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Apache Guacamole vs Microsoft Remote Desktop Services comparison

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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

Microsoft Intune
Sponsored
Ranking in Remote Access
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
254
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (2nd), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
Apache Guacamole
Ranking in Remote Access
13th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Remote Desktop Se...
Ranking in Remote Access
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
78
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Remote Access category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 9.4%, down from 11.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Apache Guacamole is 4.3%, up from 2.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is 10.5%, down from 14.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Remote Access
 

Featured Reviews

Joseph Merusi - PeerSpot reviewer
Everything has worked better since we started using it
Sometimes the syncing is inconsistent. I'm confident that the devices are checking in every eight hours, but sometimes the devices aren't picking up the settings as quickly as I would expect. Some features haven't been updated in a while, and Microsoft doesn't seem interested in developing them. Unless you talk to an engineer, you don't know whether there will be an update. There are communication issues, so you might start working with a feature without knowing if it will be deprecated six months from now. Some reporting areas still need development. For example, I noticed that the reporting for driver updates is still confusing.
RV
Secure access is simplified with easy login for virtual machines
I am provisioning virtual machines for educational institutions such as schools and colleges. The access to these virtual machines is provided via Apache Guacamole Apache Guacamole is really easy to use. If I have ten virtual machines provisioned under my name, I can access them with a single…
Terje Romen - PeerSpot reviewer
Accessing the same desktop experience from anywhere but user template creation needs improvement
Mostly we are quite happy with it. However, some of us want a more powerful desktop. When not present, we use a remote tool called Splashtop, which is a good solution for some users. We have about ten licenses for those who need a powerful workstation at the office. We have not used many different tools. We are never in contact with Microsoft. These are quite basic configurations, to be honest. It's not complicated. AI is coming to or is already in some applications we are using. Not system-wise, however, it might be good. I'd rate the solution seven out of ten. It's quite good, yet certainly not perfect.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It provides control over all mobile devices that are being connected to the corporate network."
"Intune's feature that I have found most valuable is its auto-pilot feature."
"I like how Microsoft Intune lets me lock down the email profile and make it accessible only on certain devices."
"Intune saves time, and it is very easy to use. It allows us to manage applications completely."
"One valuable feature of Microsoft Intune is the enrollment process, which is user-based, making it easier to manage compared to AirWatch."
"The one feature we find most useful is the Mobile Application Manager. There are two types, we have the complete MDM and the Mobile Application Manager(MAM). We don't give our users phones, it is their own personal phone, and we need to allow them to have access to the company detail on their phone. We need to create a balance between their own personal data and the company data. We deploy the Mobile Application Manager for them so that we won't be able to interfere with their own personal data."
"Maturity makes it a stable product."
"The solution has significantly improved managing a diverse range of devices. We have observed enhancements across Android, iOS, and Windows devices."
"Apache Guacamole is really easy to use."
"For those considering using Apache Guacamole, I wholeheartedly support its users since it's a free open-source software that is easy to download and use with no significant issues."
"I'm using Apache Guacamole as a gateway."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is its security and simple configuration."
"The performance is one of the main features of this solution."
"It allows employees to log on to corporate resources remotely."
"The most valuable feature is that it gives me full accessibility to my servers."
"It's built into the operating system and has a command line interface capability to insert credentials, IDs, a password, et cetera."
"The most valuable feature is the remote application access."
"It is a stable product."
"Things can be made easier if someone is not with us or at a long distance since we can connect easily with those people. So, it's easy for us to use such features."
 

