Why a $45 Raspberry Pi beats Windows for remote desktop access

Published Sep 28, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT Nick Lewis is an editor at How-To Geek. He has been using computers for 20 years --- tinkering with everything from the UI to the Windows registry to device firmware. Before How-To Geek, he used Python and C++ as a freelance programmer. In college, Nick made extensive use of Fortran while pursuing a physics degree. Nick's love of tinkering with computers extends beyond work. He has been running video game servers from home for more than 10 years using Windows, Ubuntu, or Raspberry Pi OS. He also uses Proxmox to self-host a variety of services, including a Jellyfin Media Server, an Airsonic music server, a handful of game servers, NextCloud, and two Windows virtual machines. He enjoys DIY projects, especially if they involve technology. He regularly repairs and repurposes old computers and hardware for whatever new project is at hand. He has designed crossovers for homemade speakers all the way from the basic design to the PCB. Nick enjoys the outdoors. When he isn't working on a computer or DIY project, he is most likely to be found camping, backpacking, or canoeing. If you've ever tried to get a remote desktop working on a Windows Home machine, you've discovered that it isn't especially easy. You have two unappealing options: you can pay for a Windows Pro license just for RDP or you can accept the privacy and security risks of third-party remote access accounts. A Raspberry Pi, on the other hand, offers a far more practical solution regardless of whether you're trying to use it as the desktop you're connecting to or as a gateway into your Windows PC or your wider network. The Pi is awesome for remote access It works in nearly any scenario Credit: Patrick Campanale / How-To Geek You can use the Pi in two different ways depending on what you actually need. In one scenario, the Pi itself is a lightweight remote desktop. All you need to do is install Raspberry Pi OS on a Pi 4 or 5, create a Raspberry Pi ID, and set up Raspberry Pi Connect. Then, you'll be able to log in from anywhere and use your Pi for whatever you'd normally do with it. Alternatively, you can use the Pi as a way into your own network via WireGuard or Tailscale. From there, you can connect to your Windows or Linux PC using a program like RustDesk locally, rather than exposing your desktop PC to the internet. The Pi is cheap to set up for remote access Credit: Patrick Campanale / How-To Geek The Pi also wins in terms of cost, both immediate and recurring. If you're using Windows Home—and most home PCs are—upgrading to Pro will run you $100. If you just need remote access, that is a tough sell. Beyond that cost, running a desktop 24/7 just to ensure that you can access it whenever you want is a waste of electricity. A standard desktop might consume 50–100W while idle, more if you have a gaming PC. Most Raspberry Pis idle somewhere in the 3–5W range, and the smaller Pis idle at less than 1W. Given the rising cost of electricity everywhere, who wants the added expense if it can be avoided? If you're going to use the Pi to leapfrog into your Windows PC, just set up Wake-on-LAN (WoL) so the PC can sleep until you need it. The Pi offers a smaller attack surface Credit: Nick Lewis / How-To Geek You should never forward remote desktop ports directly to the internet, ever. Remote access ports are regularly scanned for vulnerabilities, and exposing your Windows PC directly to the internet in that fashion is asking for trouble. When you use a Pi with WireGuard, you mitigate some of that risk. Your Windows machine remains safely isolated from the wider web. The Pi and WireGuard are the only obvious targets, and those are quite secure. WireGuard is one of the most popular VPN protocols in the world. Similarly, a Linux PC with almost nothing running on it presents a very small attack surface compared to an average home PC. None of this guarantees that you can't be compromised, but it is a more secure setup than an exposed Windows PC would be. A Pi addresses a fundamental weakness of Wake-on-LAN Windows can be fickle Windows is notorious for restarting whenever it pleases, regardless of what you're doing. It is similarly famous for falling into a sleep state that won't correctly respond to mouse, keyboard, or WoL signals. Any one of those scenarios could result in a PC that you can't reach remotely when you need it. Even if you pay for RDP, set up Wake-on-LAN, and do everything right, a random update pushed by Microsoft could break your entire setup. On the other hand, a Pi is much less prone to failure. You can configure Raspberry Pi OS to never do anything without your direct input so you can count on it to be online so long as you have power and an internet connection. I run a small WireGuard server on a Pi Zero 2 W on my home network, and it has literally never failed, despite running for several years with only occasional manual restarts for security updates. Windows can only dream of that kind of stability. The Pi solves the Wake-on-LAN issue on Windows For one reason or another, Wake-on-LAN will sometimes fail, and you have to physically push a button to wake your PC. If you're away from home, that isn't an option. Fortunately, the Pi has a solution here too. Almost every Raspberry Pi has a set of GPIO pins that can be programmed to do whatever you want. If you pair those GPIO pins with a small relay or opto-isolator, you can connect your Pi's GPIO to the front panel header on your motherboard. Effectively, you can "push" the Power or Restart button on your PC remotely. Even if your PC winds up off, frozen, or in a sleep state that WoL can't revive, you can always push the button. After that, everything should work normally. A Pi has a remote solution for any occasion Whether you want to directly connect to a PC, use a PC as a gateway to your network, or as an intermediary to connect to another PC on your network, a $45 Raspberry Pi is a great option. It consumes next to no power, and the privacy and security risks are small compared to most other solutions out there. If you already own a Pi, the setup will take less than an hour.