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Devolutions Remote Desktop Manager vs Microsoft Remote Desktop Services 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
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
263
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (2nd), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
Devolutions Remote Desktop ...
Ranking in Remote Access
19th
Average Rating
9.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Remote Desktop Se...
Ranking in Remote Access
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
79
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Remote Access category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 9.4%, down from 11.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Devolutions Remote Desktop Manager is 1.1%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is 10.5%, down from 14.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Remote Access
 

Featured Reviews

Joseph Merusi - PeerSpot reviewer
Everything has worked better since we started using it
Sometimes the syncing is inconsistent. I'm confident that the devices are checking in every eight hours, but sometimes the devices aren't picking up the settings as quickly as I would expect. Some features haven't been updated in a while, and Microsoft doesn't seem interested in developing them. Unless you talk to an engineer, you don't know whether there will be an update. There are communication issues, so you might start working with a feature without knowing if it will be deprecated six months from now. Some reporting areas still need development. For example, I noticed that the reporting for driver updates is still confusing.
StephenWatson - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to deploy with great security and responsive support
The security on offer is the most valuable aspect of the solution. It offers, for example, two-factor authentification. The remote connection across platforms is great. You can deploy it on anything, including Windows, Mac, iOS, your iPhone, et cetera. It offers multi-platform utility. This makes it great for enterprise. Users can use it for PAM access as well. The feature of Devolutions that has improved our customer's efficiency the most is probably the security side. It's gotten a lot tighter. Authentication and secure connections are helpful. They use encryption between them, which is just standard for them. The company has so many regulatory controls that they must ensure their security is very tight. There's a lot of potential cybercrime around casinos, and this solution ensures they are well-protected. Devolutions is a great product that can be safely used between China, Australia, or the Philippines, and it remains a good, safe product.
Terje Romen - PeerSpot reviewer
Accessing the same desktop experience from anywhere but user template creation needs improvement
Mostly we are quite happy with it. However, some of us want a more powerful desktop. When not present, we use a remote tool called Splashtop, which is a good solution for some users. We have about ten licenses for those who need a powerful workstation at the office. We have not used many different tools. We are never in contact with Microsoft. These are quite basic configurations, to be honest. It's not complicated. AI is coming to or is already in some applications we are using. Not system-wise, however, it might be good. I'd rate the solution seven out of ten. It's quite good, yet certainly not perfect.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The thing I appreciate most about Microsoft Intune is that the management of the devices was very simplified."
"I have seen a return on investment right from the start of the tool's usage."
"I rate Intune 10 out of 10."
"It's easy to manage."
"Users can make screenshots, and devices only need the minimal version of iOS."
"The biggest asset is the range of device management options available with Intune, whether it is a Windows device, a Linux device, a Mac device, or mobile devices."
"It works pretty well for us."
"It is user-friendly, and the performance is also good. It is a convenient product"
"Being able to aggregate all connections (RDP, FTP, SSH, VPN, etc.) in the same interface and make each server readily available in the same way, which lets me focus on the problem regardless of where it is."
"Devolutions's team is constantly making improvements to their products. If you submit a feature request, they are usually quick to implement it."
"Initial setup was very straightforward."
"Allows us to configure limited access to resources with the security-based role feature (which we use for trainees and new employees)."
""Inherited" function for credentials - Configure the desired credential at one (top) location, and use the Inherited function on all sub-connections that should use this credential."
"By integrating all our connections previously spread across multiple locations, a lot of time has been saved."
"Documentation per entry, good for device configs or important/special instructions."
"Integration with a third party credential storage, web login, and VPN are the most usable and useful functions at the moment."
"The solution is scalable."
"It's built into the operating system and has a command line interface capability to insert credentials, IDs, a password, et cetera."
"The installation of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services was easy."
"It's largely stable."
"The product is stable."
"It is a stable product."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is its security and simple configuration."
"The most valuable part of RDS is that it allows you to work from any location and check the server through a VPN connection."
 

