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Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs Nerdio 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Remote Desktop Se...
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
91
Ranking in other categories
Remote Access (3rd)
Nerdio
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
9th
Average Rating
9.6
Reviews Sentiment
8.8
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is 6.8%, up from 6.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Nerdio is 3.2%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services6.8%
Nerdio3.2%
Other90.0%
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
 

Featured Reviews

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.
MB
IT Infrastucture Engineer at PPG
Automation capabilities enhance cost-saving and scaling efforts
The auto-heal functionality needs improvement. Currently, the feature is limited because it only allows one heal condition and doesn't support multiple triggers. The capability to use different conditions, like the presence of online users during a failed installation, is missing. The current state makes it less useful, but I have even submitted a feature request for a better solution.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services has positively impacted my organization by giving us the freedom to work from any location remotely and at any time."
"The most valuable feature is ease of use."
"The product is stable."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services positively impacts my organization because it makes the job and work easier for all."
"We use it to connect to the legacy system."
"The solution is easy to use."
"It has enabled our clinical staff to get real-time medicine prescribing information at the patients' bedside with a near 100% service uptime."
"The pricing is great as it's free in the larger Microsoft system."
"Nerdio is completely an automation platform offering auto-scaling and flexibility."
"The customer service from Nerdio is excellent, and I even know the CEO personally and have a positive experience, rating it nine out of ten."
"The most valuable features of Nerdio are its automation capabilities, specifically the autoscale and auto-heal functionalities."
"The solution is one hundred percent stable and very much straightforward."
 

Cons

"Remote Desktop Services doesn't scale well."
"The current process I have to go through to get a Windows 11 VM up and running is difficult. Windows 10 worked a whole lot better than Windows 11."
"There are problems with using Microsoft Teams within a virtual desktop on a mobile device."
"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."
"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."
"Sometimes difficult to set up without the requirement for login credentials each time."
"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."
"Scalability maybe should be improved. I know that there were better products in the market on the side of scalability."
"The auto-heal functionality needs improvement."
"The auto-heal functionality needs improvement. Currently, the feature is limited because it only allows one heal condition and doesn't support multiple triggers."
"They should start providing the certifications on Nerdio for training and enhancements, mainly for the open community of IT."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I am aware that for Azure we do have an extra license because we are leveraging on different tenants."
"The cost of the solution is low."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services comes free as part of Microsoft Windows."
"The price of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is reasonable."
"The pricing is moderate."
"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."
"Although not an expensive product, pricing is always something that can be improved."
"The solution comes free with Microsoft Windows."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Construction Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Construction Company
9%
Insurance Company
8%
 

Company Size

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

Questions from the Community

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 is complex.
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 performance limits on shared resources with bottlenecks, the setup is complex, and ...
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 machine, desktop, or application over the internet and our network.
What needs improvement with Nerdio?
They should start providing the certifications on Nerdio for training and enhancements, mainly for the open community of IT. It should not be restricted to partners only, yet available to everyone.
What is your primary use case for Nerdio?
During the implementation and management stage, I use Nerdio Manager for enterprise for deploying and quickly rolling out virtual desktops to end users. Once I complete the production rollout, I st...
 

Also Known As

Remote Desktop Services
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bank Alfalah Ltd.
BeMo, Northstar Technologies
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs. Nerdio and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.