Horizon Cloud Service vs Microsoft Remote Desktop Services comparison

Horizon Cloud Service vs. Microsoft Remote Desktop Services

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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

Horizon Cloud Service

Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

10th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Desktop as a Service (DaaS) (4th)

Microsoft Remote Desktop Se...

Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

5th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Remote Access (2nd)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of Horizon Cloud Service is 1.1%, down from 3.3% 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

SivaKuppala

Enterprise Architect at Wipro Limited

Centralized management enhances multi-cloud flexibility with cost efficiency improvements

The cost of Horizon Cloud Service is high, however, it could be optimized. The licensing model is complex, particularly for hybrid deployments, and simplifying it could help. Improvements in application performance, especially for resource-heavy applications like intensive 3D workloads, are needed. More built-in automation for routine tasks like patching and upgrading could reduce administrative effort.

Read full review

Terje Romen

CEO & Owner at Mono AS

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.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"VMware Horizon Cloud is easy to use and the full development cloud is very good. The main features of VMware are included. It's a cloud-based virtual desktop infrastructure software that allows you to permit the virtual desktops and applications to any device from the single unified management control. These are managed from the dedicated remote session desktop."

"The main benefit of Horizon Cloud Service is that it is cloud-based, allowing our organization to leverage the service without having to manage all infrastructure directly."

"Horizon Cloud Service provides deployment flexibility across multiple clouds with a scalable architecture that easily scales virtual desktops and applications up or down based on demand."

"The interface is much easier to use compared to Microsoft and other VDI vendors that are well known on the market. I like VMware so much more than the others. With Horizon Cloud, you don't need to spend a lot of money upfront to buy the infrastructure. You can use it the on the cloud, so it lowers the barriers to entry. It's easier to test it and get started. Some clients stay in the cloud, but others prefer to go on-premise. It depends on the nature of the client."

"Its advanced management features are the most valuable, especially power management. One of the really important things was to be able to have power management in a consumption world. This means that unlike a Microsoft environment, you could actually turn off virtual desktops or have them start up and shut down. If you're consuming resources in the public cloud, you want to be able to do that because when you're not using those, such as at the weekend, you want to be able to turn them off. So, the advanced options for managing the BDIs are very important."

"I honestly liked the application itself because it was just like using a desktop. You could copy and paste, inside and outside, and you could use multiple monitors. You could access it anytime, anywhere, no matter whether you were in the office or out of the office. I could leave the office, go somewhere, go back in, and everything would be there. I could just leave it up and running. I absolutely love this feature in VMware Horizon Cloud."

"Horizon Cloud Service provides deployment flexibility across multiple clouds with a scalable architecture that easily scales virtual desktops and applications up or down based on demand."

"The most valuable feature of VMware Horizon Cloud is the ability to manage a great number of desktops at once and the remote access for users that are working from outside of the office or from different offices in the country."

More Horizon Cloud Service pros

"It's simple to set up."

"In terms of the valuable features, I like the profile, the new version is really good."

"The most valuable features are availability and security."

"It's almost an out of the box function once you have installed the other components."

"The product is stable."

"The tool shares computer resources perfectly."

"The most valuable features are it is fast and cost-effective."

"We use it to connect to the legacy system."

More Microsoft Remote Desktop Services pros

Cons

"The application remoting features have some room for improvement."

"The cost of Horizon Cloud Service is high, however, it could be optimized. The licensing model is complex, particularly for hybrid deployments, and simplifying it could help."

"There should be more emphasis on the Workspace One access part of the solution. This is essentially identity management provided with Horizon. There needs to be some kind of integration because you are able to have all of these desktops on any device, but you have to have this other component to make it easier from a single sign-on perspective. That's why there should be an emphasis on Workspace One access. It actually comes free with the product, but people don't really know how powerful it can be."

"The licensing model needs to be adjusted, as a cloud license is currently required even for on-premises devices."

"It can be very expensive to scale up because each part of scaling up requires you to have new components of the infrastructure."

"Logging into VMware Horizon Cloud could be made easier. Additionally, the VMs could be better in their performance."

"In the design phase, sometimes the tools for designing Horizon solutions have issues when they're calculating the number of nodes and platforms needed to support the VDI systems."

"The licensing model is complex, particularly for hybrid deployments, and simplifying it could help."

More Horizon Cloud Service cons

"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is only available for the professional version of the Windows operating system. This restricts a lot of users. The feature should be available for all versions."

"From the perspective of an IT professional, Microsoft Remote Desktop is very easy to use. However, it could be made easier to use for the end user, especially when it comes to activating it."

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is its security and simple configuration."

"Remote Desktop Services doesn't scale well."

"Updates sometimes impact the application and we have system crashes."

"The performance of Remote Desktop Services could be better."

"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'd like them to continue to improve on security."

More Microsoft Remote Desktop Services cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate VMware Horizon Cloud pricing a ten out of ten."

"It is too expensive as compared to other solutions because of which we don't use it that much. We tend to go more for Hyper-V or Azure just because VMware licensing is quite up there. We sway people away from VMware Horizon Cloud. We have some clients who already have it. They stay on it for a little while, and then most of them end up moving off when we provide them a better solution that isn't as license heavy cost-wise."

"Initially, the product is cheap, but it starts to get expensive when users try to scale out."

