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Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs VNC Connect comparison

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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
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
331
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
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
86
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (5th)
VNC Connect
Ranking in Remote Access
19th
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 March 2026, in the Remote Access category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 8.9%, down from 9.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is 7.9%, down from 11.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VNC Connect is 2.9%, down from 3.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Remote Access Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Intune8.9%
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services7.9%
VNC Connect2.9%
Other80.3%
Remote Access
 

Featured Reviews

AkashKamble - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr MacOS specialist engineer at Cyber24
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.
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 most valuable feature of Microsoft Intune is patching-related capabilities."
"Microsoft Intune is best for Windows devices and security in Office 365 and Microsoft-related enterprise environments. It's a nice platform for endpoint management."
"It has a useful device management feature."
"Application deployment and keeping the devices secure no matter where they are, by having this cloud solution — that has been great."
"It is user-friendly, and the performance is also good. It is a convenient product"
"I would say the biggest benefit is the single-pane view. There's no jumping around multiple UI's to do your overall management."
"We can manage and standardize security across your environment, identify problems, receive alerts, and so on. That's its purpose, and that's also why it's so good."
"The ability to send configurations to our systems is valuable, particularly as we don't have a regular Windows AD server. Our current environment doesn't have a Windows AD, which limits our ability to push GPOs. However, this is where the solution can step in and help us push policies."
"I like the way it can assess our system."
"The most valuable features are availability and security."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is that it scales well."
"The installation of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services was easy."
"The solution is easy to use."
"The solution offers good value for money."
"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."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services positively impacts my organization because it makes the job and work easier for all."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is its ease of use."
"The product’s ease of use and security are valuable."
"The most valuable features are that it is consistently low profile and consistently works without hiccups or headaches."
 

Cons

"We would like to see the ability to use multiple personas on a device, similar to Samsung Knox, included in future updates."
"From a new user's perspective, it may be a little overwhelming because there are quite a few things to look at in the console, however, once you are sort of acclimated and are familiar with your core functions, it's fairly simple and straightforward."
"Currently, Microsoft Intune's focus is mainly on Windows, but they can make much more improvement in terms of other platforms."
"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."
"Intune could add more features that are relevant to the core application control functions. For example, it would be helpful if it had more control over the on-prem environment from the cloud platform. Greater Teams availability in the Saudi market would also be helpful."
"Sometimes, customers compare it with AirWatch, but the concept of Intune is different from other solutions. It's an application management app. It gets a bit difficult to explain it to customers, but it's not a product limitation. It takes a presale document or presentation to explain it to customers."
"Back in 2020, there were significant problems with report accuracy, particularly regarding web patching."
"Enrollment into the Microsoft Intune service can still get easier, especially for legacy-managed systems, such as how we get it from a GPO or an SCCM configuration into Intune."
"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."
"It could be made simpler from a management perspective."
"We'd like more granular security control of the desktop services."
"There are problems with using Microsoft Teams within a virtual desktop on a mobile device."
"The reliability of the solution could improve."
"Remote Desktop Services doesn't scale well."
"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."
"The stability could be improved."
"Improvements are required in the area of scalability since it is an aspect of the tool where there are shortcomings."
"We occasionally have issues with the graphic software of the interface."
"Ease of access is a bit of a challenge."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We don't pay for Intune because it is bundled with the premium subscription to Office 365. It includes Intune and Defender. I don't have to buy two extra products to manage my enterprise."
"Microsoft Intune's costliness stems from licensing fees and the overhead associated with its management, user experience, and device remediation."
"Our Office 365 Business Premium license, including Office 365 and Intune Management, offers excellent value."
"Existing E5 license holders for M365, Intune, and Azure, receive a free license."
"It's reasonable. They're not giving it away, but it's reasonable."
"Microsoft Intune is included in the E5 license at no additional cost."
"The price is reasonable, but they should lower it a bit to make it more competitive. It's cheaper than AirWatch and other products, but I still feel like Microsoft can make a base version or with Exchange online or a la carte only Intune version which will be useful. A customer who doesn't want to go full-fledged E3 or E5 can take out or consume an Intune solution only for their purpose, and we want to target that customer."
"Its price is fair. It's a normal price. It isn't too expensive or too cheap."
"Although not an expensive product, pricing is always something that can be improved."
"The pricing could always be improved."
"I rate the price of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services a three out of five."
"I think that Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is expensive compared to Login solution."
"The price of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is reasonable."
"The cost of the solution is low."
"It's not an expensive product."
"I am aware that for Azure we do have an extra license because we are leveraging on different tenants."
"The tool is not cheap."
"I use the tool's free version."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
21%
Computer Software Company
8%
University
8%
Media Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business123
Midsize Enterprise53
Large Enterprise167
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business41
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise34
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?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services was that the licensing wa...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services could be improved because when I am connected to a larger screen like an external m...
What needs improvement with VNC Connect?
The bandwidth is slow. Improvements are required in the area of scalability since it is an aspect of the tool where t...
What is your primary use case for VNC Connect?
I use the solution to get remote access to our labs.
What advice do you have for others considering VNC Connect?
There are no specific challenges I faced while using the product. I haven't used the solution to support any AI-drive...
 

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: March 2026.
884,706 professionals have used our research since 2012.