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Azure Virtual Desktop vs Microsoft Remote Desktop Services 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)
9th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Remote Desktop Se...
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
80
Ranking in other categories
Remote Access (2nd)
 

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…
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

"The ability to spin up virtual machines quickly and speedily in Azure has been really valuable."
"The biggest advantages are the price and flexibility."
"I've always found Azure Virtual Desktop to work for me without issues."
"Absolutely, this solution is probably the leader in its field."
"Azure Virtual Desktop is stable and provides a 100% stable experience."
"The cost-effectiveness of Azure Virtual Machines is one of the most valuable features."
"Azure pricing is quite cheap due to licensing benefits with Microsoft."
"Scalability is very straightforward with Azure Virtual Desktop."
"The solution offers good value for money."
"The solution now includes a multi-screen feature which is great."
"The most valuable feature is performance."
"The performance is one of the main features of this solution."
"The initial setup is not that difficult. I have gone through the RDS initialization steps, which only seem easy."
"The most valuable features are availability and security."
"The most valuable features are the desktop session and desktop virtualization."
"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

"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."
"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."
"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."
"I would like to see built-in proxy and internet filtering."
"The delivery of applications is a tedious process."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"We'd like them to continue to improve on security."
"Sometimes difficult to set up without the requirement for login credentials each time."
"I would like to see a web-based interface, instead of client installation to refresh the UI through HTML."
"The only problems that you're going to have with the remote desktop are going to be firewall ports, security, and NLA, which is a net network level access control, or TLS transfer layer security or some other SSL-type of security."
"Its look and feel could be updated. In Azure Remote Desktop Services (RDS), which is a VDI solution, we would like to see linked clones. It is a Hyper-V solution, and it doesn't support linked clones and uses a lot of storage. That's why we don't use it. VMware has a similar solution that supports linked clones for the master image."
"Sometimes, the updates break the system."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is its security and simple configuration."
"We've had issues with security breaches."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"There is a licensing cost."
"I think that Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is expensive compared to Login solution."
"Although not an expensive product, pricing is always something that can be improved."
"The solution comes free with Microsoft Windows."
"The solution is expensive. My company pays toward the monthly licensing costs of the solution...The additional cost, apart from the solution's licensing cost, is related to the technical support a user wants."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is less expensive than some other solutions on the market."
"The solution has a pretty comparable pricing."
"The price of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is reasonable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
53%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Virtual Desktop?
Azure Virtual Desktop offers a competitive pricing model, as it provides unique services compared to offerings from GCP or AWS. However, Citrix provides similar services.
What needs improvement with Azure Virtual Desktop?
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 transitio...
What is your primary use case for Azure Virtual Desktop?
I use Azure Virtual Desktop primarily to access desktops without using the public network. It allows me to access my workplace desktops privately and perform regular activities. It also provides a ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
In limited use cases, Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is free as it is defaulted by any Microsoft license. The paid version for enterprise requires RDS ( /products/amazon-rds-reviews ) CALs, or c...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
I think it does what it does well, so there is nothing that needs improvement. Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is very utilitarian and suits my use cases perfectly.
 

Also Known As

No data available
Remote Desktop Services
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Bank Alfalah Ltd.
Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Virtual Desktop vs. Microsoft Remote Desktop Services and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
857,688 professionals have used our research since 2012.