The cloud-native PDQ Deploy alternative
PDQ Deploy & Inventory is a favorite for a reason - it’s fast and it just works on your LAN. The catch shows up the moment your machines don’t live there: remote staff, multiple sites, and laptops that are rarely on the office network. PDQ Deploy & Inventory wants a box on-premises; the modern fleet is everywhere. (PDQ now also offers PDQ Connect, a cloud agent - more on that below.)
RFF is PDQ-style deployment, cloud-native. Agents check in over the internet, so you deploy to a work-from-home laptop the same way you hit a machine down the hall - no on-prem server, free for 100 endpoints.
Start free → · No server to stand up · Reaches remote machines
Why teams move from PDQ to RFF
- Reach machines anywhere. Remote, hybrid, multi-site - if it has internet, you can deploy to it. No VPN-to-the-office requirement.
- Nothing on-prem. No PDQ server/console box to maintain, back up, or expose. It’s hosted.
- Self-enrolling agents. One install line; machines register themselves and stay reachable wherever they roam.
- Real client separation + audit. Organize with device groups, or give each client a dedicated, hard-walled tenant (RLS-isolated, switch from one login, pooled licensing) - with a full record of every privileged action.
- Config you can read, baseline, and enforce - not just packages. PDQ is built around deploying things; RFF also keeps them configured right. Seed a baseline from a CIS Windows L1 starter template (no golden box needed), edit it as a versioned desired-state document, and turn on enforce for approval-gated, one-click-rollback fixes - readable, per-value GPO conformance that tells you which GPO set each setting. Patch and deploy without ever knowing whether the registry actually matches your intent is half the job.
- A full RMM, not just deployment. PDQ deploys and inventories - it doesn’t monitor. RFF adds scheduled checks (service state, disk-free, Defender health, event-log match, script exit code), email + webhook alerts, self-healing remediation, and browser remote tools (console, files, registry, live processes) - no screen takeover needed.
RFF vs PDQ Connect and PDQ Deploy & Inventory
PDQ now comes in two flavors: PDQ Connect (their newer cloud agent - the closest comparison to RFF) and the classic on-prem PDQ Deploy & Inventory. Here’s how RFF stacks up against both:
| RFF | PDQ Connect | PDQ Deploy & Inventory | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reaches off-LAN / WFH machines | Yes, natively | Yes, natively | Needs VPN / agent add-on |
| On-prem server | None | None | Console/host on your network |
| Deployment model | Cloud, agent self-enrolls | Cloud, agent self-enrolls | LAN-oriented push |
| Platforms | Windows + macOS + Linux (Windows-first) | Windows + macOS | Windows |
| GPO baselines + drift detection | Yes - capture, diff, one-click fix | Not a focus | Not a focus |
| CIS-aligned conformance baselines (capture or template, versioned, enforce) | Yes - seed from CIS L1, edit as versioned desired-state, approval-gated enforce + rollback | Not a focus / package-deploy focused | Not a focus / package-deploy focused |
| End-user self-service catalog | Yes - JAMF-style tray catalog; users install published apps without a ticket, brandable with your logo | No end-user portal | No end-user portal |
| Compliance posture dashboard | Yes - EOL OS, AV/EDR, certs, screen lock | Yes - compliance reports (CIS/NIST) | Inventory-based |
| Monitoring, alerting & auto-remediation | Yes - checks, email/webhook alerts, self-heal, workflows | No | No |
| Remote tools (console / files / registry / live processes) | Yes - browser, no screen takeover | Limited | No |
| Multi-client separation | Yes - true per-client tenants (RLS-isolated, one login) | Multi-tenant for MSPs (newer) | Per-environment setup |
| Hosting/maintenance | Hosted SaaS | Hosted SaaS | You host the console |
| Free tier | 100 endpoints | None (paid only) | Trial / paid |
Where PDQ wins: Deploy & Inventory on a stable LAN is blisteringly fast with a deep, battle-tested package library - if every machine lives on one network and stays there, it’s hard to beat. PDQ Connect is their cloud answer and a close comparison to RFF: both reach machines anywhere through a lightweight agent with nothing on-prem. Connect’s edges are a longer macOS track record and a mature package catalog; RFF’s are a real free tier (100 endpoints, where Connect is paid-only), Linux machines in the same console, and transparent monthly pricing you can see without a sales call.
Try the remote case PDQ struggles with
Install RFF on one laptop, then take it off the office network (or just a home machine). Push a deploy. Watching it land on a machine that isn’t on your LAN is usually the moment it clicks.
FAQ
Do I need a server on my network? No. RFF is hosted; agents reach out to us, so there’s nothing to expose inbound.
Will it deploy to laptops that are rarely online? Yes - jobs queue and run on the machine’s next check-in, wherever it is.
Is sending commands to remote machines safe? Credentials are encrypted at rest, traffic is TLS, actions are audited, and tenants are isolated - security page.
Comparing other tools?
We keep honest, side-by-side breakdowns of RFF against the tools teams usually weigh: