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Devolutions Remote Desktop Manager vs Microsoft Remote Desktop Services comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

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

Microsoft Intune
Sponsored
Ranking in Remote Access
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
378
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (2nd), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
Devolutions Remote Desktop ...
Ranking in Remote Access
11th
Average Rating
9.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Remote Desktop Se...
Ranking in Remote Access
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
91
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Remote Access category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 6.3%, down from 10.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Devolutions Remote Desktop Manager is 2.0%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is 6.7%, down from 11.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Remote Access Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Intune6.3%
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services6.7%
Devolutions Remote Desktop Manager2.0%
Other85.0%
Remote Access
 

Featured Reviews

OluwashileAdeniyi - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Infrastructure Security Engineer at a outsourcing company with 51-200 employees
Centralized endpoint security has improved and supports hybrid work and BYOD policies
Regarding what I dislike about Microsoft Intune and its downsides, I would say that more Mac controls are needed because we have limited Mac and Linux control. When comparing controls and policies between Windows, Mac, and Linux, Windows has almost everything you can think of, while Mac and Linux have limited types of control. You cannot implement certain things on Mac and Linux that you can on Windows. The limited controls are a major issue. Additionally, if Microsoft could find a way to embed servers into Microsoft Intune, that would be beneficial. Microsoft Intune is not really designed for servers or Windows servers. It is more tailored towards Windows 11 and Windows 10 operating systems. Windows servers are not fully supported. Enterprise organizations usually have both servers and endpoints, which are users' workstations. For servers, most people look for other solutions such as SCCM, which is Configuration Manager. However, SCCM is what Microsoft Intune is trying to replace. Both SCCM and Microsoft Intune belong to Microsoft. Microsoft is trying to transition organizations into Microsoft Intune, the native cloud solution. However, because this update is still in process, servers are not fully compatible with Microsoft Intune and cannot be managed by it. The current policy that has emerged from issues with clients is what they call co-management, which is relatively new, and I do not know if adoption is significant. Many legacy or older customers who have been using these products for decades still have SCCM. When it is time for them to manage their Windows devices, they use what is called cloud attach. Cloud attach is a term whereby your SCCM is connected to your Microsoft Intune. Most people do not know about it, but I have deployed it for several organizations. Cloud attach and co-management work together so that your device is in SCCM, but some policies are pushed from Microsoft Intune. It is like two different solutions working hand in hand. That is what they call co-management. Microsoft Intune does not bring all of your endpoint and security management tools into one place, which is the goal and how it should be. However, as I mentioned, servers are not included. If we talk about end users, Microsoft Intune does bring all your devices together. In a typical enterprise environment, you have end users with workstations, laptops, company-issued phones, and bring your own devices. You can create policies for all of these. However, for the backend, your servers do not have much coverage. Servers are not really covered by Microsoft Intune in that way.
StephenWatson - PeerSpot reviewer
National Sales Manager & Technical Consultant at Secure Networks
Easy to deploy with great security and responsive support
