gets paged.
  • You bill the customer for monitoring as a recurring line item.
  • You need agent-based endpoint management — patching, software deployment, remote control of user workstations (full RMMs like NinjaOne, ConnectWise).
  • You want a vendor-hosted dashboard the customer can also log into.

RemoteD is explicitly not a monitoring platform or RMM. If you need 24/7 polling and alerting, do not buy RemoteD instead — buy Auvik / a full RMM and RemoteD.

Where RemoteD wins
  • Local-first, not cloud-billed per device

    RemoteD lives on your Mac. No per-device monitoring fee, no cloud account required, no customer data leaving your machine without you exporting it. Auvik and RMMs are SaaS by design and bill per device.

  • Engineer workspace, not monitoring dashboard

    Sessions, inventory, topology, port maps, workflows, hypervisor jobs, and field handoff — the stack a network engineer actually opens during a site visit. Monitoring platforms show you status; RemoteD is where you do the work.

  • You own the data

    Customer inventory, port maps, configs, notes, and reports are on your Mac. Export, back up, hand off to the customer, walk away from the vendor — none of those scenarios depend on the SaaS staying up.

  • Field companion the RMMs do not have

    iPhone app paired to the desktop for Find Port by MAC/IP, diagnostics, notes, and photos at the site. RMMs assume the tech is at a laptop; RemoteD assumes the tech is in a closet.

  • Customer-ready report packs

    Quarterly check reports, folder PDFs, port-map exports — the report is the deliverable for MSP customers. Monitoring dashboards are not deliverables; they are running services.

Feature comparison

Where the lines fall.

"RMM" spans monitoring-first products like Auvik and endpoint-management RMMs like NinjaOne or ConnectWise Automate. The shape below applies to the network-side comparison; endpoint-RMM features are flagged where relevant.

FeatureRemoteDAuvik / RMM

Always-on monitoring + alerting

RemoteD is explicitly not an RMM. Use Auvik or a full RMM for 24/7 monitoring.

NoYes

Cloud account required

NoYes

Per-device monthly billing

RemoteD is per-engineer at launch (Solo / Pro / MSP).

NoYes

Customer data stays on your Mac

YesNo

Interactive sessions (SSH, RDP, VNC, Serial)

Auvik has limited remote console; full RMMs offer remote control but not the multi-protocol engineer console.

YesPartial

Network discovery (LLDP, ARP, subnet scan)

Auvik discovers via SNMP, agents, and topology inference. Shape is similar; ownership differs.

YesYes

Topology view

YesYes

Visual port maps

Auvik shows port-level info but not the visual-layout-PDF-export style RemoteD ships.

YesPartial

iOS field companion

YesNo

Hypervisor workflows (Proxmox, ESXi, vCenter)

Some RMMs integrate with hypervisors for backups / monitoring; RemoteD offers interactive migration and console workflows.

YesPartial

Quarterly check report packs

Auvik exports inventory reports; RemoteD assembles a customer-handoff pack from the visit.

YesPartial

Patching / endpoint management

That is the full-RMM lane (NinjaOne, ConnectWise Automate, Datto RMM). RemoteD does not touch endpoints.

NoYes

Next step

Buy the monitor you need. Buy the workspace you live in.

They are different tools. RemoteD is the second one — open your demo and see what an engineer workspace looks like.