No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs N-able Take Control comparison

Sponsored
 

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
377
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (1st), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
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) (2nd)
N-able Take Control
Ranking in Remote Access
26th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Remote Access category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 5.4%, down from 10.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is 6.6%, down from 10.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of N-able Take Control is 2.2%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Remote Access Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Intune5.4%
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services6.6%
N-able Take Control2.2%
Other85.8%
Remote Access
 

Featured Reviews

HA
Senior Business Development Executive at Digitaltrack
Centralized device management has automated onboarding and improves remote security compliance
One thing I feel Microsoft Intune could improve is troubleshooting visibility. In many cases, when a policy or application deployment fails, the error messages are a bit generic. So, admins still spend time checking logs manually or testing on devices one by one. Compared to the simplicity of deployment, troubleshooting sometimes feels less mature. I also think reporting and real-time monitoring could be stronger. The dashboard gives useful information, but in large environments, many teams still depend on additional tools or scripts for deeper reporting and analytics. If I had to focus on one area first, I would probably choose troubleshooting and reporting. Deployment through Microsoft Intune is generally straightforward, but when something fails, identifying the exact root cause can still take more time than expected. Error messages are sometimes too generic, and admins often have to dig through logs, sync status, or multiple portals to understand what actually happened. I think user experience and policy management could also improve further. Microsoft Intune has become much better over the years, but sometimes the admin portal still feels fragmented because certain configurations open in different sections or redirect to older interfaces. For new admins, especially, it can take time to understand where everything is located. Another thing is policy conflict handling. In larger organizations, multiple device policies, compliance rules, and configuration profiles can overlap. When conflicts happen, the visibility is not always very clear, so admins spend time figuring out which policy actually won or caused the issue.
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.
Brian Hershey - PeerSpot reviewer
Platform Manager at a outsourcing company with 11-50 employees
It covers you for HIPAA and PCI certification
Take Control is a way to remotely take over the console of a managed machine, but it also gives you other abilities. You can take over the console, access the registry, throw commands at it in the background, and manipulate the file system Take Control enables you to collaborate with end users.…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is very stable and scalable because this is a cloud-only solution."
"It works pretty well for us."
"There are so many features, but Windows Autopilot is one of the features that are very valuable for most customers."
"The solution’s most valuable feature is its ease of use."
"We are a Microsoft 365 E5 customer and the product promises the capabilities that we need and is available without additional cost."
"Generally for the organization, Microsoft Intune has been a good investment for managing a lot of the company resources, saving a lot of money compared to using the on-premises version of the software."
"Advanced endpoint analytics provides granular information about devices in Microsoft Intune, facilitating easier troubleshooting at system and application levels."
"The one feature we find most useful is the Mobile Application Manager. There are two types, we have the complete MDM and the Mobile Application Manager(MAM). We don't give our users phones, it is their own personal phone, and we need to allow them to have access to the company detail on their phone. We need to create a balance between their own personal data and the company data. We deploy the Mobile Application Manager for them so that we won't be able to interfere with their own personal data."
"This solution saves us time and money because running applications directly on the server means that we can use lower-priced, entry-level computers for the users."
"The technical support is good."
"The ability to access the computer from a remote location is great."
"It's stable, fast, compatible, and quite reliable."
"It helps secure a network to a large extent because you can really restrict the number of users and accessibility if needed."
"We chose this solution because it's a Microsoft Cloud and end-to-end all solution, Cloud 365, and it's all Microsoft, so it made sense to stay with the same VDI solution."
"The solution works well as a remote desktop."
"The availability is very good; it's easy to use, and new users especially find it very simple as you just connect and go."
"N-able Take Control has saved me a lot of time driving back and forth to the customer's site."
"Take Control enables you to collaborate with end users. It's for supporting a workstation where you want the person on the other side to see you moving their mouse, and you can work with them."
"The most valuable part of N-able Take Control is being able to remotely access your customer's site. You are able to view their network. Once you have it set up, it's always available. N-able Take Control can be used even when other remote access controls have been made."
 

Cons

"Microsoft Intune could improve its reporting and troubleshooting tools since diagnosing policy sync and deployment issues can still feel a bit complicated at times."
"There is improvement needed in integrating with the installed Office solutions versions, such as Office 2019. The Office 365 integrates without a problem."
"We do not utilize Microsoft customer service and technical support since it is generally a waste of time."
"In an upcoming release, I would like to see some kind of analytics report."
"Its configuration is fairly complicated. You have to do quite a bit of discovery to be able to deploy it for a customer."
"The main disadvantage seen today is regarding Linux clients. We have a lot of development resources that have Linux on their clients, and we can't manage them on the same platform, as we do with other clients such as macOS and Windows. So, it should have support for Linux clients. It should also have better support for macOS."
"Improvements can be made by allowing server integrations since it is an area where the product currently has shortcomings."
"One thing I would suggest is that servers are not getting managed through Microsoft Intune."
"It would be helpful if there was a feature that notifies you when the internet is down so you're not working for nothing, it should be something that pops right up where you can see it."
"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."
"It could be made simpler from a management perspective."
"The performance of Remote Desktop Services could be better."
"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."
"We'd like them to continue to improve on security."
"The reliability of the solution could improve."
"There is a limitation on the number of concurrent users."
"We've seen some latency problems in AWS environments. Aside from that, it's a pretty solid service."
"The dashboards I do not use because there are issues. The solution monitors your antivirus and other programs but it does not seem to work well."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"With one user base license, we can use Intune for up to five devices. However, with Soti MobiControl, each license is tied to a single device, meaning one license is dedicated to one device only."
"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."
"Our Office 365 Business Premium license, including Office 365 and Intune Management, offers excellent value."
"Intune is cost-effective as it is included in some of the Office 365 packages."
"With our standard E5 agreement with Microsoft, there have been no pricing concerns. Introductory professional services, like a fast-track service, were included with our E5 membership, and there have been no additional costs."
"It's reasonable. They're not giving it away, but it's reasonable."
"The E5 license is expensive."
"It is not expensive."
"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."
"I recall that you don't need to pay for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services because that's included in Windows."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services comes free as part of Microsoft Windows."
"The pricing is moderate."
"The cost of the solution is low."
"The solution has a pretty comparable pricing."
"It will probably cost about $500 USD to get the resources set up in the cloud."
"The price of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is reasonable. The solution can come for free for some clients with certain agreements."
"N-able Take Control charges you a monthly fee for every customer that you have booked in, and it used to be inexpensive but it's a little bit more expensive now."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Remote Access solutions are best for your needs.
909,153 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Construction Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
18%
Construction Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business192
Midsize Enterprise62
Large Enterprise186
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business45
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise36
No data available
 

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 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...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
Remote Desktop Services
SolarWinds MSP Take Control, SolarWinds MSP Anywhere, SolarWinds Take Control
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Bank Alfalah Ltd.
Bainbridge Technology Solutions, NKIT Systems
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs. N-able Take Control and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,153 professionals have used our research since 2012.