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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
127
Ranking in other categories
Remote Access (4th), Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (3rd), Desktop as a Service (DaaS) (1st)
Microsoft App-V
Ranking in Application Virtualization
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Application Virtualization category, the mindshare of Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) is 25.8%, up from 25.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft App-V is 21.9%, down from 23.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Virtualization Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service)25.8%
Microsoft App-V21.9%
Other52.3%
Application Virtualization
 

Featured Reviews

Grant Waddell - PeerSpot reviewer
User-friendly and easily accessible, but cost could be made cheaper
We use Citrix Workspace on Citrix Cloud. We have all of our servers on the AWS public cloud. There are a number of tools that we can implement that would save us costs. However, we've stuck to Citrix for convenience. If the prices keep increasing, we will have to consider other solutions. Users need to understand the tool's limitations correctly and what they require from a usability perspective. They should also understand the configuration of security policies. In some cases, people are unable to download or upload files onto their PCs, which is necessary for them to do their work. Users should understand the limitations of the product or the configuration options. Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.
Francois Gotti - PeerSpot reviewer
Streaming has impressed but integration and support require improvement
The problem with Microsoft App-V is that there is no choice since Microsoft has decided to stop it, and we are searching for alternatives. Microsoft App-V needs to evolve, possibly with better integration with other solutions, particularly since we use Citrix and want to integrate App-V packages more efficiently. The management of packages should be easier, possibly through a web console for visibility in versioning, and options to convert packages when changing technologies. Many companies avoid using tools like Admin Studio due to high costs. Additionally, Microsoft App-V has been slow, and users experience delays when launching applications, which presents significant challenges.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The architecture I built had a robust failover mechanism for the endpoints, and the interface was user-friendly."
"XenApp is a fast, secure and reliable solution for remote connections that is completely different than and superior to older Windows solutions."
"It allows us to mute users who adhere to a policy of not allowing direct VPN access for security reasons. It is easy to use."
"In terms of Citrix Workforce features, the most valuable for managing our remote workforce is security, especially AppProtect. Users cannot simply copy and paste data to their local devices. This prevents data breaches, as data can't be copied to OneDrive or Google Drive. Screenshots from local PCs are also blocked, though data can still be manually copied using a phone."
"The shadow feature is extraordinary and helps a lot when supporting remote users."
"The most valuable feature is connectivity. The remote connection is the reason we are using this solution."
"It has the best remote working features."
"The price and user interface are great."
"Microsoft App-V is a simple, very good working product that just works."
"We can deploy applications incredibly fast."
"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."
"From my experience with Microsoft App-V, the feature I liked the most is the streaming."
"The most interesting and powerful feature for us is the fact that we can upgrade any kind of app instantly."
"I appreciate the process of being able to change or review my answers."
"I would recommend Microsoft App-V for its simplicity and efficiency."
"It is very easy to use from an administration point of view."
 

Cons

"The solution's cost has almost doubled this year, and it could be made cheaper."
"I've recently tried to use Citrix on Ubuntu, and I don't know if this is an Ubuntu issue or a vendor issue, but you can't use Citrix right now on Ubuntu 20.04."
"Performance could be better if there was a low latency improvement."
"Their customer support can be improved a lot as it lacks a lot of knowledgeable help."
"If anything could be improved, it might be some of the Director functionality, and some of the dashboard customization, or the overall Director customization."
"Tech support can be slow if you do not receive help from the US representatives."
"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."
"Where improvement could be driven is in terms of clarity as to the functionality of some of the solutions. If you go back to the older Citrix Xen products that we had, we understood those really well. As we've come into the new workstation premium suite, there is a lot of additional functionality that we perhaps have not yet fully exploited. It is not because we can't, but simply because we don't yet understand the depth of functionality that's offered."
"Regarding improvements in Microsoft App-V, I would appreciate seeing the successor, MSIX, work better, as nothing is going to be implemented anymore since it is end of life by the end of the year."
"Microsoft App-V has been slow, and users experience delays when launching applications, which presents significant challenges."
"If it were possible to integrate App-V with a cybersecurity solution then we could implement a documentation registry, which would be useful."
"The process was streamlined but didn't make our work simple. We encountered an issue with the person responsible for designing the website."
"The downside is that Microsoft bought this product and they are going to discontinue it in 2026. This is worrisome for us."
"There is definitely room for improvement with Microsoft App-V, especially in terms of enhancing troubleshooting resources and user guidance."
"The reporting features could be improved."
"Microsoft App-V is more suited for legacy software usage, and trying to make it work in that context usually feels tricky and unreliable."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing is $125 USD per user."
"You can buy an on-cloud or on-prem license. You can switch between on-cloud users and on-prem users. Its licensing is cheap. It is from $8 to $15 per user. It is not that expensive when you compare the cost of buying new hardware with the cost of the license. For example, at $15 per user, it costs around $180 for a year, which is cheaper than buying a $600 PC that at a certain stage, you will again have to change because its hardware is not supported. It may also get damaged or stolen. So, you can compare the cost of the actual hardware that you have to buy and the time spent in supporting the clients with the cost of its license."
"We are seeing a return on investment with Citrix Workspace."
"You have to do some hard work in order to get the suitable licenses."
"We spent nearly 1,50,000 Euros for 250 licenses."
"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."
"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."
"In the past, the prices of the product were great. With the acquisition of Citrix by your company, the prices have drastically increased. For my company, it has become a bit of a problem to sell products from Citrix."
"Clients do not pay licensing fees."
"The pricing of this product is competitive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
20%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Government
10%
Healthcare Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business43
Midsize Enterprise21
Large Enterprise68
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Large Enterprise5
 

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?
There is definitely room for improvement with Microsoft App-V, especially in terms of enhancing troubleshooting resources and user guidance.
What is your primary use case for Microsoft App-V?
I have been using Microsoft App-V for quite some time, and I can describe my use cases, which include various applications that enhance productivity.
 

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: September 2025.
868,759 professionals have used our research since 2012.