Idle Master & ArchiSteamFarm Alternatives: Desktop vs Cloud Idling

The classics, honestly assessed

For a decade, idling meant one of three desktop tools. All still have their place — but each carries an assumption that no longer fits most people: that you have a machine willing to stay on 24/7. Here's where each tool stands, and what the cloud alternative changes.

Idle Master (and Idle Master Extended)

The original card-farming tool: reads your badge page, emulates each game with drops remaining, cycles through until your library is farmed. The original project was abandoned in 2016; the community fork Idle Master Extended keeps it alive on Windows.

• Good: free, simple, purpose-built for card drops.
• Limits:Windows-only, PC must stay on and logged in, farms cards but isn't designed for long-term hour boosting, sporadic maintenance.

ArchiSteamFarm (ASF)

The power tool: a headless C# daemon that farms cards and idles games across multiple accounts, scriptable, actively maintained, genuinely excellent software.

• Good: free, open source, multi-account, runs on anything including a Raspberry Pi.
• Limits:built for technical users — JSON configs, IPC setup, updates, and it still needs an always-on machine. A VPS to host it costs €3–5/month before you've idled a single hour. For one personal account, it's a lot of infrastructure for a simple job.

Steam Game Idler

The modern desktop option: open source, nice UI, farms cards, unlocks achievements and idles playtime. If you want a local tool in 2026, this is the one to pick. The structural limitation is the same as the others: it runs on your PC, so idling stops when your PC does.

The cloud alternative

Cloud idlingmoves the always-on machine problem to someone else's servers. The trade-offs flip: nothing to install or maintain, idling continues with your PC off, up to 32 games in parallel, automatic pause when you play — in exchange, the biggest plans cost money (though a free 3-game plan exists and stays free).

• Pick a desktop tool if: you enjoy running your own tooling, your PC is on most of the day anyway, or you manage many accounts (ASF).
• Pick cloud if: you want hours and cards to accumulate around the clock without owning the uptime problem — laptop users especially.

Quick comparison

• Idle Master Extended — free · Windows · PC on · cards only · unofficial fork
• ArchiSteamFarm — free (+VPS cost) · cross-platform · machine on 24/7 · cards + idling · technical setup
• Steam Game Idler — free · desktop · PC on · cards + achievements + idling
• SharpyBoost (cloud) — free plan / paid scale · browser only · PC off · 32 games · cards + achievements + hours, automated

Full method rundown, including the manual routes: How to boost Steam hours.