Cons

"If you wish to block any App Store application, there is no way to do so."
"We haven't really gone through all the features of Intune. We are just discovering them. Every day, we see a new feature that we want to apply, but what will be great for Intune is to be able to deploy apps in a simple fashion. We should be able to easily install various apps on the Windows platform, iOS, and Android. Currently, we have to write some scripts. It's not as straightforward as we would like it to be. It should be simplified so that we can do it just with three clicks—next, next, finish—without needing to write a script."
"It's the granularity: 'Is your firewall on? Is BitLocker on?' It's not amazing granularity. But I've looked into other products, like Duo, and they're all similar."
"One big problem with Microsoft is that they're changing the names of the products quite often, or they're quite consistently doing so. Intune is now Endpoint administration. Constantly switching the user interface or the administrative interface makes it quite hard to keep pace. If you are on a two-week holiday and you come back and look at the same screen you have looked at for the last couple of months, it looks different, which is annoying. Changing things around all the time doesn't make it easy."
"It would be interesting to integrate the server side of Intune. Some group policy updates we have on the Windows Server side and possibly some on the client side could also be included."
"The interoperability or communication with a different platform can be better. It is a two-way street. It is not only about Microsoft. The other platforms also have to be willing to share some information, but that absolutely can be improved."
"There could be more competent processes and improvements in the policy space."
"Sometimes, customers compare it with AirWatch, but the concept of Intune is different from other solutions. It's an application management app. It gets a bit difficult to explain it to customers, but it's not a product limitation. It takes a presale document or presentation to explain it to customers."
"There should be good documentation regarding GUI customization."
"The solution's USB redirection could be improved."
"There should be good documentation regarding GUI customization. Even though I can try customizing the GUI, the documentation is not comprehensive."
"The initial setup of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is not the easiest. You need to have a certain understanding of how Microsoft is provisioning the solution to be able to set it up and use it."
"It could be more user-friendly."
"The user interface needs improvement."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services could improve by having graphical acceleration."
"The administrative functionality is not enough for me."
"It could be made simpler from a management perspective."
"There is a limitation on the number of concurrent users."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services could improve by having a better application for managing multiple sessions. There used to be one but they stopped supporting it."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Microsoft Intune's costliness stems from licensing fees and the overhead associated with its management, user experience, and device remediation."
"The pricing is inherently reasonable, as Microsoft leverages market insights to maintain the total cost of ownership at around ninety to ninety-five percent of what would be incurred in an on-premise scenario."
"If you ask the accountant or the finance department, they'll tell you that it is way too expensive, but when I look at the cost and compare it with the value you actually get, it's more than fair."
"Microsoft Intune is moderately priced. There is a monthly license required to use the solution and it is approximately eight dollars per month."
"The price for Intune is fair."
"The pricing for Intune and the competitor products are all within the same range, there is no true advantage when it comes to cost."
"It is not expensive."
"For Microsoft 365 E5 clients, cost is not an issue as this product is one of the benefits."
Information not available
"It's not an expensive product."
"I recall that you don't need to pay for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services because that's included in Windows."
"It will probably cost about $500 USD to get the resources set up in the cloud."
"The price of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is reasonable."
"The solution has a perpetual license and it is purchased upfront."
"I am aware that for Azure we do have an extra license because we are leveraging on different tenants."
"I would say it's expensive as there similar products available for free."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is less expensive than some other solutions on the market."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
20%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

How does Microsoft Intune compare with VMware Workspace One?
Microsoft Intune is a great tool for managing a mobile device fleet while keeping access control. The solution makes ...
What are the pros and cons of Microsoft Intune?
Microsoft Intune is a great configuration management tool and has a lot of good things going for it. Here are some of...
How does Google Cloud Identity compare with Microsoft Intune?
Microsoft Intune offers not only an easy-to-deploy data protection and productivity management solution, but also ...
What do you like most about Apache Guacamole?
I'm using Apache Guacamole as a gateway.
What needs improvement with Apache Guacamole?
There should be good documentation regarding GUI customization. Even though I can try customizing the GUI, the docume...
What advice do you have for others considering Apache Guacamole?
For those considering using Apache Guacamole, I wholeheartedly support its users since it's a free open-source softwa...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
I've never had an issue with it. I've always thought the pricing for RDS was reasonable.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
We would like configuration to be automatic and the price to be close to zero, however, that's not realistic. Everyon...
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
No data available
Remote Desktop Services
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Information Not Available
Bank Alfalah Ltd.
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849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.