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Amazon Appstream vs Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Amazon Appstream
Ranking in Desktop as a Service (DaaS)
3rd
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Citrix DaaS (formerly Citri...
Ranking in Desktop as a Service (DaaS)
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
128
Ranking in other categories
Application Virtualization (1st), Remote Access (4th), Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Desktop as a Service (DaaS) category, the mindshare of Amazon Appstream is 14.7%, down from 25.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) is 23.0%, down from 34.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Desktop as a Service (DaaS) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service)23.0%
Amazon Appstream14.7%
Other62.3%
Desktop as a Service (DaaS)
 

Featured Reviews

RH
Presales Solutions Architect at Wipro Limited
Offers good performance, efficiency, and network
There is also a way in the tool for retaining customers' favorites, but it is not available natively. When you log in to your desktop, on the desktop or laptop that you are working on, you have your favorites, you have your document repository, like your documents, your personal documents that you have on your computer. I saw that there was no native way of retaining those in a non-persistent desktop. The end-user has to perform dual authentication. One is for AWS authentication, and the other used to be for Active Directory, so it is a little problematic for the end users, as it is a double work for them. I don't know if the tool has lately dealt with the area of dual authentication or not.
SN
Technical Lead on Virtual Desktop at Orange
Has delivered consistent desktop experiences across remote locations and has supported multimedia workloads efficiently
I have utilized the HDX protocol for compression and audio-video capabilities. When users need to conduct meetings with customers or colleagues, they can use Teams solutions and open a bridge where video and audio are encapsulated within the ICA protocol, which is protected by SSL and certificates for security. This provides secure communication at good quality through the HDX protocol. HDX protocol has improved application performance as it is specifically designed for multimedia applications. If processing audio or video files, such as in telecom where discussions are recorded and then prepared as video or audio, this does not consume excessive bandwidth during the operation compared to a normal remote desktop connection provided by Microsoft. Everything is compressed and provides sufficient bandwidth for multiple people to perform similar tasks without interruption or session disconnection. All multimedia-related activities, such as playing content on YouTube, deliver a better experience with this protocol overall. I use multi-factor authentication for opening sessions to the data center where users access their machines or software. Multi-factor authentication has helped secure applications because users typically have two-way authentication software on their phones. They use a password first and then authenticate themselves through their mobile application to grant access to resources. This approach is effective because if a hacker attacks a user, they need more than just the password and username. They must also possess the device that provides authentication. The device typically has facial recognition, a password, and provides better security overall.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Some companies use applications like Word or Excel, and they can leverage cloud services to optimize their hardware consumption."
"The tool is good from a latency, efficiency, and network point of view."
"We recouped 60 to 70 percent of the hardware costs."
"The most valuable feature is the desktop experience so that users don't see much difference between the remote desktop and the local desktop... It also provides virtualization for high-end graphics so that they can be displayed. AutoCAD can be done on Citrix. The graphics are very good."
"If someone is trying to enable their employees to work from anywhere without compromising security, I would recommend a Citrix Workspace."
"It helps the company or the environment to centralize all its resources and allows all users from all the branches to reach those resources without needing them in every branch."
"It is a very scalable solution."
"There has been a lot of improvement in the application, and we use the application for so many different things and areas of security; it is incredible what we can do with Citrix."
"XenMobile is a good, stable product, but make sure you investigate what features you are looking to roll out and decide whether XenMobile isn’t overkill."
"The user experience when using the solution's technology remotely is definitely superior to our VPN and/or Windows Remote Desktop. It's a much better user experience for those folks."
 

Cons

"The end-user has to perform dual authentication...it is a little problematic for the end users, as it is a double work for them."
"You might experience some performance issues, such as delays in data retrieval."
"This solution is resource-intensive, it takes a lot of Bandwidth and a lot of the resources of the server."
"Pricing and technical support need improvement."
"Users have some trouble adjusting to the Receiver interface, but other than that, everything has been very easy."
"We had an issue when we were using the Citrix server. We needed to install the Citrix Runtime in the server where the application was hosted."
"The pricing of Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) since the company was taken over by the investment firm is not favorable because prices have been raised."
"The user profiles could use some improvement. They could use more stability and more functionality as well as user profile redirection."
"When the network is stable the experience is positive, but when there is some fluctuation of the network speed, Citrix can freeze the screen or mouse at that moment, and this is not good for users."
"The Endpoint Management solution needs improvement when it comes to mobile device management. For example, they are still not supporting Windows 10 and this feature is required by many customers."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"Citrix is expensive."
"We are just now approaching the end of our initial purchase, which was an excellent price for us as an academic institution. We got a very good deal to get us on board. That license is up for renewal in about a year, and we are nervously waiting to see what the pricing will be."
"Citrix solutions cost a lot in comparison with competitors, like Azure Virtual Desktop or VMware Horizon. Those solutions cost around 50 to 60 percent less, per month per user, than Citrix."
"Their licensing model used to be on a per-year basis, where you would negotiate the cost per user for a year. For instance, if you had 25,000 users, you could negotiate the cost accordingly. However, they are transitioning to a subscription-based model where the cost is incurred monthly."
"They offer licensing per user. From time to time, they give discounts. Because it's a hybrid model, you can deploy some portion of it on cloud and some portion your on-prem."
"Citrix licensing is expensive."
"The licensing of Citrix Workspace is worth it. However, it is expensive. Citrix is probably more competitive now than VMware, but it is still a costly solution."
"If one is a high price and ten is a low price, I rate the tool's price a three."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
19%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Healthcare Company
6%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Performing Arts
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business45
Midsize Enterprise21
Large Enterprise69
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Amazon Appstream?
There is also a way in the tool for retaining customers' favorites, but it is not available natively. When you log in to your desktop, on the desktop or laptop that you are working on, you have you...
What is your primary use case for Amazon Appstream?
I personally don't use the tool. I am not a consumer of it. I basically designed it. I work for an IT company and have designed and implemented Amazon Appstream and Workspace in many organizations....
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops?
I rate the product’s pricing a seven out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive.
What needs improvement with Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops?
I have found that Citrix DaaS is still a complex product, especially on the desktop side, which affects scalability. Although it works well on the apps side, the desktop aspect still has room for i...
What is your primary use case for Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops?
The entire development environment is accessed only through the virtual desktop setup using Citrix DaaS.
 

Also Known As

Amazon Appstream 2.0, Appstream, Appstream 2.0
XenDesktop, XenApp (Citrix Virtual Apps), Citrix Workspace
 

Interactive Demo

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

SolidWorks, EVARI, MathWorks, AVENA, Vanguard, Macquarie University
Exelon, Aeronamic, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Alameda County Medical Center, Alaska Department of Fish & Game, Aloysius Stichting, Amarchand Mangaldas, AmBev, Amnet Technology Solutions, Arval
Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon Appstream vs. Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
892,287 professionals have used our research since 2012.