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Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) vs Horizon 8 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:
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) is 10.0%, down from 14.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Horizon 8 is 7.6%, down from 15.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is 6.1%, down from 14.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
 

Featured Reviews

Mohd Abdul Aziz Shah Sulaiman - PeerSpot reviewer
Delivers secure and unified access to apps, desktops, and content for enhanced productivity
Citrix Workforce is good, but it needs improvement in diagnosing network issues. When errors occur, it is difficult to determine if they're due to network issues, Workspace issues, or environment issues. The error messages are too vague, just stating "connection error" without specifying if it's an IP address issue, connectivity problem, or something else related to the network. This lack of detail makes troubleshooting difficult. We often have to reinstall everything in Workspace, without knowing the root cause. Even after engaging with Citrix and sending logs, the feedback is often unsatisfactory, not meeting my expectations. This trial-and-error approach isn't effective problem-solving. While these issues aren't everyday occurrences, when they do happen, they can be catastrophic for our operations team.
Tim  Abboud - PeerSpot reviewer
User-friendly, reasonably priced, and simple to install
It can be challenging to assess the stability of Horizon because it relies heavily on the underlying infrastructure, including vCenter, network, and storage performance. It is important to pay attention to these factors when evaluating the stability of the system. We rely on vCenter, network, and storage performance, and any weakness in these areas will affect the performance of Horizon. When discussing this with customers, I always emphasize the importance of these factors. If the foundation is solid, Horizon should not experience any performance issues. If the fundamentals are weak, we will encounter issues with Horizon on a regular basis. However, the product itself, VMware Horizon, is highly stable. While the Horizon product itself is very stable, it is important to be well-informed about any potential side effects from using other related products.
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 has the best remote working features."
"The most valuable feature of Citrix Workspace is its security."
"The product is simple to set up, and its deep integration with Microsoft is also a valuable feature."
"Ability to connect remotely."
"Stable product with straightforward setup."
"The shadow feature is extraordinary and helps a lot when supporting remote users."
"The initial setup is easy."
"The scalability is fine. We have about 400 users, who are supported by six staff members. We use the product company-wide throughout 40 different locations, and we currently do not have plans to increase the scale of use."
"We have found the link loans for desktops most valuable."
"It has improved our business because now we can run applications and it's easier for our students to do their exams."
"The solution is very user friendly."
"The ease of deployment is one of the most valuable features. If I want to install something, I can have a test phase to see what sort of impact it will have and whether it will affect production. So I can install it on my lab, make sure it is okay, and if it is, I can deploy it directly to the users or to the staff."
"The solution's most valuable feature is low bandwidth consumption. It helps to improve user experience."
"Great sorting feature to create UI on demand."
"It is easy to maintain."
"Managing all operating systems in a single environment helped a lot in organizing and integrating it."
"The most valuable feature is ease of use."
"The main benefit, is that it's easy for us to get the same desktop and do things in the same way regardless of our location."
"The most valuable features are it is fast and cost-effective."
"We use it to connect to the legacy system."
"The product's initial setup phase was easy."
"It allows employees to log on to corporate resources remotely."
"Everything is really good and it works well."
"It's scalable enough for our needs and very reliable."
 