"VMware Horizon Cloud is a low-cost solution. The model that they have is consumption-based. However, some features are expensive."

"VMware Horizon Cloud is an expensive solution. This solution is approximately 30 percent more than Microsoft Azure Cloud. There can be extra costs."

"There is a license required for the use of this solution and there are different tier levels available."

"For what you get, it is very compelling. You've got to look at the total cost of ownership of this type of piece of software in terms of being able to utilize it as a cloud service. I don't have to run everything on-premises. When you look at the total cost of just being able to use it and then being able to point it to any public or private cloud, it is very compelling. You have one less thing to manage."

"It's not an expensive solution."

"The pricing could always be improved."

"It's not an expensive product."

"There is a licensing cost."

"I rate the price of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services a three out of five."

"I think that Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is expensive compared to Login solution."

"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is less expensive than some other solutions on the market."

"The solution is overly expensive."

More Microsoft Remote Desktop Services pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Healthcare Company

Computer Software Company

13%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about VMware Horizon Cloud?

The tool remains pretty stable.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware Horizon Cloud?

Horizon Cloud Service's pricing is on the higher side. The cost management aspect could improve to increase adoption. The licensing structure is also complex, particularly for hybrid deployments.

What needs improvement with VMware Horizon Cloud?

What do you like most about Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?

The tool shares computer resources perfectly.

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. Everyone wants to join some kind of cloud service today. We have decided to keep our ER...

Horizon 8 vs Horizon Cloud Service

Comparisons

Compared 35% of the time

Amazon Appstream vs Horizon Cloud Service

Compared 14% of the time

Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) vs Horizon Cloud Service

Compared 13% of the time

Workspace ONE UEM vs Horizon Cloud Service

Compared 9% of the time

Oracle VDI vs Horizon Cloud Service

Compared 6% of the time

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Compared 12% of the time

TeamViewer vs Microsoft Remote Desktop Services

Compared 9% of the time

Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) vs Microsoft Remote Desktop Services

Compared 8% of the time

Parallels Access vs Microsoft Remote Desktop Services

Compared 7% of the time

More Microsoft Remote Desktop Services Competitors

Product Reports

Horizon Cloud Service

Download Horizon Cloud Service product report

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services

Download Microsoft Remote Desktop Services product report

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services report

Also Known As

VMware Horizon Cloud, VMware Horizon DaaS

Remote Desktop Services

Overview

The VMware Horizon Cloud Service delivers feature-rich virtual desktops and applications using a purpose-built cloud platform that is scalable across multiple deployment options, including fully managed infrastructure from VMware, public cloud infrastructure from Microsoft Azure, or on-premises hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI). The service supports a cloud-scale architecture that makes it easy to deliver virtualized Windows desktops and applications to any device, anytime. And, with a flexible subscription model and turnkey solutions, organizations can easily get up and running and scale quickly.

Omnissa

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is a highly regarded remote access tool in addition to being a top-ranked Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solution in the marketplace today.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services (RDS) is a suite of valuable elements of the Windows operating system (OS) that serve specific desired objectives. Microsoft RDS integrates various features that allow approved users to gain access to graphical desktops and Windows applications remotely. Approved users are able to deploy applications or even a complete desktop without having to install anything on their devices. Everything remains in the cloud. This ensures that there are never any compatibility issues and keeps the organization's original network secure at all times. Administrators are also able to ensure that data cannot be stored in any unapproved location, such as the local device, unapproved drives, or any other location.

Microsoft RDS makes it easy for business organizations to access Windows Desktops and other Windows applications remotely to ensure today’s busy enterprise organizations are able to maintain the highest levels of productivity at all times. There are two basic ways organizations can effectively utilize RDS.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Component: This allows users to connect with various alternate desktops from their current device. Once the user has gained a secure connection based on the approved administrative permissions, the user can seamlessly access and interact with the remote desktop. Users have the feeling of having this new virtual desktop installed directly on their machine.

RemoteApp: Users are able to easily access cloud-based applications via their own personal desktop computers or other approved mobile devices. This application ensures overall application management is centralized and consistent throughout the entire business enterprise.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services Benefits

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services has many benefits. Some of its most valuable benefits include:

Access Windows applications remotely from any device
Enhanced consistent application performance
Increased computing resources
Secure cloud-based data storage.
Streamlined management processes
Reduction in technical administrative resources
Reduction in hardware and device costs.
Improved employee productivity
Cost-effective
Improved Profitability
Reduce carbon footprint

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services makes it easy for busy enterprise organizations to stay productive and remain competitive in today’s aggressive marketplace. An organization's end-users can be given access to their own specific desktops from any location, anytime, using any approved device. Additionally, users can access Microsoft applications without having an effect on their device's resource capacity or performance.

Reviews from Real Users

“What I found most valuable in Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is accessibility because the solution lets you take control of your computer remotely, and that's a good feature.” Pascal B., IT consultant at Secoptrial

“The most valuable features of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services are unification, central management, and accessibility.” Jan S. Solution Architect at a tech services company

“The most valuable features are that it is fast and cost-effective. I am not aware of a replacement currently on the market.” Ramon H. Director at Empaco

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Marriott, Sprint

Bank Alfalah Ltd.

Horizon Cloud Service vs. Microsoft Remote Desktop Services