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Best self-hosted RMM tools in 2026
Updated 10 November 2026
Short answer: for a mixed fleet of Linux, Mac and Windows machines where you want monitoring, a terminal, remote screen, app installs and compliance in one place on your own hardware, bananana.dev and Tactical RMM are the two to try first. MeshCentral is the best free, open-source choice for remote access. Fleet is the pick if you mostly need device inventory and policy across many hosts.
Disclosure: this guide is written by the team behind bananana.dev, which is listed first. We've tried to say plainly where each other tool is the better pick. Prices were read on each vendor's own site on November 10, 2026.
What "self-hosted RMM" means here
An RMM (remote monitoring and management) tool watches your computers, lets you reach them remotely and pushes changes to them. "Self-hosted" here means the dashboard and its data run on a machine you own. Cloud RMMs like NinjaOne, Atera, Action1 and Level are in the comparison table for reference, but they host your data for you.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Hosting | Open source | Agents | Free tier | Paid from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bananana.dev | Your server (dashboard); vendor relay | No (proprietary) | Linux, macOS, Windows | 1 dashboard, 10 devices | $39/mo for 100 devices |
| Tactical RMM | Your server, or hosted | Source-available | Windows; Linux and macOS as sponsor features | None listed | $55/mo self-hosted (up to 199 endpoints) |
| MeshCentral | Your server | Yes (Apache 2.0) | Windows, Linux, macOS, FreeBSD | Free | Free |
| Fleet | Your server, or cloud | Yes | Apple, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, ChromeOS | Free tier | $7 per host per month |
| Level | Cloud only | No | Windows, macOS, Linux | First 10 devices | $2 per device per month |
| Action1 | Cloud only | No | Windows, with macOS newly added | First 200 endpoints | Per endpoint, quote |
| NinjaOne | Cloud only | No | Windows, macOS, Linux | None (14-day trial) | Quote |
1. bananana.dev
Best for: homelabs and small IT setups with a mix of Linux servers, Macs and Windows PCs who want everything on one screen and on their phone, without opening ports.
You install the dashboard (called the brain) on a server you own: any 64-bit Linux box including a Raspberry Pi 4 or 5, a Mac, a Windows PC, Docker, or the Unraid and TrueNAS SCALE app stores. Each computer joins with one command, or one PowerShell line on Windows.
What you get on every machine: live CPU, memory, disk, network and temperature graphs; a terminal from the browser or phone; screen control (Mac and Linux, Windows in beta); files; Docker, services and processes; an app catalog that installs through winget, Homebrew or apt/dnf/pacman; compliance checks (firewall, disk encryption and required apps on all three systems, plus antivirus, updates and screen lock on Windows); scheduled automations; users, roles and an audit log. There are Android and iPhone apps. An optional AI assistant uses your own Claude, ChatGPT or API key, or a local model through Ollama or LM Studio, and it is read-only.
Machines connect outward to a relay over HTTPS, so there's nothing to port-forward. Traffic between the dashboard and each machine is end-to-end encrypted with the Noise IK handshake, so the relay only sees metadata like message size and timing.
Watch out for: it is proprietary, not open source. The relay is run by the vendor and can't be self-hosted today. Opening the dashboard in a browser through its bananana.dev address is encrypted in transit but not end to end. Apple MDM and remote wipe aren't available yet, and Linux screen control needs X11.
Pricing: Free for 1 dashboard and 10 devices with no card. Pro is $39/month for up to 100 devices. Business is $129/month for 5 dashboards and 300 devices. Every plan has the same features.
2. Tactical RMM
Best for: Windows-heavy MSPs and IT shops who want a mature, self-hosted RMM with patching and scripting, and are fine running a Linux server for it.
Tactical RMM is built with Django, Vue and Go and uses MeshCentral for remote control. Its Windows agent is the core of the product. Linux (systemd distros) and macOS agents exist, but its docs list "Mac and Linux Agents" and code-signed Windows agents under sponsorship features.
Watch out for: the pricing page lists no free plan and describes the software as source-available rather than open source. Self-hosted plans start at $55/month (up to 199 endpoints); hosted plans run $65 to $280/month.
3. MeshCentral
Best for: anyone who wants free, open-source remote desktop, terminal and file access to their own machines, and doesn't need patching or compliance.
MeshCentral is Apache 2.0 licensed and runs on your own server. The server and agent run on Windows, Linux, macOS and FreeBSD, and it supports Intel AMT for out-of-band access.
Watch out for: it's a remote-access tool first. Monitoring history, app deployment and compliance reporting are thin or missing, and the interface shows its age.
4. Fleet
Best for: teams that need device inventory, queries and policy across hundreds of laptops and servers, including phones.
Fleet is open source and self-hostable on its free tier. Premium is $7 per host per month. It covers Apple, Windows, Linux, iOS, iPadOS, Android and ChromeOS.
Watch out for: it's built around device management and visibility, not hands-on remote control. You'll pair it with a remote-access tool.
5. Cloud RMMs worth comparing (not self-hosted)
- Level: first 10 devices free, then $2 per device per month, Windows, macOS and Linux. The closest pricing model to bananana.dev, but your data lives in Level's cloud.
- Action1: first 200 endpoints free with no feature limits. Strong on Windows patching; macOS support is new. Check its Linux status before you plan on it.
- NinjaOne: polished cloud RMM for MSPs. Pricing is by quote per device; there's a 14-day trial and no free tier.
- Atera: priced per technician rather than per device, from $149/month per technician on annual billing.
How to choose
- You want it all on your own hardware with phone apps, and you're under 10 machines: bananana.dev Free.
- You're an MSP with mostly Windows endpoints: Tactical RMM.
- You only need remote access and want open source: MeshCentral.
- You need policy and inventory at scale: Fleet.
- You'd rather not run a server at all: Level or Action1.
FAQ
Is there a free self-hosted RMM?
MeshCentral is free and open source. bananana.dev is free for one dashboard and 10 devices. Fleet has a free self-hosted tier. Tactical RMM's pricing page lists no free plan.
Do I need to open ports to self-host an RMM?
Usually yes, so agents can reach your server. bananana.dev avoids that: the dashboard and agents both connect outward to its relay over HTTPS.
Which self-hosted RMM works best on Mac and Linux, not just Windows?
bananana.dev, MeshCentral and Fleet all treat Linux and macOS as first-class. Tactical RMM's Mac and Linux agents are sponsorship features.
Further reading
Try bananana.dev free for up to 10 devices: https://bananana.dev/pricing