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Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) vs Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs Parallels Desktop 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 October 2025, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) is 13.7%, up from 10.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is 6.2%, down from 9.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Parallels Desktop is 10.2%, down from 12.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service)13.7%
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services6.2%
Parallels Desktop10.2%
Other69.9%
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
 

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.
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.
Grant-Donald - PeerSpot reviewer
It integrates seamlessly with macOS, but it's not compatible with VMware
Parallels Desktop does the same thing as VMware but for Apple users Parallels Desktop integrates seamlessly with macOS. It works better than VMware on Apple operating systems.  The biggest challenge is compatibility between VMware and Parallels because the two systems are incompatible. It can be…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"I recommend Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) for companies distributed across the world because it facilitates easy configuration and deployment without extensive infrastructure."
"Citrix DaaS’s most valuable feature is the virtualization of applications and desktops."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to connect to our on-premise applications, through the Workspace app and the Workspace experience. The user experience when using the solution's technology remotely is good. Our users are able to work and it's seamless. The performance is also good."
"The only thing that is really important for me is being able to connect from wherever I am. It is important for me because sometimes I am in places where there are not enough safe conditions to be able to work safely, in terms of security and confidentiality of my data. Being able to access internal resources from a secure platform allows me to work without fearing that my data has been stolen."
"The shadow feature is extraordinary and helps a lot when supporting remote users."
"The most valuable feature of Citrix Workspace is its security."
"The price and user interface are great."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is stable and reliable."
"The solution is user-friendly and has a good user experience."
"The tool shares computer resources perfectly."
"The most valuable features of the solution are ease of use and the simple environment."
"The most valuable feature is that it gives me full accessibility to my servers."
"The performance meets our requirements and the stability is good."
"I give the stability a nine out of ten."
"It's pretty stable."
"I like how, with Parallels, you can either boot into Mac or Windows to get better control over the resources of the laptops since you're sharing the resources in dual mode."
"Parallels Desktop integrates seamlessly with macOS. It works better than VMware on Apple operating systems."
 

Cons

"When there are technical issues, sometimes we can't get on the cloud."
"It takes time to load."
"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."
"In the bank, a major part of all our applications is Microsoft App-V. If App-V is at end of life, then we need a new technology to replace it. As of today, I haven't seen in Citrix Studio that there is a new technology embedded directly in it to replace App-V."
"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."
"The solution's cost has almost doubled this year, and it could be made cheaper."
"The product has some bugs, making it an area of concern where improvements are required."
"When I needed support for a couple of things, three people intervened. Each time, three people gave me a different answer. In the end, they did not manage to give the right answer. At a certain point, they stopped replying."
"We've had issues with security breaches."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services could improve by having graphical acceleration."
"It could be more user-friendly."
"Users have to re-enter their ID and password every time they log on, which is tedious and repetitive."
"The stability could be improved."
"Updates sometimes impact the application and we have system crashes."
"There are times I get disconnected from the service and when one or two attempts to establish a remote connection. Microsoft should show where the problem is, I have to find it by myself."
"In the past, my company had faced some issues related to the stability of the product. The product's stability can be improved."
"The biggest challenge is compatibility between VMware and Parallels because the two systems are incompatible. It can be challenging if you are switching between Windows and Mac. I recommend sticking with one product because there isn't good compatibility between the different products."
"There may have been some issues with device drivers on my Mac. Similarly, there are some issues with transferring data from Parallels to the Mac."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is affordable."
"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."
"As for the cost, it is neither cheap nor expensive. Personally, I find it quite expensive, especially if you want to add more features. The security features we use include App Protect and Endpoint Protection."
"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."
"The tool is expensive."
"The pricing is a little bit high, but it's good value for the product's stability and efficiency."
"The solution is expensive and I give the cost a four out of ten."
"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."
"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 price of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is reasonable."
"The tool must be cheaper."
"It's not an expensive product."
"The solution is overly expensive."
"The solution is expensive. Since things are made to be a bit easier in the solution, the solution's cost is a bit on the higher side."
"The price of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is reasonable. The solution can come for free for some clients with certain agreements."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
20%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
13%
University
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

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 Business39
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise30
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. ...
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...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
The only problem I see is that when I am connected, there is a certain lag because of the network.
What do you like most about Parallels Desktop?
I like how, with Parallels, you can either boot into Mac or Windows to get better control over the resources of the l...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Parallels Desktop?
If you want the standard version, it is more expensive but more advanced. You get what you pay for. These products co...
What needs improvement with Parallels Desktop?
There may have been some issues with device drivers on my Mac. Similarly, there are some issues with transferring dat...
 

Also Known As

XenDesktop, XenApp (Citrix Virtual Apps), Citrix Workspace
Remote Desktop Services
No data available
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
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
Bank Alfalah Ltd.
Lytro, University of Washington, Slalom, Veeva Systems, Oklahoma Christian University
Find out what your peers are saying about Broadcom, Citrix, Omnissa and others in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). Updated: September 2025.
869,089 professionals have used our research since 2012.