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Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) vs Microsoft Virtual Server comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 4, 2025

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

Citrix DaaS (formerly Citri...
Ranking in Application Virtualization
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
125
Ranking in other categories
Remote Access (5th), Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (3rd), Desktop as a Service (DaaS) (1st)
Microsoft Virtual Server
Ranking in Application Virtualization
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
36
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Application Virtualization category, the mindshare of Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) is 27.0%, down from 29.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Virtual Server is 2.0%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Virtualization
 

Featured Reviews

Mohd Abdul Aziz Shah Sulaiman - PeerSpot reviewer
Delivers secure and unified access to apps, desktops, and content for enhanced productivity
Citrix Workforce is good, but it needs improvement in diagnosing network issues. When errors occur, it is difficult to determine if they're due to network issues, Workspace issues, or environment issues. The error messages are too vague, just stating "connection error" without specifying if it's an IP address issue, connectivity problem, or something else related to the network. This lack of detail makes troubleshooting difficult. We often have to reinstall everything in Workspace, without knowing the root cause. Even after engaging with Citrix and sending logs, the feedback is often unsatisfactory, not meeting my expectations. This trial-and-error approach isn't effective problem-solving. While these issues aren't everyday occurrences, when they do happen, they can be catastrophic for our operations team.
ChimeremezeNwabueze - PeerSpot reviewer
Eliminates the need for physical hardware and is not platform dependent
You can detach and reuse the storage drive without disrupting the virtual server, which is quite useful. Additionally, it provides options like network security groups to protect virtual machines from unauthorized access. The tool offers compatibility with various operating systems through the Azure Marketplace. You can access a wide range of Windows operating systems, both enterprise and commercial.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"XenApp is a fast, secure and reliable solution for remote connections that is completely different than and superior to older Windows solutions."
"It is user-friendly and easy to use."
"One of the best features of Citrix Workspace is that we can access it from any device anywhere."
"It is a stable solution."
"Citrix is used by many organizations to make it possible to streamline the way different developers work together from different locations."
"Among the most valuable features is the Citrix Workspace, which allows us to drive that thin-client connection and the remote control/remote access capabilities. Those things have allowed us to connect an awful lot of people quickly from home and that's obviously helped during the pandemic."
"We've been able to scale the environment quite nicely by using the Citrix Remote PC. I can't say enough about that. And because that relies on utilizing your existing hardware resources, and making those available as a part of your Citrix farm — with a second level of authentication and security pieces around it — we added some 4,000 workstations without an additional overhead or cost."
"Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops is a stable solution."
"The dashboard is valuable to us."
"The most valuable features are monitoring, and the self-service that they have for a customized environment."
"It is an expensive platform. I rate its pricing an eight out of ten."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to share folders and run Active Directory."
"The product is reliable."
"The solution is easy to manage."
"It is easy to use. It offers good compatibility with other operating systems. That's one of the reasons I used it."
"The tool is productive and performs well. The server speed is also fast."
 

Cons

"The sales team does not focus on client needs but instead focuses on selling higher-priced items."
"It would be great if they included VPN features and improved connectivity."
"I have noticed that the current compatibility issue with the latest version of Windows 11 is a concern for me and my client. While the client has support for Windows 11, it appears that the Citrix Workspace is only compatible with Windows 10, which does not support the newest version. This is an area that I believe could be improved upon."
"There is room for improvement because it has a lot of dependency on Active Directory and other things. If they could come up with something similar and native, a complete solution portfolio would help."
"We encounter compatibility issues related to hardware, scanners, and other devices."
"Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops is a complex solution."
"I think they can improve the troubleshooting to make it easier for users to solve problems on their own. For example, it could provide an error code and some instructions on how to reconnect to the database or do something proactive to fix the issue with the system."
"They can simplify the process of printers. Printers were quite a difficult issue. It took us a long time to iron this issue out. We have the most simple use case where people connect from home to either a virtual machine or their physical desktop. We tried more complex solutions like Machine Creation Services, and they were more overhead than they were worth for us. I found them difficult to work with and confusing, and they were not worth the work for us."
"One feature I would like to see is better compatibility with macOS. Due to business policies, macOS isn't currently available in the Azure Marketplace. Microsoft should come to agreement with it."
"The product must reduce the cost by 40%."
"As certain medium-level complexities are involved in the product's setup process, the product's setup phase can be considered for improvement."
"The solution's user interface could be improved."
"The tool must provide more freedom to the customer."
"Sometimes, it can cause a lag. It depends on the operating system and the working machine."
"Support could always be a bit better."
"The solution’s stability could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing, in general, is expensive. A lot of customers battle to pay the amount. It's very difficult to ensure that your solution provides the business value that the customer is after."
"We're paying for a standard license and, in my view, the price is too high. I would be satisfied with it if it were reduced by about 20-30%. Right now, I would rate the pricing a five out of ten."
"The purchase price was around $300,000 USD and then the maintenance fees were 20%. There are no other additional fees."
"My company opts for the yearly subscription model to pay towards the licensing costs attached to the solution."
"Citrix solutions cost a lot in comparison with competitors, like Azure Virtual Desktop or VMware Horizon. Those solutions cost around 50 to 60 percent less, per month per user, than Citrix."
"We don't have a lot to compare it to, but we certainly think whatever we pay is worthwhile at this point in time. It's very reasonable."
"Their licensing model used to be on a per-year basis, where you would negotiate the cost per user for a year. For instance, if you had 25,000 users, you could negotiate the cost accordingly. However, they are transitioning to a subscription-based model where the cost is incurred monthly."
"A perpetual enterprise license costs approximately $300 USD."
"The solution has a yearly license. If we switch to a yearly subscription plan for Microsoft Virtual Server, it would be cheaper in the long run. The price per month would be higher, but the overall cost for the year would be lower."
"It is an expensive platform. I rate its pricing an eight out of ten."
"Compared to the other products in the market, I believe that the prices of Microsoft Virtual Server are on the higher side."
"The price of this product could be better."
"Microsoft Virtual Server is an expensive solution."
"Some of the licensing costs are monthly, and others are yearly."
"The solution is very expensive."
"The pricing must be improved."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops?
My focus has primarily been on publishing virtual applications.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops?
I rate the product’s pricing a seven out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive.
What needs improvement with Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops?
I have found that Citrix DaaS is still a complex product, especially on the desktop side, which affects scalability. Although it works well on the apps side, the desktop aspect still has room for i...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Virtual Server?
One feature I would like to see is better compatibility with macOS. Due to business policies, macOS isn't currently available in the Azure Marketplace. Microsoft should come to agreement with it.
 

Also Known As

XenDesktop, XenApp (Citrix Virtual Apps), Citrix Workspace
Virtual Server, MS Virtual Server
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Exelon, Aeronamic, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Alameda County Medical Center, Alaska Department of Fish & Game, Aloysius Stichting, Amarchand Mangaldas, AmBev, Amnet Technology Solutions, Arval
Paylocity, ASELSAN, Sochi Organizing Committee, Supervisor of Elections, Orange County, Florida, Netgem, Nav Canada, The British & Irish Lions
Find out what your peers are saying about Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) vs. Microsoft Virtual Server and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
848,989 professionals have used our research since 2012.