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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
321
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
85
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 Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
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.
reviewer2797143 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Compliance Analyst at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Rapid secure remote access has improved collaboration and centralized server management
The best features Microsoft Remote Desktop Services offers include being able to log in and being able to control other machines. Controlling other machines helps me in my role as it improves our workflow, allowing us to get in rapidly and do our work. Microsoft Remote Desktop Services has positively impacted my organization by allowing us to remote in rapidly and securely. The secure aspect of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services helps my team stay secure by supporting MFA, which allows us to secure who logs in. Microsoft Remote Desktop Services helps my team collaborate and work together by allowing us to put everything in one ecosystem with the integration, and it works very well with Windows Server, Active Directory, and Azure. Microsoft Remote Desktop Services handles updates and maintenance in my environment easily, as it is easy to manage. Microsoft Remote Desktop Services performs very well in terms of reliability and uptime for my organization, and I appreciate this feature. Microsoft Remote Desktop Services integrates with my existing security tools and policies and is compatible with our security stack, as we are a Microsoft shop, and it works well with us. When multiple users are logged in at the same time, we have not noticed any issues with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services. The user experience for my team with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is intuitive and easy to use.
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

"Implementing Microsoft Intune has provided a more streamlined and consistent method for device management across our multiple domains, effectively consolidating our administrative efforts."
"I appreciate how easy it is to deploy certificates to end users to get control over their device with Microsoft Intune; that's what Microsoft Intune is known for, and that's what we use them for."
"When comparing Microsoft Intune to Jamf, Microsoft Intune is superior."
"The ability to work from all over the planet is valuable. You just need a functioning and working Internet connection."
"The main advantage is that Intune performs its intended functions effectively."
"The Autopilot feature is fantastic. It is a Microsoft product, so it deals best with Microsoft operating systems, but it can integrate with iOS, Mac OS, Linux, and Android."
"Since implementing this solution, our company has grown substantially, and our talent pool has significantly expanded."
"The user experience is good; we could work and deploy many controls through Microsoft Intune."
"The solution works well as a remote desktop."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is that it scales well."
"The most valuable features are the desktop session and desktop virtualization."
"The most valuable features are availability and security."
"It is a stable product."
"Microsoft is very reasonable in its approach to cost."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services has positively impacted my organization by allowing us to remote in rapidly and securely."
"Everything is really good and it works well."
"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

"Customer service used to be better, but as we are nearing the end of the contract, the focus on investing in us as a customer has diminished. It is what one would expect in such a situation."
"There are challenges with Intune, specifically in reporting. Many third-party companies offer single-pane-of-glass reporting that shows you what your update environment looks like, how your patch is doing, application status, etc., but Intune's reporting is not intuitive. You can connect to Azure, monitoring, and the workbooks, but it's not streamlined."
"There could be some kind of feature that supports a workgroup environment or a separate environment without the Entra ID."
"There are a lot of small use cases where we realized that some technical solution was missing in Microsoft in comparison to other products. For example, it lacks something similar to sensing or location-based rules and configurations."
"What I dislike about Microsoft Intune is the time it takes Microsoft to develop a feature."
"Intune could be improved by organizing different solutions, like Defender and Sentinel, into a single package. This would allow us to focus on security while Microsoft manages other areas. Having a unified solution would drive better management of various sectors. Although the Intune user experience is good, we should continue enhancing it."
"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."
"In the next release, I would like a feature to be able to properly lock down the device. For example, if an attacker or somebody steals the phone, you can be sure that the pin cannot be broken."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services needs to improve its security."
"We'd like more granular security control of the desktop services."
"I want to connect easily from an external network even when I'm not in my enterprise or company. It should be easy to connect or integrate Microsoft Teams, for example, with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services."
"We'd like to see more integration with other vendors."
"I would like to be able to leverage it on other operating systems."
"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 only issue I experienced was with the initialization of the session, which affected the stability of the solution."
"The user interface needs improvement."
"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."
"Ease of access is a bit of a challenge."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Microsoft Intune has a user-based subscription model. You can go for a monthly or a yearly payment."
"The pricing needs improvement."
"My team members bundled it together with their Microsoft solutions, including Microsoft 365 and related products."
"The licensing is on a yearly basis."
"Microsoft Intune's pricing is reasonable."
"This cost is approximately $30 USD per user per month."
"Cost is not my department, but the product is included in the E5 license that we already pay for every user, so no additional cost is incurred."
"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."
"The solution has a pretty comparable pricing."
"The pricing could always be improved."
"It's not an expensive product."
"The tool must be cheaper."
"I would say it's expensive as there similar products available for free."
"The solution has a perpetual license and it is purchased upfront."
"The tool's pricing is high in the Slovenian market. I rate it a nine out of ten."
"The cost of the solution is low."
"I use the tool's free version."
"The tool is not cheap."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
23%
Computer Software Company
9%
University
7%
Media Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business122
Midsize Enterprise48
Large Enterprise160
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business41
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise33
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 can be improved by better integrating it within Teams or providing a Teams integrat...
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: February 2026.
883,026 professionals have used our research since 2012.