iRdesktop vs VNCcontacts+
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
iRdesktop
Access and control your Windows desktop remotely from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. This client uses the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) to connect to compatible Windows versions, offering features like mouse emulation and a familiar keyboard.
- Remote desktop control via RDP
- Mouse emulation (click, drag, drop)
- Familiar iPhone keyboard support
- Zoom and pan desktop view
- Portrait and landscape rotation
- Multiple connection entries
- Wi-Fi and cellular data connection
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iRdesktop is a free Remote Desktop Client for Windows Terminal Services (Remote Desktop Services), capable of natively using the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) in order to view and control your Windows Desktop using your iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. iRdesktop supports all Windows Versions that have support for Terminal Services respectively Remote Desktop Services out of the box. You must know that Microsoft has removed Terminal Services (Remote Desktop Services) from the Windows Home and Starter editions. In order to access those Windows systems with any RDP client you can install our alternative Terminal Services (Remote Desktop Services) solution called "Thinstuff XP/VS Terminal Server" (http://www.thinstuff.com/products/xpvs-server/). The good news is that iRdesktop users will get a big discount for a single-user XP/VS Terminal Server version which allows you to have 1 Remote Desktop connection in addition to your PC's console session even on Windows Home and Starter editions! To get your discount code just follow the "Discount ..." link on the iRdesktop start screen. SUPPORTED REMOTE SYSTEMS - Windows XP Home (*) - Windows XP Professional - Windows XP Media Center 2005 - Windows Vista Home Basic and Home Premium (*) - Windows Vista Business, Ultimate and Enterprise - Windows 7 Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium (*) - Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate, Enterprise - Windows Server 2000 - Windows Small Business Server 2003 - Windows Server 2003 - Windows Server 2008 - Windows Server 2008R2 *) only with Thinstuff XP/VS Terminal Server IRDESKTOP FEATURES - Mouse emulation: left-, right- and double-click, and drag & drop - Supports the standard, familiar iPhone keyboard for text entry - Zoom and pan the remote desktop screen as in the Safari browser - Rotate the device to switch between portrait and landscape views - Create an unlimited number of predefined connection entries - Connect through WIFI or your cellular data network (GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA etc.) - Safari-like page view for switching between multiple concurrent sessions - Compatible with the iPhone's built-in VPN (L2TP, PPTP, IPSec) for secure access to corporate and home networks - Includes a promotion discount code for Thinstuff's XP/VS Terminal Server LIMITATIONS - No support for TS Gateway (a special RDP VPN solution for Windows Server 2008) - No sound and clipboard redirection LANGUAGES: English, French and German
VNCcontacts+
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The VNCcontacts+ App is a powerful app for your complete contacts management. Why you should use VNCcontacts+: - modern frontend - easy and intuitive to use - connects to your VNClagoon contacts - no additional installation required - comes with all required functionalities - available as App and web client - open source backend - super secure software Key Functionalities of VNCcontacts+ (see also https://vnclagoon.com/products/vnccontacts/): - full feature set for contact management - Create, list, filter, view, change and delete contacts - Contact Lists - Favorite Contacts - Color Tags - Search and saved searches - Find and merge duplicate contacts - Settings - Collaborate in teams and companies (Pro Version) VNCcontacts+ FREE VERSION is free to download and use for private, individual users. Attention: VNCcontacts+ FREE VERSION is a free hands-on demo, test and trial App within a single user SaaS environment. You can use it with your VNClagoon LIVE account. Please be aware that the users’ profile information (user name, avatar) may be visible for other users. Of course, the client to server communication is encrypted. You can purchase VNCcontacts+ Enterprise for: - Elevated privacy levels in closed instances for your organisation or group of users - Company accounts with utmost privacy - Advanced authentication options - Team collaboration features - Full enterprise feature set - Flexible hosting options and on premise implementation (you gain complete control of the application and your communication data!) - Compliance with severest data privacy regulations (transparent code, secure hosting, open source backend, state of the art frontend, privacy of communication and user data) - Customization and branding - Individual skinning according to your corporate design - Complete onboarding and registration capabilities - Sophisticated backend management options - Integration with further VNClagoon products and Apps (e.g. single sign-on) - And more! If you have questions or would like to discuss the benefits of our VNCcontacts+ Enterprise Version, please get in touch with us at sales@vnc.biz! VNCcontacts+ is part of VNClagoon, our integrated stack of secure enterprise collaboration and communication products (https://vnclagoon.com/products/). Want to know more about the VNC story? Check out our blog here: https://vnclagoon.com/the-vnc-story/. Your use of this app is subject to the VNClagoon Products and Apps Terms of Service, which can be found at https://vnclagoon.com/terms/. ---- Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bigwBkKtihs
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: VNCcontacts+ at every 3 weeks against iRdesktop's every 2 months. iRdesktop's advantage is iOS requirement (3.0 vs 12.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
iRdesktop ships an update every 2 months, VNCcontacts+ every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | iRdesktop | VNCcontacts+ |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.3 (45 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 80.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 45 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 3.0 — better | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 51 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Thinstuff s.r.o. | VNC - Virtual Network Consult AG |
Bugs and requests
iRdesktop
Reported bugs
2 issues- Crashes on startup with iOS 3.1.x
- Incompatibility with some Windows versions (Home editions)
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to hide top status bar for more screen space
- Support for international keyboard layouts
- Scrolling/panning improvements
- Option to pay for ad-free version
VNCcontacts+
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
iRdesktop
No in-app purchases
VNCcontacts+
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is iRdesktop free?
Is VNCcontacts+ free?
Do iRdesktop or VNCcontacts+ have ads?
Which is updated more often, iRdesktop or VNCcontacts+?
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