Hopp

Overview

Hopp is an open-source collaboration app for developers who need to work directly on a teammate’s screen.

Browse pair programming software for other options.

Key features

Participants can use their own keyboard and mouse to control a teammate’s computer, with latency stated as under 100 ms. That makes Hopp more useful for debugging, code reviews, mob programming, and onboarding than a screen-share tool built only for watching. The limit of 10 people per room suits a small team, not a larger meeting.

Screen sharing defaults to 4K and covers any application on screen. Shared cursors, drawing, and annotations help teammates point to specific details, while active noise-cancelling audio supports conversation during a session. A Slack integration is available for starting calls faster.

Teams can run Hopp on their own infrastructure; its repository includes a self-hosting guide and Docker Compose setup. That avoids a cloud subscription, but means choosing the self-managed option. Hopp’s privacy policy describes commercially acceptable safeguards while stopping short of guaranteeing absolute security.

Pricing

Self-hosted Hopp costs nothing, with the team running it on its own infrastructure. It is the clearest fit for teams that can manage their deployment and want to avoid per-user charges.

Hopp Cloud costs $15 a month, billed at $15 per user each month, and includes unlimited calls. It suits teams that want Hopp’s cloud service and do not want to host the software themselves; the per-person charge can add up as a team grows. A 14-day trial gives teams a chance to evaluate the paid service.

Hopp Private Cloud has custom pricing. Hopp manages a dedicated single-tenant deployment, including setup, upgrades, backups, monitoring, and direct support, making it the managed option for teams that want isolation without operating the service themselves. Hopp lists a support guarantee of less than one day.

Platforms

Hopp is available for macOS, Windows, and web, with self-hosting also supported. The self-hosted route adds deployment responsibility in exchange for running the open-source software on your own infrastructure.

Who it's for

Hopp is aimed at engineering teams and developers who regularly need to collaborate on a live desktop, whether for code reviews, debugging, mob programming, or onboarding. It is less compelling for large groups that exceed 10 participants or teams that want a managed service without per-user cloud pricing or custom private-cloud costs.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Shared keyboard and mouse control, with stated latency under 100 ms, enables collaborators to work on a teammate’s computer rather than just observe.
• Pro: Free self-hosting offers a no-subscription route for teams able to run the service themselves.
• Pro: Hopp Cloud includes unlimited calls, avoiding a call quota for subscribers.
• Con: Rooms are limited to 10 participants, excluding larger sessions.
• Con: Cloud pricing is per user each month, so the total rises with team size.
• Con: Hopp does not guarantee absolute security, despite describing its safeguards as commercially acceptable.

Alternatives

Drovio is worth considering for a free remote-control option with up to two participants and a 30-minute daily remote-control limit. Pop offers a free plan while in beta with unlimited meetings and no time limit, a better fit when meeting capacity matters more than Hopp’s developer-focused shared control.

Zed is a free code editor option for developers who want an editor rather than a screen-sharing collaboration app. Saros is a fully open-source, free alternative for teams seeking a tool with no paid plans.

Visual Studio, CodeInterview, Coterm, and Duckly are other options to compare.

Verdict

Choose Hopp if a small engineering team needs low-latency shared control, annotation, and voice in one developer-oriented collaboration app.