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Amazon WorkSpaces vs Azure Virtual Desktop comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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 WorkSpaces
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Desktop as a Service (DaaS) (2nd)
Azure Virtual Desktop
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
5.5
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of Amazon WorkSpaces is 1.6%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Azure Virtual Desktop is 9.0%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Azure Virtual Desktop9.0%
Amazon WorkSpaces1.6%
Other89.4%
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
 

Featured Reviews

Sachin Narvekar - PeerSpot reviewer
Migration to cloud for secure and shared workspaces enhances productivity
There could be an end-to-end tool similar to AWS Transform that helps from assessment to migration. A single orchestrator tool could assist with discovery, implementation, and image building for Amazon WorkSpaces. O365 and other Microsoft products can become problematic at times, and there are some network health-related issues that appear occasionally regarding functionality inside Amazon WorkSpaces.
Makarand-Shrikhande - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables flexible remote application access with auto-scaling and hybrid work support
The use cases include providing application access to users through Azure Virtual Desktop using MSIX App Attach or remote app, enabling remote users like BPO or contact center resources to connect and work on applications, and allowing vendors to access specific applications securely without a…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Performance and scalability are valuable features."
"The infrastructure is readily available, with minimal latency, which each user can benefit from."
"Amazon WorkSpaces Pools is a new solution that allows a group of users to use shared workspaces."
"Amazon WorkSpaces is very fast."
"It has good speed and connects well with computers."
"The most valuable features are easy provisioning, an active directory, and mobile access."
"The initial setup is simple."
"The product is easy to access. You can access the solution from anywhere at any time."
"The integration of Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams within Azure Virtual Desktop helps customers enhance collaboration because it works seamlessly."
"Azure Virtual Desktop enables anyone connecting to Microsoft to use MFA (multi-factor authentication), totally secured to connect and has end-to-end encryption through tunnel encryption."
"Azure pricing is quite cheap due to licensing benefits with Microsoft."
"The best feature is scalability, as it can be used from anywhere."
"Scalability is very straightforward with Azure Virtual Desktop."
"The scalability is probably the most valuable feature since I can quickly add or remove machines or increase or decrease the size depending on resources to manage the cost better."
"The ability to spin up virtual machines quickly and speedily in Azure has been really valuable."
"I rate the overall solution nine out of ten."
 

Cons

"Configuration was a bit complicated at first but manageable."
"Amazon WorkSpaces needs to improve its pricing."
"If they had a cheaper option for graphics pro, I think that it would be beneficial and I would use it."
"The agent sometimes has connectivity issues, but otherwise, it's good."
"An area that could be improved is it could work better on VPN."
"I would say that it is a little complex to configure."
"The speed and performance are not always the greatest. It can be improved."
"Its features for the hardware version could work faster."
"Access from Entra ID should be implemented to provide only tenant access to users connecting to the Azure Virtual Desktop environment, eliminating the need for on-premises requirements."
"Azure could improve its uptime and the scaling aspect, as it lacks intelligent scaling."
"The primary area for improvement is around the scalability of Azure, specifically on the desktop side."
"The costs are a bit difficult to predict upfront. When I am trying to sell it to a customer as a consultant, it is hard to give them a fixed price."
"I would like to see built-in proxy and internet filtering."
"The costs are a bit difficult to predict upfront."
"The delivery of applications is a tedious process."
"There are challenges when upgrading the OS from Windows 10 to Windows 11, such as facing a black screen during testing. It is essential for Microsoft to ensure better testing and smoother transitions when decommissioning previous versions."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"They have hourly and monthly pricing, and because our use case is, more of a sporadic use, so I go for hourly pricing. Again, the details of the pricing is handled by the procurement. From an end user perspective, pay as you use hourly is suitable"
"The pricing is based on consumption. You pay for each process based on the transactions you make."
"There are several different options available, but it can range anywhere from $85 to $150 a month per machine."
"Price-wise Amazon Workspaces is cheaper than most services available."
"It is very expensive."
"The bundle works out to be approximately $20.00 per month."
"I think that the price can be lower. We have cases where the customer needs to have lower costs. So since we don't have options, like, shadow mode, they need to decrease pricing or have other models for reduced pricing."
"We need to spend some amount for the support. Without money, they won't respond."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Performing Arts
14%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
47%
Outsourcing Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise9
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Large Enterprise6
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Amazon WorkSpaces?
Performance and scalability are valuable features.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Amazon WorkSpaces?
For Amazon WorkSpaces pricing, I think it is affordable; it is a final decision made through the management part. I am not satisfied with the billing part because sometimes it bills for huge usage ...
What needs improvement with Amazon WorkSpaces?
There could be an end-to-end tool similar to AWS Transform that helps from assessment to migration. A single orchestrator tool could assist with discovery, implementation, and image building for Am...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Virtual Desktop?
The usual amount customers pay for this tool varies. I have seen large deployments catering to 500 or 700 users. Enterprises do use it, and they pay quite a bit for this.
What needs improvement with Azure Virtual Desktop?
Areas of Azure Virtual Desktop that could be improved or enhanced include the cost part and the auto-scaling part. There is a new dynamic auto-scaling feature which is in preview as of now, and wit...
What is your primary use case for Azure Virtual Desktop?
The usual use cases for Azure Virtual Desktop are for developers trying to have a development environment, and there are a couple of kinds of environments. One is dedicated instances and one is the...
 

Also Known As

WorkSpaces
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

GrubHub, Endemol Shine Nederland, CMC Property Services
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon WorkSpaces vs. Azure Virtual Desktop and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
868,759 professionals have used our research since 2012.