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Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs VNC Connect comparison

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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)
VNC Connect
Ranking in Remote Access
14th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Remote Access category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 4.9%, down from 10.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is 6.4%, down from 10.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VNC Connect is 3.1%, down from 3.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Remote Access Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Intune4.9%
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services6.4%
VNC Connect3.1%
Other85.6%
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.
Jose Miguel Moya - PeerSpot reviewer
SACTA Architect at MRInformatica
Easy to deploy, but scalability needs improvement
There are no specific challenges I faced while using the product. I haven't used the solution to support any AI-driven projects. In our company, we need to have remote access to our labs because if not, people have to move to the laboratory, and we will spend a lot of time working. I don't know the features of VNC Connect that improved our company's support capabilities. I rate the tool a six 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 user experience with Microsoft Intune is excellent because we can manage users and maintain security and policies anywhere they are."
"Microsoft Intune brings all endpoint and security management tools into one place, and for app discovery, deployment, and automatic updating, it's reliable."
"Most people prefer to use Intune if they want to implement conditional access policies to restrict customer Exchange Online or Exchange user formats emails until their devices comply."
"Intune helps the organization manage access to its internal apps, data, and resources."
"When comparing these two products, I prefer Intune."
"The best features in Microsoft Intune that I appreciate the most are the strong security, encryption, and operating system version."
"We have definitely seen a good return on investment, as it has saved a good amount of time in device setup and support, reducing manual effort by around forty to fifty percent and also fewer on-site interventions since most issues are handled remotely."
"We like Intune's Autopilot functionality, which enables one-touch deployment. Dynamic grouping is another feature we find valuable working in academia. We have people in buckets based on their roles in the university, such as faculty, staff, alum, or grad. Sometimes, they will fit into multiple places, and dynamic grouping helps with that."
"The most valuable feature is that it gives me full accessibility to my servers."
"The most valuable feature is ease of use."
"The initial setup was straightforward and the deployment took only two hours."
"It's a good solution, and especially if you already have Microsoft running then it's probably one of the better solutions to choose from."
"It's simple and easy to use."
"The most valuable part of RDS is that it allows you to work from any location and check the server through a VPN connection."
"I like the way it can assess our system."
"Using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services has helped my team save time and improve productivity because we had Microsoft servers that were impossible to connect from our MacBook Pro laptops, and once we started using RDP, we could connect and move forward to deliver the project."
"The product’s ease of use and security are valuable."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is its ease of use."
"The most valuable features are that it is consistently low profile and consistently works without hiccups or headaches."
 

Cons

"The scalability could be improved, and like most other MDM products, Intune is good but not 100% there yet."
"We are not satisfied with technical support. Some improvements might be required."
"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."
"The reporting is subpar. That's the only issue we have with Intune. We use another solution for that purpose."
"I think if you have the money and want something more stable, you should go for AirWatch. I don't think Microsoft is offering the same stability as VMware at this point."
"There have been instances where enrolling devices should take 10 minutes but ends up taking an hour due to various issues."
"The support from Microsoft was previously good, but now it is very poor."
"The technical support by Microsoft is not so good. We have to manage many things by ourselves and do not receive responses in a timely manner."
"Scalability maybe should be improved. I know that there were better products in the market on the side of scalability."
"There is a limitation on the number of concurrent users. The limitation is 20, and you have to spin up more than one server, which is not needed at this stage because of customers."
"The performance of Remote Desktop Services could be better."
"The reliability of the solution could improve."
"In the past, my company had faced some issues related to the stability of the product. The product's stability can be improved."
"The stability must be improved."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services could be improved by providing a way to make it configurable without using VPN from the actual service itself."
"The solution is under the Microsoft infrastructure and therefore does not allow for service under other operating systems."
"Improvements are required in the area of scalability since it is an aspect of the tool where there are shortcomings."
"Ease of access is a bit of a challenge."
"We occasionally have issues with the graphic software of the interface."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Most of our clients come to us with licensing already in place. On average, it costs $6 per device per month to add Intune to an Office 365 subscription, but I am not sure."
"It is cheap, but as compared to Google, it is costly. Google is cheaper, but quality-wise, Microsoft Intune is better."
"Microsoft Intune is not cost-effective as a standalone product."
"Intune is linked with Microsoft. We can deploy the Microsoft E365 license to users by Intune. There are different types of licenses, such as device administrator licenses, E5 licenses for device enrollment manually, and P1 and p2 licenses for device enrollment automatically. These are the licenses required for the administration."
"Our Office 365 Business Premium license, including Office 365 and Intune Management, offers excellent value."
"Microsoft Intune has a user-based subscription model. You can go for a monthly or a yearly payment."
"The licensing is on a yearly basis."
"The price of Intune is often included as part of a bundle with other Microsoft licenses, which makes it somewhat cheaper."
"The solution is overly expensive."
"We do not have to pay for the product."
"The solution has a pretty comparable pricing."
"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 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."
"The solution comes free with Microsoft Windows."
"I would say it's expensive as there similar products available for free."
"The tool's pricing is high in the Slovenian market. I rate it a nine out of ten."
"The tool is not cheap."
"I use the tool's free version."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Construction Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
17%
Healthcare Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business192
Midsize Enterprise62
Large Enterprise187
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business45
Midsize Enterprise17
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...
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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.
Telesat Canada, St. Anthony's School, Pratt and Whitney, City of Sacramento
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs. VNC Connect and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
914,322 professionals have used our research since 2012.