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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
6.7
Number of Reviews
343
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
88
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

Abhinandan Yadav - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Security Engineer at Arrow PC Network Pvt Ltd
Modern endpoint management has transformed onboarding and strengthened remote security controls
The features of Microsoft Intune are straightforward, including Windows Autopilot, zero-touch deployment, centralized device management, and conditional access security controls. Using zero-touch deployment and Windows Autopilot in Microsoft Intune has significantly improved my workflow and organization. New laptops are shipped directly to users with no IT handling needed, and there is no manual imaging or configuration required. These features have a real impact. They save hours of manual setup per device, reduce dependency on the IT team for basic provisioning, and ensure every system is configured consistently and securely. Microsoft Intune has positively impacted my organization by improving device management. Devices are managed from a single cloud console. It has reduced manual work for provisioning and configuration. It has faster onboarding using Autopilot. It has enhanced security posture through enforced compliance policies, encryption, antivirus, and password rules. Conditional access ensures only trusted devices can access resources. I have better support for remote users, as devices can be managed from anywhere with no dependency on office network or VPN for basic management. It has easy troubleshooting and policy updates.
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 Advanced Endpoint Analytics in Microsoft Intune has improved and helps us proactively detect and remediate anomalies in endpoints."
"It has helped with compliance. It has helped to ensure that devices comply with the organization's policy. If they are not compliant and secure, they cannot access the resources."
"It is more efficient to have one solution rather than having security parts spread across three, four, or five solutions."
"For our office workers who are not based in Norway, when we order the PC, we can do some of the settings for them. These are standardized settings. We can set them up exactly as they are in Norway so that they're the same."
"The product helps organizations have a model or place to allow users to access the corporate resources from any device that the user wants and in a highly secured way."
"On the cloud, you can manage everything; you can push policies, maintain patches, and maintain security because everything interacts on the cloud and a VPN is not required."
"Intune significantly simplifies application deployment, mobile application management, and policy enforcement, such as restricting user access to specific applications, thereby enhancing overall environment security."
"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."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is highly stable."
"The most valuable part of RDS is that it allows you to work from any location and check the server through a VPN connection."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is stable and reliable."
"The solution has very smooth connectivity and is very user friendly."
"The initial setup was straightforward and the deployment took only two hours."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services positively impacts my organization because it makes the job and work easier for all."
"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."
"It's simple and easy to use."
"The most valuable features are that it is consistently low profile and consistently works without hiccups or headaches."
"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 product’s ease of use and security are valuable."
 

Cons

"The closest Microsoft Intune can be to GPOs, the better. There needs to be more granularity on application deployments. However, they have done better recently with the application deployments."
"The interface is easy, but it is not user-friendly when evaluating the overall user experience of Microsoft Intune."
"Also, Microsoft Intune relies heavily on its fellow products in the suite."
"The most significant challenge is reporting and monitoring. The reporting accuracy for deploying applications and all aspects of Intune needs to be improved."
"It would be interesting to integrate the server side of Intune. Some group policy updates we have on the Windows Server side and possibly some on the client side could also be included."
"Intune's server management could be better. If it could incorporate more features from System Center into Intune's Configuration Manager, it would be beneficial."
"Technical support is not great. If you open up a case, it may remain there for a long time."
"There are a lot of small use cases where we realized that some technical solution was missing in Microsoft in comparison to other products."
"We are searching for a product with better remote access and remote sessions."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services could improve by having graphical acceleration."
"Scalability maybe should be improved. I know that there were better products in the market on the side of scalability."
"Having a secondary app to log in to a remote VN is not ideal, but the app itself is very good."
"The solution is unsuitable for direct external internet connections. You must set up a VPN and password handling to use 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."
"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."
"I would like to see the hard drives work without locking up and integrate the local drives in the next release."
"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."
"Ease of access is a bit of a challenge."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This cost is approximately $30 USD per user per month."
"Its licensing model is not complex, but it is very expensive compared to other solutions. They can bring more models and reduce the pricing. They should allow customers to select the features they want and price it accordingly."
"Intune is included with our F3 and E5 licenses."
"I have no comment on pricing of the solution."
"If you're subscribing to Premium or E3, there are no additional costs for Intune, it's included."
"In terms of the product price and licensing costs, my company finds the product to be reasonably priced."
"Microsoft Intune's costliness stems from licensing fees and the overhead associated with its management, user experience, and device remediation."
"The price could be better."
"I am aware that for Azure we do have an extra license because we are leveraging on different tenants."
"Although not an expensive product, pricing is always something that can be improved."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is less expensive than some other solutions on the market."
"It will probably cost about $500 USD to get the resources set up in the cloud."
"The solution is overly expensive."
"It's not an expensive product."
"The tool must be cheaper."
"I think that Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is expensive compared to Login solution."
"The tool is not cheap."
"I use the tool's free version."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
18%
Computer Software Company
9%
University
7%
Media Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business129
Midsize Enterprise55
Large Enterprise170
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business42
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?
I was not involved in the pricing and licensing perspective, so I cannot speak too much on that. However, I know that...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
I understand from the IT team managing Microsoft Remote Desktop Services that it is complex to set up the multiple ro...
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.
887,041 professionals have used our research since 2012.