I'm currently working from a laptop and using Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) on Windows, which feels really seamless and almost like I'm using a local machine since it's on my local network. Previously, I tried RDP on Ubuntu, but it wasn't quite as efficient, and I had to keep my system logged in, making it feel more like screen mirroring. I'm searching for a remote desktop solution on Linux that offers simplicity and responsiveness comparable to Windows RDP. Any recommendations?
4 Answers
If you’re looking to remote into a Windows machine, Remmina has worked wonders for me—definitely worth a try!
If you're using GNOME, their built-in RDP functionality has improved significantly lately, so you might want to check that out. I heard Ubuntu 25.10 is particularly good for this.
You might have a look at x2go; it’s an open-source alternative to NoMachine. It didn’t work out great for me, but I’ve switched to using Sunshine and Moonlight for game streaming, which performs well for desktop purposes too!
For casual use, I think Steam's remote desktop is surprisingly effective! I just load up a game and minimize it to access the desktop, and it runs really smoothly both ways between Windows and Linux.
I tried Steam too! I ended up adding a lightweight program as a non-Steam game to share. Still, I found the standard RDP experience to be better overall.
I tried setting it up but couldn’t get the remote login to work. It seemed like desktop sharing was fine, but remote login was a hassle. Was there something specific I missed? By the way, I managed to get remote login working effortlessly on Fedora Workstation after tweaking the RDP configuration.