Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs Parallels Access comparison

Sponsored
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 7, 2024

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
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
280
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (2nd), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
Microsoft Remote Desktop Se...
Ranking in Remote Access
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
80
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (5th)
Parallels Access
Ranking in Remote Access
11th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Remote Access category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 9.9%, down from 10.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is 10.0%, down from 14.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Parallels Access is 2.0%, down from 2.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Remote Access
 

Featured Reviews

AkashKamble - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables management of multiple operating systems with a single license
The best feature is that it's a Microsoft product, so if anything goes wrong, we get quick support for anything required. Remote system functionality allows us to sit anywhere and take control of any device via remote management. We can enhance security for clients' laptops with built-in Microsoft Defender, which is available with the Microsoft Intune license. We use it for reporting purposes through endpoint analytics. When pushing scripting, there are two types available: remediation script and reservation script. Through endpoint analytics, you can push defender policies to clients. It helps with reporting, inventory updates, and monitoring tenant status health.
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.
Binish Parikh - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy-to-deploy and good for small as well as large setups
There is room for improvement in the pricing policy. The price point is pretty aggressive. Since it is not very resource hungry, it doesn't require dedicated servers like high-end solutions do, so it's easier for customers to integrate it into their own solutions. In future releases, maybe more support for Macs and Unix so that customers with setups on those platforms can also benefit from the solutions.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We use a local Active Directory, but we weren't able to manage all our on-site systems without a solution like Intune, and we needed to deploy software like VPNs and other things. It's seamless now to to this through Intune."
"The ability to block and erase remote devices is valuable to us, especially when those devices are lost."
"I can reach devices or computers over the internet. I don't need to worry about the network connectivity between the offices. I can manage any device. That is the most important part."
"Microsoft Intune has definitely reduced management burdens."
"The mobile device management is very useful."
"If any user tries to access company data, it directly interacts with the conditional access policy. This helps us protect our data and set the criteria for how data can be accessed and shared."
"We can securely manage both company-owned devices and personal devices enrolled in our BYOD program."
"The best feature is that we don't need to worry about downtime. We don't need to worry about the network connections of our office or the virtual private network. Everything is being done through the internet. Using Intune Autopilot, we can configure and deploy everything to the devices."
"It's scalable enough for our needs and very reliable."
"The performance is one of the main features of this solution."
"I find the ease of use of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services most valuable, as it allows me to have remote access and connect securely."
"Mostly we are quite happy with it."
"It allows employees to log on to corporate resources remotely."
"It's almost an out of the box function once you have installed the other components."
"The initial setup is not that difficult. I have gone through the RDS initialization steps, which only seem easy."
"The solution is stable."
"It's great that the total deployment can happen completely remotely."
"Parallels Access gives me full access and control of the computer, and I can do anything I want remotely."
"We don't have problems with stability. Everything is good."
"It's got a very easy-to-use interface."
"Parallels Access has flexible licensing policies, which is beneficial for customers who have intermittent usage or users who are on and off the system."
 

Cons

"There are a couple of issues with stability."
"Microsoft Intune could enhance its patch management for various devices, ensuring regular updates and tracking of device privileges."
"China blocks Google and Google Play Store, which makes installation challenging. Microsoft Intune is a company software, which has to be installed to the app portal or Microsoft Software Center."
"I'd suggest adding more features for macOS in Intune. There should be more functionality for managing macOS. There should be a better capability for pushing things down on macOS. Currently, Intune is not capable of managing macOS at the same level as Windows."
"The initial setup is a little bit complex."
"The documentation about the custom image setup could be better. Although Microsoft provides the steps to configure Intune or set up or deploy Intune, it doesn't have much information related to custom images. If you ask, "how can we deploy the custom image?" There is no information. The steps they mention ask you to connect to your on-premises environment or create your own image on the cloud itself once there is connectivity. But I needed to go to multiple websites to get all this information. I had to figure out how to upload the custom image if you want to use the on-premise custom image for Cloud PC. If you have the proper subscription, you must have the right access, like global admin or owner. Then you can add your custom image to that. There are no steps mentioned over there. Microsoft Intune doesn't have Chrome browser support. I would like to have that support because they will want it if we pitch the product to clients."
"Since GMS is unavailable in China, we currently rely on device administrator enrollment for managing Android devices there."
"Intune's reporting and logging could be improved. When troubleshooting, it's difficult to collect the logs and determine what's happening. If I want to filter out the compliant devices, I can see it from the logs, but I would like the option to drill down further."
"We'd like more granular security control of the desktop services."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services could improve by having a better application for managing multiple sessions. There used to be one but they stopped supporting it."
"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."
"Sometimes difficult to set up without the requirement for login credentials each time."
"The biggest reason we don't use the solution for our company's clients is the solution's prices."
"Security in the connection between us and our clients' servers is something that can be improved."
"Microsoft Desktop Services is stable but it takes up a lot of resources in the CPU. It's a bit heavier than some solutions."
"Sometimes, the updates break the system."
"The solution may not scale well for enterprises."
"One challenge we do notice is that the application is limited to Windows servers only. If a customer has a Linux server, things get complicated. They should open it up a bit to be more compatible with different types of servers."
"When you want to transfer a file from your iPad or remote device to the computer, the copy-and-paste feature doesn't always work."
"There is room for improvement in the pricing policy. The price point is pretty aggressive."
"They could improve the reporting."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"For organizations that are a Microsoft shop, the pricing is compelling."
"We don't get Intune as a separate module. Most of the time, we use it within an enterprise agreement like E3 or E5. Those licenses are at a good price, but what is annoying is that every single year they go higher."
"I don't have any problem as far as cost is concerned. It is bundled with our license."
"Microsoft licenses are costly."
"Any bundle package, such as Security E3, covers multiple things, such as AAP, BitLocker, etc. If you go for them individually, they would be more expensive. Bundling makes the price more attractive and competitive."
"Microsoft Intune is reasonably priced for large organizations that already have Microsoft Enterprise licenses, but it is less affordable for smaller businesses."
"On a scale of one to ten with one being the cheapest, the cost of Microsoft Intune is a five."
"It's bundled with Business Premium and an E3 license, which is beneficial. If you have to pay extra, it's pricey, but with the bundled package, it's acceptable. They recently increased the Business Premium pricing, which we don't appreciate. The price increase and yearly commitment are causing some problems for us."
"The solution has a pretty comparable pricing."
"It will probably cost about $500 USD to get the resources set up in the cloud."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is less expensive than some other solutions on the market."
"The pricing could always be improved."
"We do not have to pay for the product."
"The solution comes free with Microsoft Windows."
"I rate the price of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services a three out of five."
"It's not an expensive solution."
"The licensing costs are about $100 per user."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Remote Access solutions are best for your needs.
861,803 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
University
13%
Computer Software Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
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?
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 Access?
Parallels Access gives me full access and control of the computer, and I can do anything I want remotely.
What needs improvement with Parallels Access?
When you want to transfer a file from your iPad or remote device to the computer, the copy-and-paste feature doesn't ...
What is your primary use case for Parallels Access?
Parallels Access is an amazing product and a total game changer. The solution allows me to access and operate my comp...
 

Also Known As

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

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Bank Alfalah Ltd.
Gilt Groupe K.K.
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs. Parallels Access and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
861,803 professionals have used our research since 2012.