Cons

"I would like to see simplification in the management of the on-prem infrastructure component of Citrix DaaS, particularly in the studio tool used to manage the DaaS infrastructure."
"There is room for improvement on the hypervisor side, providing better integration between the hypervisor and the product line. I suspect that they haven't put the work into that because of the move to the cloud. They want everything to be cloud-hosted. But for folks like us, who will always be a hybrid model, that's of some concern."
"I have to re-enter my user password when I am not using the tool for some time around ten minutes. I want to also improve the need to download other Citrix apps."
"The initial setup has room for improvement."
"We're running into all kinds of speed issues and reliability issues. There are frequent disconnects, and we're not sure whether that's a problem with the product, with the way the product has been deployed, or with server capacity or bandwidth. Our IT department pays attention to that, but we are feeling the impact of that."
"The user profiles could use some improvement."
"Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops are not easy to set up. However, I have the experience and I can do it easily. It could be easier to set up."
"Latency is also a major problem when adopting Citrix for video editing software or 3D editing software, especially editing 4K video or large file size. The Citrix virtualized solution becomes too slow, so we cannot use the VDI."
"The majority of things in VMware Horizon can be done only in Windows and not in Linux. There are Linux customers who would like to use VMware Horizon's features."
"Lacks sufficiently robust audio redirections."
"In the latest versions, the deployment of certificates on the console has been implemented. Although it is functional, it is not working as well as I would like. I hope this feature can be improved in the future."
"Along with the high pricing, the profile synchronization mechanism also needs improvement."
"The solution is quite expensive. They should work to lower the costs if possible."
"I would like to see more useful monitoring within users and a more useful help desk."
"VMware Horizon View has worked a lot to improve the solutions. There are some issues in the delivery of the applications, such as network problems. You can lose your connection at times."
"Technical support is only average and can be improved."
"The price is too high."
"The solution isn't as good as the Citrix option."
"The solution is unsuitable for direct external internet connections. You must set up a VPN and password handling to use it."
"The current process I have to go through to get a Windows 11 VM up and running is difficult. Windows 10 worked a whole lot better than Windows 11."
"The DB card needs improvement. I have a lot of experience with other competitors and Citrix is better than VMware and Microsoft. Citrix has more extensive features."
"We've had issues with security breaches."
"I would like to see the hard drives work without locking up and integrate the local drives in the next release."
"The user interface needs improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"A perpetual enterprise license costs approximately $300 USD."
"If you look at cost, then you must look at the number of users that you are covering. If you are only using it for some users, then it is very expensive. However, if you have a massive amount of users, then it begins to be interesting to use Citrix. Because once you are managing thousands of servers with one guy, your maintenance costs decrease per user."
"It is an expensive solution. I rate its pricing a nine out of ten."
"We're paying for a standard license and, in my view, the price is too high. I would be satisfied with it if it were reduced by about 20-30%. Right now, I would rate the pricing a five out of ten."
"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."
"Citrix solutions cost a lot in comparison with competitors, like Azure Virtual Desktop or VMware Horizon. Those solutions cost around 50 to 60 percent less, per month per user, than Citrix."
"I suggest using the concurrent user licensing scheme."
"VMware Horizon can be considered to be slightly expensive"
"Licensing and hardware outsourcing is expensive, but can be cost-effective in the three to five-year range."
"Customers pay a licensing fee."
"Pricing for Horizon is relatively high, earning a rating of one out of ten."
"VMware Horizon is priced high."
"The pricing depends on the use cases. It depends on the company's needs and budget. For us, it was okay, not too expensive."
"We are happy with the price."
"VMware Horizon is expensive. It should provide a special price for more user licenses."
"The solution is overly expensive."
"I recall that you don't need to pay for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services because that's included in Windows."
"The price of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is reasonable. The solution can come for free for some clients with certain agreements."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is less expensive than some other solutions on the market."
"The price of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is reasonable."
"I am aware that for Azure we do have an extra license because we are leveraging on different tenants."
"There is a licensing cost."
"Its licensing is on a yearly basis. We're on the educational or academic license, and our terms are good. We're very happy with the pricing."
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Comparison Review

it_user8922 - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 23, 2013
Comparison of VMware View 5.2 VS Citrix XenDesktop 5.6
Recently I attended the VMware Partner Exchange 2013 and there was a session called “Technical Battleground – View VS XenDesktop”. In this post I will try and cover the differences that VMware showcased during their session and I am going to add an additional column for my comments and thoughts on…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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. ...
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...
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 th...
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 ...
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

XenDesktop, XenApp (Citrix Virtual Apps), Citrix Workspace
VMware Horizon, VMware Horizon View, Mware Dynamic Environment Manager
Remote Desktop Services
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Exelon, Aeronamic, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Alameda County Medical Center, Alaska Department of Fish & Game, Aloysius Stichting, Amarchand Mangaldas, AmBev, Amnet Technology Solutions, Arval
LCMC Health
Bank Alfalah Ltd.
Find out what your peers are saying about VMware, Omnissa, Citrix and others in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.