Rent a virtual desktop by the month

What renting a desktop means

Renting a virtual desktop is the same arrangement as renting anything else that is expensive to own and quick to become out of date: you pay by the month for a machine that somebody else bought, houses, powers, connects and keeps running, and you stop paying when you stop needing it. The machine is a fully functioning vanilla Windows 11 computer on a server-class host in a US data center. You reach it through a browser or a Remote Desktop client from whatever you already own.

The rent is the whole cost. The Windows 11 license is inside it, and so are the dedicated public IP address, unmetered traffic, round-the-clock support and the hosting itself. There is no platform fee, no per-user charge, no setup fee and no hardware to buy, ship, insure or dispose of.

What you get for the rent

• A Windows 11 machine with full administrator rights: install what you like, no approved-software list.
• Your own allocation of memory and virtual cores - from 3 GB and four cores on Light to 20 GB and sixteen cores on Advanced.
• A dedicated public IP address and unmetered traffic, with no bandwidth cap and no overage charge.
• Delivery the moment the sign-up completes: the login is in your inbox, the desktop opens in a browser.
• Files, programs and settings that stay on the machine between sessions, whichever device you open it from.
• Support included, around the clock, covering the platform under the desktop as well as the desktop itself.

Rent or buy?

A capable office PC costs several hundred dollars, a Windows license on top of that, and it is slower every year until it is replaced. The Basic desktop rents for $18.95 a month, is delivered today, runs on hardware that is refreshed on our schedule rather than yours, and can be handed back the month the work stops. For a machine that is needed for a season, a project, a contractor or a second workplace, renting costs less than owning long before the year is out. For a machine that will be used every day for five years, buying can still win; the calculator on the compare page is honest about that.

Who rents a desktop

• Seasonal and occasional workers: a desk that exists for the months it is needed.
• Contractors and temporary staff: a machine that is handed over on day one and cancelled on the last.
• People who need Windows on a Mac, a Chromebook or an iPad for one program.
• Anyone replacing an old PC without buying a new one - the old laptop only has to run a browser.
• Small teams that want the same desktop for everyone without a server room.

How to rent one

1. Pick a package. Light for a browser and email, Basic to replace an office PC, Standard for heavy office software, Advanced for workstation-class work. The calculator on the compare page picks from the programs you run.
2. Sign up. The login arrives by email the moment the order completes.
3. Open the link in a browser and start working. Cancel whenever the work stops; there is no contract and no minimum term.

One desktop is licensed for one interactive user at a time. A second person is a second desktop, rented the same way.