A native Mac client, not RDP. Up to 6K at 120 FPS with audio, Cmd shortcuts that act as Ctrl by default, controllers that games see as real Xbox 360 or DualShock 4 pads — and it works on Windows Home. Pair once with a QR code or PIN, no account.
Microsoft's RDP host is Pro-only, so a Windows Home PC can't accept incoming Remote Desktop connections, and Chrome Remote Desktop caps out around browser-grade quality. Remio brings its own native Windows host that captures with DXGI and hardware-encodes on your GPU — NVENC, AMF, or Quick Sync — streaming up to 6K at 120 FPS with audio in sync. Home editions included, no $99 Pro upgrade, no registry patch.
True 4:4:4 color for razor-sharp text — now live from Macs and NVIDIA PCs to Mac and Windows.
On a Mac keyboard, Cmd is the shortcut key; on Windows it is Ctrl. By default, Remio Host on the PC treats Cmd as Ctrl — Cmd+C on the Mac fires Ctrl+C on the PC, and copy, paste, undo, and save all land where your hands expect. Every key forwards. If you would rather have Cmd press the real Windows key (so it opens Start), turn on Command key sends the Windows key in Remio Host's settings on the PC — see the modifier keys guide. Your Mac's natural scroll direction and momentum carry over, clipboard syncs both ways, and an Xbox or PlayStation controller paired to the Mac shows up on the PC as a real Xbox 360 or DualShock 4 controller, with rumble.
Up to 6K at 120 FPS, hardware-encoded end to end. See the cloud gaming page.
Two installs, one PIN, no account. The only platform-specific work is one Windows firewall prompt.
On the PC you want to reach, download Remio-Host-Setup.exe from remio.net/download and run it. One installer sets up everything: the host, a background service that keeps it reachable, and a virtual display driver for headless operation — nothing else to set up. Windows 10 build 19041 or later and Windows 11 are supported — Home editions included.
When Windows Defender asks to allow Remio Host to communicate on your networks, tick Private (and Public if you use a hotspot) and choose Allow access. You can revisit it later in Windows Security → Firewall & network protection → Allow an app through firewall.
On the Mac (macOS 15 Sequoia or later), install Remio from the Mac App Store — remio.net/download links straight to it. It runs natively on Apple silicon and Intel Macs.
The Connect page of Remio Host on Windows shows a QR code, a Device ID and a PIN. Scan or type them in Remio on the Mac — you can get a new PIN anytime from the host; once paired, tap the PC's name to connect. Remio picks the best route automatically — direct peer-to-peer, or an encrypted relay when a direct path isn't available. The benchmarks page documents the latency method.
Enable unattended access on the host so you can connect without someone clicking accept on the PC. Pair it with Wake-on-LAN so a sleeping PC still answers when you connect from anywhere — handy for a dev box with a GPU that naps between sessions.
No RDP, no port forwarding, no router homework — just two apps and a PIN.
Remio connects the Mac and the PC directly and finds a way through your router automatically — no port forwarding, no VPN, no router configuration. If a direct path is impossible, an encrypted relay carries the session instead.
Every session is end-to-end encrypted. Your screen never touches our servers — keys are negotiated directly between your two machines, and even the relay only ever sees ciphertext.
The processing pipeline — capture, hardware encode, the LAN hop, hardware decode — costs about 8 ms on the same network; the rest is your display's own 60 Hz refresh cadence, so your input lands before the next frame draws (measured internally). Over the internet, same-region sessions typically run low double-digit milliseconds. The connection is peer-to-peer when a direct path exists, relay only when NAT blocks it.
Pair an Xbox or PlayStation controller to the Mac over Bluetooth and the Windows PC sees a real Xbox 360 or DualShock 4 controller — up to four players, with rumble, and no extra drivers to install.
If one of these looks like your setup, the five-minute install above is all that stands in the way.
The gaming rig with the big GPU lives at the desk; you want to play on the MacBook from the couch. Hardware encode on the PC and hardware decode on the Mac keep the full frame rate, and a Bluetooth controller paired to the Mac shows up on the PC as a real Xbox 360 or DualShock 4 controller. The cloud gaming page covers the tuning.
The Windows box with the licensed tools stays at the office; your home machine is a Mac. Enable Wake-on-LAN and the office PC wakes and answers, streaming its full desktop and audio back to the iMac at home in 4K.
The training rig or the CAD box has the GPU; the machine you actually sit at is a Mac laptop. Reach the Windows dev box with a sharp, hardware-decoded stream so logs and code stay readable, and forward your Mac keyboard shortcuts straight through. The developers page shows the workflow.
Microsoft's Windows App caps around 1080p at 30 fps and needs a Pro upgrade to host on Home; Chrome Remote Desktop runs ~30 fps at 1080p through a browser with no gamepad support, and requires a Google account on every device. Remio is free, native, hardware-decoded at a buttery 120 FPS, audio-complete, and controller-ready. See Remio vs Microsoft Remote Desktop, Remio vs Chrome Remote Desktop, or the full compare hub.
Everything that was free before Remio Pro stays free, on every platform — forever.
Five questions the Mac-to-Windows direction tends to raise — honest answers below.
Install Remio Host on the PC, install Remio on your Mac, pair once with a QR code or a Device ID and PIN — free, works on Windows Home, no account.