Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) vs Microsoft App-V comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 4, 2025

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

Citrix DaaS (formerly Citri...
Ranking in Application Virtualization
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
126
Ranking in other categories
Remote Access (5th), Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (3rd), Desktop as a Service (DaaS) (1st)
Microsoft App-V
Ranking in Application Virtualization
2nd
Average Rating
9.4
Reviews Sentiment
8.4
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Application Virtualization category, the mindshare of Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) is 27.1%, down from 27.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft App-V is 23.3%, down from 24.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Virtualization
 

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.
OA
centralized management reduces conflicts and enhances security while streamlining deployment processes
Microsoft App-V ( /products/microsoft-app-v-reviews ) does not require local installs and reduces application conflicts. It offers centralized management, allowing for the management, updates, or removal of an application from the server without touching the device. It facilitates faster deployments and is easy to update and roll back if an issue arises. It also supports legacy and new applications and improves security by reducing user admin rights.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature is the automatic software upgrades because they take place on only three or four servers, rather than on 50 or 60 machines."
"Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops is a stable solution."
"The most valuable feature is the desktop experience so that users don't see much difference between the remote desktop and the local desktop... It also provides virtualization for high-end graphics so that they can be displayed. AutoCAD can be done on Citrix. The graphics are very good."
"This is a very stable solution which you can feel confident using."
"It virtualizes the application on your desktop."
"The most valuable feature of Citrix Workspace is its security."
"Stable product with straightforward setup."
"The shadow feature is extraordinary and helps a lot when supporting remote users."
"We can deploy applications incredibly fast."
"It is very easy to use from an administration point of view."
"It is easy to scale. You can quickly deploy additional instances. Rollbacks are easy because there is an automatic backup every hour. Deploying the application is straightforward and efficient."
"The most interesting and powerful feature for us is the fact that we can upgrade any kind of app instantly."
"I would recommend Microsoft App-V for its simplicity and efficiency."
 

Cons

"I think improvement around the Analytics piece is super important. There has been a lot of maturity over the last year in that area, though a lot more needs to be done. Also, a lot more of the value of those Analytics needs to be sold to end users. Citrix is working on a lot of things that are ahead of the curve and a lot of organizations aren't quite there yet with implementing those technologies and capabilities."
"I think they can improve the troubleshooting to make it easier for users to solve problems on their own. For example, it could provide an error code and some instructions on how to reconnect to the database or do something proactive to fix the issue with the system."
"Their customer support can be improved a lot as it lacks a lot of knowledgeable help."
"The sales team does not focus on client needs but instead focuses on selling higher-priced items."
"The product’s customization feature needs improvement."
"There are many latency and slowness issues, which are things looked after by Citrix."
"Citrix duplicates multiple processes."
"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 downside is that Microsoft bought this product and they are going to discontinue it in 2026. This is worrisome for us."
"The process was streamlined but didn't make our work simple. We encountered an issue with the person responsible for designing the website."
"The reporting features could be improved."
"If it were possible to integrate App-V with a cybersecurity solution then we could implement a documentation registry, which would be useful."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We spent nearly 1,50,000 Euros for 250 licenses."
"We recouped 60 to 70 percent of the hardware costs."
"A perpetual enterprise license costs approximately $300 USD."
"It's my understanding that the solution license fee for each user is around $300 US. If we buy a personal laptop for each employee every five years, then the total cost is five times $300 US, or $1,500 USD. So we could buy 100 personal laptops instead of the Citrix solution."
"Citrix licensing is expensive."
"It is an expensive solution. I rate its pricing a nine out of ten."
"Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops is an expensive 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."
"Clients do not pay licensing fees."
"The pricing of this product is competitive."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Application Virtualization solutions are best for your needs.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Government
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

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. Although it works well on the apps side, the desktop aspect still has room for i...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft App-V?
Regarding pricing, I believe flexibility would help retain customers. Costs could be more adaptable to meet varying budgets.
What needs improvement with Microsoft App-V?
I would like more server hardware in the cloud. Deploying more into the Azure ( /products/microsoft-azure-reviews ) architecture would be beneficial, and maintaining support for legacy applications...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft App-V?
I use Microsoft App-V ( /products/microsoft-app-v-reviews ) to deploy applications onto Windows platforms and environments. Instead of installing software on each user's PC or laptop, we associate ...
 

Also Known As

XenDesktop, XenApp (Citrix Virtual Apps), Citrix Workspace
App-V, MS App-V
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

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
The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), GDDKiA, P&V, Etisalat Lanka, Hellenic Petroleum
Find out what your peers are saying about Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) vs. Microsoft App-V and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.