The security on offer is the most valuable aspect of the solution. It offers, for example, two-factor authentification. The remote connection across platforms is great. You can deploy it on anything, including Windows, Mac, iOS, your iPhone, et cetera. It offers multi-platform utility. This makes it great for enterprise. Users can use it for PAM access as well. The feature of Devolutions that has improved our customer's efficiency the most is probably the security side. It's gotten a lot tighter. Authentication and secure connections are helpful. They use encryption between them, which is just standard for them. The company has so many regulatory controls that they must ensure their security is very tight. There's a lot of potential cybercrime around casinos, and this solution ensures they are well-protected. Devolutions is a great product that can be safely used between China, Australia, or the Philippines, and it remains a good, safe product.
reviewer2795433 - PeerSpot reviewer
Cloud Ops Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Secure remote access has protected sensitive country data and supports strict compliance needs
I understand from the IT team managing Microsoft Remote Desktop Services that it is complex to set up the multiple roles, certificates, and networks required. Networking is quite complicated. Even though on the data center side it is quite simple, maintaining the farm of other connections that connect to that server is the complex piece. I understand there are more modern systems replicating what this solution does, which are easier to use, such as Azure Virtual Desktop within Microsoft Azure Cloud or Amazon WorkSpaces, which I have used before. Rather than having to manage all the complex networking, you could abstract it away a little further in the cloud for easier use. I also understand that this tool is in an end-of-life state now, with Microsoft actively pushing people towards Azure Virtual Desktop or Windows 365. I do not believe further features will be rolled out due to its end-of-life state, making it a legacy solution now.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"If a client is using a lot of Microsoft, it's a great product to have."
"The Microsoft Windows Autopilot and Defender policies are the most valuable features of this solution."
"The standout features of Intune are its excellent mobile device management and highly effective application management capabilities."
"The policies on the solution are very good, the process of enrolling devices is a useful aspect for us, the features that allow us to control the devices are helpful, the initial setup is not hard at all, technical support, in general, has been quite helpful, we've found the configuration capabilities to be quite good, and so far, the solution is fast and has an intuitive interface."
"Microsoft Intune policies, remote wipe, and using corporate and private profiles are valuable features, but MFA is the most valuable feature as it ensures that the end user is authentic."
"Microsoft Intune is a great product, and you should use it."
"By using Microsoft Intune, I can control my Outlook on my phone, and whenever I try to open any file attachment, it will be more secure."
"We saw approximately forty to fifty percent reduction in manual device setup time with Microsoft Intune as onboarding became fully automated."
"Being able to store my credentials makes connecting a breeze."
"The interface is great to work with as it allows multiple connections in a tabbed interface. It also has the option to automatically start a VPN or an SSH tunnel, if required."
"Integration with a third party credential storage, web login, and VPN are the most usable and useful functions at the moment."
"By integrating all our connections previously spread across multiple locations, a lot of time has been saved."
"There is not a day that goes by that I do not use the tool."
"The remote connection across platforms is great."
"The ability to have all the connection information in one location saves so much time from trying to manage the same information across different applications."
"RDM has enabled me to do most of my work in one place. This helps me be able to have an RDP session open to a server in one tab and an SSH session open to a VMware host in another."
"The product is stable."
"The solution now includes a multi-screen feature which is great."
"Overall, the solution is good."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services has led to measurable improvements in faster response times and increased productivity for my team as I work in a team that is spread across different time zones, and having access to remote desktop enables us to collaborate across those time zones."
"What I found most valuable in Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is accessibility because the solution lets you take control of your computer remotely."
"The initial setup is great; it's very simple and straightforward."
"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."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services has positively impacted my organization by allowing us to remote in rapidly and securely."
 

