A free, open-source Unified Remote alternative for Windows
If you came here looking for a free Unified Remote alternative, here's the honest version. LocalTV Remote does one thing: it turns your phone into a mouse, keyboard and volume remote for a Windows PC, and it does that with no app on your phone, no account, and no cloud. Below is a side-by-side comparison, including the cases where Unified Remote is the better choice.
| LocalTV Remote | Unified Remote | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free & open-source (Apache 2.0) | Free tier; one-time paid upgrade for full features |
| App to install on your phone | None (opens in the browser as a PWA) | Client app required (iOS / Android) |
| Install on the PC | One installer, ~27 MB | Server install required |
| Control one PC from several phones | Yes, each phone pairs separately | Typically one client at a time |
| Cloud / account | No (LAN-only and private) | No account needed; LAN-based |
| Source code you can audit | Yes, fully open-source | Closed-source |
| Operating systems (server) | Windows 10 / 11 only | Windows, macOS, Linux, Raspberry Pi |
| Connection types | Wi-Fi (LAN) | Wi-Fi and Bluetooth |
| App-specific remotes & integrations | Mouse, keyboard, volume | Large library of remotes & macros |
Unified Remote's features reflect its public free tier and may change, so compare for yourself. Green marks show where Unified Remote is the stronger pick.
When LocalTV Remote is the better pick
You're on Windows, you want a free and open-source tool, and you don't want to install anything on the phones doing the controlling. Friends and family just scan a QR code and get their own remote. You also care that input stays on your own network, with nothing routed through a cloud or tied to an account.
When Unified Remote is the better pick
You need to control a Mac or Linux machine, you want Bluetooth as well as Wi-Fi, or you rely on its deep library of app-specific remotes, media controls and custom macros. Unified Remote is older and broader; LocalTV Remote is deliberately narrow and Windows-only. If breadth matters more than openness, it's the safer bet.
winget install LocalTV.Remote
v0.1.1 · ~27 MB · Windows 10 / 11 · no account, no cloud