NoMachine 10 shipped on 30 July 2026, and the free server edition went with it. A lot of people are now looking for something else. Before you choose, it helps to be clear which product actually disappeared. NoMachine was never only one thing.
For years you could install NoMachine on a machine, connect to the screen that was already there, and use it for personal work without paying. That was the Everybody edition, later called the free edition. One person, one physical desktop.
Version 10 does not include a free server-side product. Personal Edition starts at $24.50 per year per server, and there is also a path to evaluate a commercial license. The viewer applications are still free. The Enterprise Client and the mobile app did not become paid products.
Image source: NoMachine knowledgebase (AR03P00972, updated 6 Aug 2026)
Image source: Reddit, r/NoMachine, "NoMachine ditches free edition and forums"
Personal Edition also does not include NoMachine Network. If you need to reach a machine behind a firewall without opening ports, Network is a separate subscription.
They closed the public forum at the same time. The archive is still there to read, but they said community support is no longer necessary now that the entry product is commercial. We still run a community for ThinLinc, at https://community.thinlinc.com/.
One use is to attach to the screen that is already on the machine, the way you would if you sat down in front of it. That is what the free edition did. Personal Edition and Enterprise Desktop still do that.
The other use is to give people their own Linux desktop sessions on a server. Each person gets an independent session, can disconnect, and can come back later. Several people can share one host. That is NoMachine Workstation, with up to four virtual Linux desktops, and the Terminal Server line. Those products were already paid. Version 10 did not invent a fee for that work. It was never free.
NoMachine is also built to work across Windows, macOS, and Linux. That range is part of the product. ThinLinc is narrower on purpose. It is Linux Native. We only do Linux sessions, on Linux servers.
If you treat those as the same product, you will look for the wrong replacement.
The free edition was built for 1:1 attach to the physical screen. ThinLinc can also be used by one person on one Linux desktop, and it is free up to ten concurrent sessions. The important difference is that ThinLinc starts a separate virtual session. It does not attach to the screen that is already on the machine. That only works if you always connect with ThinLinc and you do not sit at the remote machine yourself. If someone uses the local keyboard and monitor, they are on a different desktop than you. If you need to see what is on the physical display, ThinLinc is the wrong tool. The same is true if the machine you want to reach is not Linux.
That is the other job. People should get their own session, not share the physical screen. Authentication should go against your directory. Sessions should survive a disconnect. A Windows or macOS client, or a browser, is fine for reaching those Linux desktops. This is the Linux terminal server problem, not remote control of a single machine.
You can assemble that yourself with TigerVNC, noVNC, xrdp, and some glue. We maintain TigerVNC and noVNC, and many people run that stack on their own. It works, until you want packaging, upgrades, and the same setup on the fifth host.
ThinLinc is that stack, packaged for Linux. It gives each user a separate virtual Linux session, and it uses SSH for the transport. It is free up to ten concurrent sessions. After that it is a license, not a surprise Network add-on for basic use.
We are not saying NoMachine is bad, and we are not saying Personal Edition is a scam. $24.50 for 1:1 access is a product decision. What we are saying is simpler. If you arrived because "NoMachine is not free," first decide which job you had. If you must take over the physical screen, or you need one tool for Windows, macOS, and Linux, do not buy ThinLinc. If you want Linux desktops, you can work in a virtual session, and you always come in through ThinLinc, for one user or for many, that is our lane.
If you need the physical screen, or a desktop that is not Linux, ThinLinc is the wrong tool.
