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Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs VMware Workstation comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

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)
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
80
Ranking in other categories
Remote Access (2nd)
VMware Workstation
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
1st
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is 6.2%, down from 11.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware Workstation is 15.4%, up from 15.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Shambhu Narayan  Singh - PeerSpot reviewer
An easy-to-manage solution that has really good customer support compared to other market players
VMware Workstation makes it easy to manage all the resources that we are handling. VMware Workstation has reduced our infrastructure cost. If someone wants machines, I can create them easily using the solution. VMware Workstation is easier to manage than other workstations like Oracle Workstation. VMware Workstation is an easy-to-manage solution, and its support is really good compared to other market players. Overall, I rate VMware Workstation an eight out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of this solution at the moment is the HTML5 web client. You get a browser experience, not just the terminal sort of client, and the integration with Azure multi-factor application."
"The most valuable feature is that it gives me full accessibility to my servers."
"It's simple to set up."
"The most valuable feature is the ease of use."
"The solution is user-friendly and has a good user experience."
"It allows employees to log on to corporate resources remotely."
"The solution works on Microsoft servers."
"The product saves time."
"VMware Workstation’s most valuable features are backup and data transfer from one server to another."
"VMware Workstation allows multiple operating systems in the same physical machine."
"I haven't faced any inconveniences working with this solution. It is very easy to use."
"VMware Player helps you to virtualize and install Ubuntu or any other operating system, even on a Windows laptop."
"It is much more mature compared to Nutanix or SimpliVity when it's cross-platform based."
"The product is stable, very easy to deploy, easy to use, easy to configure, and easy to set up."
"VMware Workstation’s most valuable feature is virtualization technology."
"The product works well."
 

Cons

"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services needs to improve its security."
"In a future release, they could improve by providing more advanced technology and better buffering for if the connection is degraded or lost."
"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."
"The initial setup of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is not the easiest. You need to have a certain understanding of how Microsoft is provisioning the solution to be able to set it up and use it."
"The performance depends on connectivity."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services could improve by allowing the sharing of the office application. For example, the ability to replace a PC when something is wrong."
"The solution is unsuitable for direct external internet connections. You must set up a VPN and password handling to use it."
"We'd like more granular security control of the desktop services."
"The price of VMware Workstation is an area of concern where improvements are needed."
"The support can be improved."
"The GUI interface could be improved."
"There could be more integration with different tools."
"I would want to see features included that make deployment easier."
"Lacks the ability to clone onto another system rather than starting from scratch."
"The solution can be expensive."
"Performance could be improved, it's somewhat clunky."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is expensive. Since things are made to be a bit easier in the solution, the solution's cost is a bit on the higher side."
"There is a licensing cost."
"Its licensing is on a yearly basis. We're on the educational or academic license, and our terms are good. We're very happy with the pricing."
"The price of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is reasonable."
"The solution is overly expensive."
"I think that Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is expensive compared to Login solution."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services comes free as part of Microsoft Windows."
"It will probably cost about $500 USD to get the resources set up in the cloud."
"Licensing costs are paid on a yearly basis."
"With all its support and ease of use, VMware Player's pricing is fair."
"The pricing is a bit steep in my opinion for testing and there are other options."
"The solution’s pricing is moderate."
"Licensing fees are paid on an annual basis."
"The tool is not the cheapest."
"The solution is moderately priced. I rate the pricing a six out of ten."
"With a VDI solution, there is always extra cost running a VDI solution but it's not for cost purposes anymore. In the beginning, it was to save money on hardware but at the moment it's other aspects that are more important why you should use a VDI solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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 version for enterprise requires RDS ( /products/amazon-rds-reviews ) CALs, or c...
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.
Which VMware solution would you go with - Workstation or vSphere?
VM Workstation’s setup is so easy, you can use it almost instantly, it works well with Windows and Linux. We like VM Workstation primarily to test environments to determine how well a solution will...
What do you like most about VMware Workstation?
The product is stable, very easy to deploy, easy to use, easy to configure, and easy to set up.
What needs improvement with VMware Workstation?
The product's integration capabilities are an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required.
 

Also Known As

Remote Desktop Services
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bank Alfalah Ltd.
Akademiska Hus
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs. VMware Workstation and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
861,481 professionals have used our research since 2012.