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Azure Virtual Desktop vs Horizon 8 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)
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Horizon 8
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
115
Ranking in other categories
User Virtualization (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2025, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of Azure Virtual Desktop is 10.4%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Horizon 8 is 6.9%, down from 10.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Horizon 86.9%
Azure Virtual Desktop10.4%
Other82.7%
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
 

Featured Reviews

RC
Senior Advisor at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Enhanced collaboration and security with seamless remote access has transformed work efficiency
We can integrate anything with Azure Virtual Desktop from an application perspective. The App-V has evolved into MSIX. To deliver an application to Azure Virtual Desktop, MSIX can be used by expanding it as a virtual hard disk and attaching it to the virtual machine. When this is done, users who need the application will have immediate access through Active Directory group assignment. One challenge with Virtual Desktop infrastructure is application delivery. From an infrastructure perspective, it's beneficial as we can have a fallback point - if one machine is down, we can have a disaster recovery site for redirection. The delivery of applications is a tedious process. Microsoft is working on building new products for efficient application installation. This feature might be included in upcoming releases. Currently, it's burdensome for IT administrators to create applications compatible with Virtual Desktop infrastructure, unlike traditional machines where direct installation is possible.
MB
Owner at CoBSS
Experience with remote access facilitates seamless user management, though improvements in integration and analytics are desired
From the analytical aspects, we used Horizon 8 Advanced Analytics and most companies switched to another product to gain insights because the insight is not as helpful as other products that are built for it. What was missing in Horizon 8 to make it a better tool was in analytics, specifically getting the right information and the drill-down process to find out where the problem is. If a user has an issue, it is crucial to determine what the issue is that the user is having and since when they have the issue. For example, if a user reports back that they had an issue yesterday evening, getting that information and ensuring that you have it was hard to find, especially to pinpoint if the issue lies with the network or the Horizon 8 platform. We utilized the multi-factor authentication, conditional access in Horizon 8, but we are not satisfied with that. It lacks some integration options that make it easy to run with Microsoft Entra, for example, and authenticate using your regular authenticator besides just getting a pop-up that says, 'I'm the one that's trying to log on.' Nowadays, there are many more complex authentication methods, but even a basic confirmation with a number to verify that you are the person connecting is not supported. I would like to see improvements in Horizon 8, specifically integration with NVIDIA for graphical performance upgrades because it creates many issues such as crashing and black screen systems, causing users to lose access to their current desktop and work. This is a real issue at the moment for many customers worldwide.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Scalability is very straightforward with Azure Virtual Desktop."
"Azure Virtual Desktop provides users the ability to do remote work in a secure environment that is easy to manage."
"Azure Virtual Desktop is stable and provides a 100% stable experience."
"Absolutely, this solution is probably the leader in its field."
"The biggest advantages are the price and flexibility."
"The integration of Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams within Azure Virtual Desktop helps customers enhance collaboration because it works seamlessly."
"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."
"I find the security of Horizon to be most valuable."
"The initial setup is very simple."
"VMware has a lot of experience in virtualization — they are the pioneers in virtualization."
"The solution's most valuable aspect is the VDI - the remote virtual desktop interface."
"From my standpoint, the desktop is the most valuable feature."
"Great for desktop management, particularly when it comes to all the upgrades."
"We don't have to pay for HyperFlex. The solution's speed gives a nice user experience."
"VMware is a hyper-converged infrastructure model. Therefore, for scaling it you just add more servers to it in the inputs. It's rather straightforward."
 

Cons

"The main issue is the response time, which needs improvement to be faster."
"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."
"I see areas for improvement in Azure Virtual Desktop, specifically regarding cost, as it is a little bit expensive."
"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."
"It takes too long to get a return call."
"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."
"The costs are a bit difficult to predict upfront."
"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."
"Technical support could be better and faster."
"It is a little bit complex. You need a little bit of experience with ESXi installation and VMware before using this solution. You cannot directly jump to this solution. It also requires training. After you get trained, you can do anything with Horizon 7. In terms of features, it has been sufficient for my needs, but it can always have more features. They can maybe merge the servers. They can give the Horizon 7 server in one package with ESXi."
"I would highlight the challenges related to integrating with Microsoft Azure services. Specifically, there are issues with MDM-managed devices and the necessity for MDM-managed compliant devices. In the non-persistent horizon model, there's a delay before each new desktop becomes compliant. Users can access these desktops before fully onboard into the MDM solution."
"The solution isn't quite mature yet. It needs more time to mature and to get more market recognition."
"I would love to see so they can actually allow the use of Linux, from a hosting environment as well as from a VDI client environment."
"Sometimes we had to force values so the end-user could continue working, which caused some information to get lost."
"What I would like to see improved is not so much about the product. It's more about how to get information about products. It's always too much sales pitching and fancy works and stuff."
"The system is not designed to allow the client to log in easily."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"At present, they provide decent pricing in terms of bundled licenses."
"The VMware Horizon 7 license is for three months. We are in the testing stage, we are still evaluating the product. We are sure now that we need to buy a license for the production environment."
"The solution's pricing depends on certain factors. It would be best if you know which components you are looking for, as you may have other hardware costs. It is recommended if users want to use the VMware HPE as the hypervisor."
"VMware Horizon can be considered to be slightly expensive"
"VMware Horizon's costs are high."
"The solution is more expensive in comparison to Citrix but when comparing the technicalities VMware Horizon, is worth the money."
"It is an expensive product. We purchase its yearly license."
"Its cost is fair. You can go for a free trial, but for initializing a project, you need to purchase a license. There are different types of licenses."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
41%
Outsourcing Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise6
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business61
Midsize Enterprise22
Large Enterprise44
 

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...
How does VMware Workspace One compare with VMware Horizon 7?
VMware Workspace One has a powerful set of helpful features. The solution offers very good documentation, the initial setup is easy, and the product is very stable and reliable. I think the fact th...
What do you like most about VMware Horizon 7?
VMware offers a friendly environment, and it's easy to provide the user with the package. It is a bundled solution that is readily deployable. The advantage lies in its simplicity, it requires mini...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware Horizon 7?
We paid a lot of money for software that is not really fully operational out of the box. We had to have patches from VMware to get it into production. Hence, we lost a lot of time implementing the ...
 

Also Known As

No data available
VMware Horizon, VMware Horizon View, Mware Dynamic Environment Manager
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
LCMC Health
Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Virtual Desktop vs. Horizon 8 and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,259 professionals have used our research since 2012.