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Azure Virtual Desktop vs Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) 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

Azure Virtual Desktop
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
5.4
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Citrix DaaS (formerly Citri...
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
127
Ranking in other categories
Application Virtualization (1st), Remote Access (4th), Desktop as a Service (DaaS) (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of Azure Virtual Desktop is 8.3%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) is 13.0%, up from 10.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service)13.0%
Azure Virtual Desktop8.3%
Other78.7%
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
 

Featured Reviews

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…
Grant Waddell - PeerSpot reviewer
User-friendly and easily accessible, but cost could be made cheaper
We use Citrix Workspace on Citrix Cloud. We have all of our servers on the AWS public cloud. There are a number of tools that we can implement that would save us costs. However, we've stuck to Citrix for convenience. If the prices keep increasing, we will have to consider other solutions. Users need to understand the tool's limitations correctly and what they require from a usability perspective. They should also understand the configuration of security policies. In some cases, people are unable to download or upload files onto their PCs, which is necessary for them to do their work. Users should understand the limitations of the product or the configuration options. Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The best feature is scalability, as it can be used from anywhere."
"The cost-effectiveness of Azure Virtual Machines is one of the most valuable features."
"The ability to spin up virtual machines quickly and speedily in Azure has been really valuable."
"The auto-scaling option allows provisioning additional virtual desktops based on user demand, making it scalable and flexible."
"I rate the overall solution nine out of ten."
"The biggest advantages are the price and flexibility."
"Azure pricing is quite cheap due to licensing benefits with Microsoft."
"Scalability is very straightforward with Azure Virtual Desktop."
"I can access it from anywhere."
"There are many features that I like, but the stability over the Internet is exceptional. Even if there's bandwidth fluctuation or network jitter, it performs well, offering a seamless experience to end-users without noticeable disruptions."
"Citrix DaaS’s most valuable feature is the virtualization of applications and desktops."
"Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) is highly recommended due to its ability to flawlessly handle 100% of the apps it packages, compared to App-V, which struggled with 20% to 30% of apps."
"I recommend Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) for companies distributed across the world because it facilitates easy configuration and deployment without extensive infrastructure."
"The service dash and Workspace Environment Manager service are good features."
"Among the most valuable features is the Citrix Workspace, which allows us to drive that thin-client connection and the remote control/remote access capabilities. Those things have allowed us to connect an awful lot of people quickly from home and that's obviously helped during the pandemic."
"The most valuable feature is the seamless application edition with the low-level network bandwidth because we have between 10 and 15 sites in France with a low level of communication needs. We need to deploy our main application, the ERP system, and we needed an efficient solution to provide a solution to the remote sites, with very small links between the data center and the remote site."
 

Cons

"My overall rating of Azure Virtual Desktop is five out of ten. While the stability and cost-effectiveness are commendable, there is room for improvement in technical support."
"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."
"One of the issues I had was the ability to add an internet proxy. I would like to see built-in proxy and internet filtering."
"I would like to see built-in proxy and internet filtering."
"Azure is vast, and perhaps an architect-level experience could provide more insights into potential improvements."
"The initial setup of Azure Virtual Desktop overall is complex. The complexities I've noticed are with application optimizations, and it can get complex by meeting customers' security requirements."
"The delivery of applications is a tedious process."
"The initial setup is complex."
"Citrix's functionality depends on you having access to Microsoft Azure. Microsoft offers a broad range of features and solutions. Overall, it may make sense for some users to move all their services to Microsoft services."
"The initial setup is complex."
"If anything could be improved, it might be some of the Director functionality, and some of the dashboard customization, or the overall Director customization."
"In the bank, a major part of all our applications is Microsoft App-V. If App-V is at end of life, then we need a new technology to replace it. As of today, I haven't seen in Citrix Studio that there is a new technology embedded directly in it to replace App-V."
"The only thing we have found to be detrimental is when we have tried to find training. I realize that we're looking at it at the worst time possible, with a pandemic going on, but it seems that most of the training offered is learn-by-yourself online."
"It is slow. When everybody is logged in, it does have a tendency to slow down. You can tell the connectivity slows down a little bit, but it's still a good product."
"Some customers find the price to be a significant factor. They have a hard time understanding the extra cost of the services"
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"Based not only on the cost of Citrix, but additional costs like firewalls, IPS, and other solutions, the total cost of switching users from using normal laptops with VPNs to connection via Citrix were so huge that the CEO of our company decided to postpone the deployment process."
"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."
"The licensing is $125 USD per user."
"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."
"The solution is expensive and I give the cost a four out of ten."
"My company opts for the yearly subscription model to pay towards the licensing costs attached to the solution."
"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."
"It's costly in the market. But it is not expensive for the company. For the company, it's relatively inexpensive because the core of the work is compensated with the price."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
48%
Outsourcing Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Computer Software Company
20%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business43
Midsize Enterprise21
Large Enterprise68
 

Questions from the Community

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...
What do you like most about Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops?
My focus has primarily been on publishing virtual applications.
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...
 

Also Known As

No data available
XenDesktop, XenApp (Citrix Virtual Apps), Citrix Workspace
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
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 Azure Virtual Desktop vs. Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
867,341 professionals have used our research since 2012.