No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs VNC Connect 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
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
346
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
6.1
Number of Reviews
89
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (5th)
VNC Connect
Ranking in Remote Access
18th
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 April 2026, in the Remote Access category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 8.0%, down from 10.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is 7.3%, down from 12.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VNC Connect is 2.9%, down from 3.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Remote Access Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Intune8.0%
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services7.3%
VNC Connect2.9%
Other81.8%
Remote Access
 

Featured Reviews

Varun Mehra - PeerSpot reviewer
collaboration support engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Centralized device management has transformed security and streamlined remote provisioning
One area where Microsoft Intune can improve is the user interface. Sometimes the portal feels a bit complex and not very intuitive, especially for new users, and it can take time to find specific settings. Another point is troubleshooting. While logs are available, the diagnostic policies and sync issues can still be time-consuming and not very straightforward. I also feel that reporting could be more detailed and customizable. The built-in reports are helpful, but for deeper insights, I often need to rely on additional tools. Overall, it is a strong solution, but improving usability and troubleshooting experience would make it even better. While Microsoft Intune works very well within the Microsoft ecosystem, the integration of some third-party tools could be smoother and require less customization. Support is another area that could improve, as sometimes response times can be slow, and resolving complex issues may take longer than expected. In terms of features, I think more advanced automation and built-in remediation options would be helpful since common issues can be fixed automatically without manual intervention.
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

"It's normally able to meet 100% expectations of our customers."
"Autopilot is the most valuable feature."
"Its protection policies are most valuable. It protects mobile devices as well as individual apps. It is pretty scalable, and its documentation is also pretty good. It is also pretty straightforward to deploy."
"The mobile device management is very useful."
"Great for software update needs, operating system version updates, and security policy enforcement."
"We are using the mobile feature, and we are also using MDM to lock the devices, to push restrictions, et cetera"
"It is very easy to use; it has a very easy interface."
"First of all, the integration with the rest of Microsoft's products is a major win."
"We have scaled the solution and find this easy to do."
"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 solution is stable."
"The solution is stable; I haven't had any issues whatsoever, there are no bugs or glitches, it doesn't crash or freeze, and it's reliable."
"I find the ease of use of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services most valuable, as it allows me to have remote access and connect securely."
"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 installation of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services was easy."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is managing the remote desktop end user or remote server."
"The most valuable features are that it is consistently low profile and consistently works without hiccups or headaches."
"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."
"The product’s ease of use and security are valuable."
 

Cons

"Sometimes, it takes time to synchronize the policies between the portal and the devices, you don't have a way to estimate how long it will take to deploy. You have some kind of gray area, where it can deploy in 30 minutes or three days."
"Regarding mobile devices, Intune is good, but there are other services that I would say are ahead of Intune from an administration and reporting point of view."
"It would be better if I could integrate it with my core group policy. I would like to have a group policy in my current environment, which has strict control, but those things are still missing. Although it has maximum compliance and security, it's not available on-premise."
"It is not very stable. Sometimes, it works instantly, and sometimes, something goes wrong, and you get stuck there."
"Microsoft Intune lacks the ability to provide seamless remote assistance or remote control."
"The solution could be improved by the opportunity to connect third-party application databases, such as Chocolatey or another setup store, to Intune."
"It could offer more attributes for authentication."
"Intune lags all of its competitors in terms of report generation."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services could improve by having graphical acceleration."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services can be improved by addressing the single session limitations and also clarifying the licensing, which can be confusing."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services needs to improve its security."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is only available for the professional version of the Windows operating system. This restricts a lot of users."
"The only problems that you're going to have with the remote desktop are going to be firewall ports, security, and NLA, which is a net network level access control, or TLS transfer layer security or some other SSL-type of security."
"We had some instability during the implementation process. This has since been resolved."
"I would like to see the hard drives work without locking up and integrate the local drives in the next release."
"We face frequent disconnections."
"Ease of access is a bit of a challenge."
"We occasionally have issues with the graphic software of the interface."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Microsoft Intune's costliness stems from licensing fees and the overhead associated with its management, user experience, and device remediation."
"Based on the features that it gives, it is cost-efficient. It is not necessarily on the expensive side of the scale. It provides a hefty number of features that any organization would want. It is in a good price range."
"Even if they charge a premium, they aim to provide equal value."
"It comes with the E5 plan. We bought the E5 plan from Microsoft."
"The tool is cheaper than our company's other MDM tools."
"I don't have any problem as far as cost is concerned. It is bundled with our license."
"The product is expensive."
"Generally, we get favorable discounts, so it's not too bad. Obviously, we're looking at decreasing those wherever we can to bring value back to the public purse because it's all charity based. It's all publicly funded."
"The solution has a pretty comparable pricing."
"The cost of the solution is low."
"The tool must be cheaper."
"The solution comes free with Microsoft Windows."
"I recall that you don't need to pay for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services because that's included in Windows."
"I would say it's expensive as there similar products available for free."
"The price of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is reasonable."
"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."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Remote Access solutions are best for your needs.
892,287 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
18%
Computer Software Company
8%
Media Company
7%
University
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business131
Midsize Enterprise56
Large Enterprise170
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business43
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise35
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 has been easy. I don't th...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services could be improved by providing a way to make it configurable without using VPN from...
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: April 2026.
892,287 professionals have used our research since 2012.