Cons

"Intune could add more Linux security features and more integration with on-prem devices. The application deployments can also be improved."
"The portal of Microsoft Intune is slow for me, but otherwise I think it is an acceptable product."
"Reliability is something that I feel there is a tad bit of concern. The only point is that we need to sync multiple times to get something pushed through."
"We need the capabilities of the Cloud Management Gateway (CMG) to be enhanced through Intune instead of Azure."
"Microsoft Intune could improve its reporting and troubleshooting tools since diagnosing policy sync and deployment issues can still feel a bit complicated at times."
"Support is another area that could improve, as sometimes response times can be slow, and resolving complex issues may take longer than expected."
"You can have a bad day where 80% of the enrollments failed. The next day it's running with the same devices without any changes, and you don't know why."
"The worst aspect is the reporting."
"The filing system of connections is a little clunky, but is completely functional."
"Sometimes the manual inventory of some entries hangs, and RDM must be closed via task manager."
"The RDM client (.NET issue, actually) can stall or lock up while it clears communication threads to the server."
"If there was a way to streamline the process, it would make it nice."
"On complex setups, I actually needed to reach out to support to get it working correctly."
"The only complaint I have heard is there are too many updates. Each time there is an update (the app prompts to upgrade), it can be time consuming, especially when sometimes there are multiple updates per week."
"The console is a little bit clunky."
"There are always bugs to squash, beyond that, it is really kind of difficult for new users to discover and use many of the features due to the bewildering array of choices and ways to do things."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services could be improved because we have keyboard compatibility issues with some platforms; on macOS, we sometimes experience keyboard connectivity issues, and it can be problematic when connecting to servers that then need to connect to other servers, as the keyboard layout doesn't match."
"I think that the Single Sign-On (SSO) could be improved."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is a good tool that does what it is meant to do, and from a security perspective, it is brilliant. However, there is a lot of overhead with managing it, which modern tools do not have, especially tools that exist in the cloud."
"The solution isn't as good as the Citrix option."
"I've sometimes had trouble setting up an RDS connection if I want a specific user to be able to log in with their credentials and have the RDS element retain those settings so that the password isn't required each time."
"Sometimes, the updates break the system."
"Network bandwidth may limit a users experience with remote desktop services."
"In the next release, I would like to see better performance over slower networks, and integration with Linux, but this is something that we're going to get out of Microsoft in terms of a unified solution."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost is somewhat on the higher side, particularly when considering certain price points, especially in markets like India."
"The price of Intune is included with the license for Office 365, so we don't have to pay anything extra for it."
"Most of our clients come to us with licensing already in place. On average, it costs $6 per device per month to add Intune to an Office 365 subscription, but I am not sure."
"The product is relatively pricey, but considering its benefits, I'd say it's fair. The benefits outweigh the expensive licensing fees, especially for large organizations, but medium-sized and smaller businesses may be unable to afford it."
"It's a bit expensive from a licensing perspective, especially as we look to have organizations with tenants across the globe."
"It comes as a bundle, so you do not really know what the prices are. Microsoft does not break it down to the user cost for us. It is just bundled with our E5 license."
"Intune is moderately expensive. You can get the license bundled with Office 365 E3 or E5 licenses. The E5s are a bit expensive, but you get some cheaper solutions with Intune."
"Microsoft licenses are costly."
"Setup costs for most people is negligible."
"If you are a Microsoft MVP, VMware vExpert, Cisco Champion, etc., Devolutions offers a free Enterprise License."
"The Free Edition is completely free. You can try also the Enterprise Edition for 30 days for free."
"It's not an expensive solution."
"I rate the price of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services a three out of five."
"The tool must be cheaper."
"I would say it's expensive as there similar products available for free."
"The pricing could always be improved."
"The solution is overly expensive."
"The price of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is reasonable."
"It will probably cost about $500 USD to get the resources set up in the cloud."
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Top Industries

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

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business190
Midsize Enterprise65
Large Enterprise185
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise1
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business45
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise36
 

Questions from the Community

How does Microsoft Intune compare with VMware Workspace One?
Microsoft Intune is a great tool for managing a mobile device fleet while keeping access control. The solution makes ...
What are the pros and cons of Microsoft Intune?
Microsoft Intune is a great configuration management tool and has a lot of good things going for it. Here are some of...
How does Google Cloud Identity compare with Microsoft Intune?
Microsoft Intune offers not only an easy-to-deploy data protection and productivity management solution, but also ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Devolutions Remote Desktop Manager?
With the security factors built into it, the price point is quite good. They have entry-level and enterprise-level li...
What needs improvement with Devolutions Remote Desktop Manager?
The console is a little bit clunky. It could be modernized. A tech developer might think it is fine, however, from a ...
What is your primary use case for Devolutions Remote Desktop Manager?
We use the solution for a customer that needs pretty high security. They are in the poker machine manufacturing world...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
The experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that the pricing is based on licensing costs and the setup ...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services can be improved in several areas. Currently, it requires a license cost, it has per...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
Our main use case for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is to allow multiple users to remotely access our Windows mac...
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
No data available
Remote Desktop Services
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Financial Services, Healthcare Provider Network, Government Agency,Technology and Software Development,Telecommunications, Retail Chain Management, MSPs, Manufacturing, Global Logistics and Shipping, Education, IT teams.
Bank Alfalah Ltd.
Find out what your peers are saying about Devolutions Remote Desktop Manager vs. Microsoft Remote Desktop Services and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
902,417 professionals have used our research since 2012.