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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)
5th
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)
6th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
117
Ranking in other categories
User Virtualization (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of Azure Virtual Desktop is 7.1%, down from 7.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Horizon 8 is 6.8%, down from 7.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Azure Virtual Desktop7.1%
Horizon 86.8%
Other86.1%
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.
SF
Architect at Softcat plc
Architects have improved desktop environments and now optimize operations for diverse clients
From my perspective, there is significant room for improvement in Horizon 8. Many customers are actively seeking alternatives to VMware due to recent licensing changes after Broadcom's acquisition, necessitating upgrades or bundles that they often do not require. Given that Omniser builds on VMware technologies, this creates a negative perception, pushing customers to consider different brands or solutions.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Azure Virtual Desktop provides users the ability to do remote work in a secure environment that is easy to manage."
"The biggest advantages are the price and flexibility."
"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."
"Scalability is very straightforward with Azure Virtual Desktop."
"I rate the overall solution nine out of ten."
"This integration enhances productivity 100%, as it makes it much easier for us to give access to external third parties to work with us for collaboration."
"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."
"In my short experience, I would say that this is a really good product that can be installed quickly for a small scale organization with not many users."
"Centralized management of desktops is one of the main reasons customers choose this solution."
"I find the product to be quite stable...It is a scalable solution...The documentation of VMware Horizon View is quite good."
"When they switched to Omniser, these issues disappeared, leading them to choose it over cheaper and seemingly easier options."
"VMware Horizon View is easily scalable. Its onboarding is easy and comes with flash provisioning features."
"At this stage, a couple of iterations later, workers now only come to the office a couple of days a week, the company has been able to eliminate two offices entirely, and in addition, we have a much wider base of operations because employees can live practically anywhere in our "territory"."
"We were using Citrix, and Horizon had better features and was easier to adapt."
"It is stable and easily scalable."
 

Cons

"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."
"Azure could improve its uptime and the scaling aspect, as it lacks intelligent scaling."
"Azure is vast, and perhaps an architect-level experience could provide more insights into potential improvements."
"I see areas for improvement in Azure Virtual Desktop, specifically regarding cost, as it is a little bit expensive."
"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."
"It takes too long to get a return call."
"The costs are a bit difficult to predict upfront."
"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."
"Horizon 7's performance could be improved."
"I would like to see simple load-balancing for smaller environments that lack large solutions like F5, or NSX; it should be redundant or unavailable but in a simple way. Perhaps limited to only two components; if more are required, a paid load balancing solution can be used. Load balancing for simple environments, or simple redundancy, is sorely lacking."
"More ready-to-deploy templates should be available. Because they are not included, a lot of configuration is required."
"It would be beneficial if VMware invested in developing a robust reporting engine, providing insights into user activities, locations, and more."
"VMware Horizon 7 could improve by supporting the active-active data center. At this time we are only deploying it in the production environment. Our customer is considered to deploy the VMware Horizon 7 to a secondary data center, but we found out that it cannot fully support the user in the deployment in the active-active data center. Any improvement on this would be beneficial."
"The multimedia playback is not very good and they could improve it by increasing the quality."
"In the future, I would like to see better support for application virtualization."
"The system is not designed to allow the client to log in easily and multiple passwords are required."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"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."
"The solution is more expensive in comparison to Citrix but when comparing the technicalities VMware Horizon, is worth the money."
"At present, they provide decent pricing in terms of bundled licenses."
"The price of VMware Horizon 7 is more than some other solutions."
"The license for this product is paid on a monthly basis."
"VMware Horizon is expensive and I would rate it an eight out of ten."
"Pricing for Horizon is relatively high, earning a rating of one out of ten."
"The license could be cheaper."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
23%
Outsourcing Company
12%
Media Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Construction Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise6
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business62
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise45
 

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?
I see areas for improvement in Azure Virtual Desktop, specifically regarding cost, as it is a little bit expensive. However, when you account for replacing dedicated hardware and the maintenance it...
What is your primary use case for Azure Virtual Desktop?
We use RDP with Azure and have some virtual desktops. A major use case for Azure Virtual Desktop is that we give access to external consultants so they can access our information and interact with ...
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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware User Environment Manager?
Regarding the pricing aspect of Horizon 8, I find it currently quite acceptable. After VMware was bought by Broadcom, the pricing was ridiculous, but now that Onmises has VMware Horizon 8, the pric...
What is your primary use case for VMware User Environment Manager?
I have experience with products from Horizon 8, and I am currently working with Omniser version. I have been working with Horizon 8 from Omniser for nearly two years now. I am currently working in ...
 

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: August 2026.
908,858 professionals have used our research since 2012.