Cons

"The solution requires Mac support."
"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."
"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."
"Intune's third-party patch management could be better. It should be easier for the average system admin to keep non-Microsoft applications updated."
"Once it's configured it is unobtrusive, but it does take some hands-on to configure and deploy it properly."
"What would make this product better is adding more security policies and features in the next upgrade."
"We faced issues with macOS support. The product should have better inventory and asset management."
"I think that there is room for improvement with the reporting. If this is done, it will be a better product."
"Sometimes the manual inventory of some entries hangs, and RDM must be closed via task manager."
"On complex setups, I actually needed to reach out to support to get it working correctly."
"The console is a little bit clunky."
"The only complaint I have heard is there are too many updates. Each time there is an update (the app prompts to upgrade), it can be time consuming, especially when sometimes there are multiple updates per week."
"If there was a way to streamline the process, it would make it nice."
"Sometimes when updating, the install window is on top of the prompt to close the application."
"There are always bugs to squash, beyond that, it is really kind of difficult for new users to discover and use many of the features due to the bewildering array of choices and ways to do things."
"Maybe some clipboard functions could be added along with integration of different software."
"We encounter challenges with portability, especially for users of iOS devices."
"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."
"Microsoft Desktop Services is stable but it takes up a lot of resources in the CPU. It's a bit heavier than some solutions."
"Remote Desktop Services doesn't scale well."
"The solution is unsuitable for direct external internet connections. You must set up a VPN and password handling to use it."
"We'd like them to continue to improve on security."
"The solution should introduce a chat feature for end users."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If you're subscribing to Premium or E3, there are no additional costs for Intune, it's included."
"We work in the charity sector, so a lot of our clients get Microsoft Premium licenses or Business Premium for free. They get ten licenses free, and a lot of our clients do not have more than ten staff members. They are getting the tool for free, so its cost is not an issue."
"Most of our clients come to us with licensing already in place. On average, it costs $6 per device per month to add Intune to an Office 365 subscription, but I am not sure."
"The pricing is competitive, but it is not cheap."
"The pricing for Microsoft Intune is reasonable. Our clients are satisfied."
"It's monthly for us, but it's built into the license cost that we pay our IT each month. It's maybe 129 Kroner per head, which translates to £10. There are some additional costs. Our IT had to set up and configure their own server, so there is an extra cost for that, but I'm not sure what that costs."
"Microsoft Intune is reasonably priced for large organizations that already have Microsoft Enterprise licenses, but it is less affordable for smaller businesses."
"The Intune license model is costly."
"If you are a Microsoft MVP, VMware vExpert, Cisco Champion, etc., Devolutions offers a free Enterprise License."
"Setup costs for most people is negligible."
"The Free Edition is completely free. You can try also the Enterprise Edition for 30 days for free."
"We do not have to pay for the product."
"The pricing is moderate."
"It's not an expensive product."
"Although not an expensive product, pricing is always something that can be improved."
"I think that Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is expensive compared to Login solution."
"The solution has a perpetual license and it is purchased upfront."
"The solution comes free with Microsoft Windows."
"It's not an expensive solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
19%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
20%
Financial Services Firm
9%
University
8%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 Devolutions Remote Desktop Manager?
With the security factors built into it, the price point is quite good. They have entry-level and enterprise-level li...
What needs improvement with Devolutions Remote Desktop Manager?
The console is a little bit clunky. It could be modernized. A tech developer might think it is fine, however, from a ...
What is your primary use case for Devolutions Remote Desktop Manager?
We use the solution for a customer that needs pretty high security. They are in the poker machine manufacturing world...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
I've never had an issue with it. I've always thought the pricing for RDS was reasonable.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
We would like configuration to be automatic and the price to be close to zero, however, that's not realistic. Everyon...
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
No data available
Remote Desktop Services
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Financial Services, Healthcare Provider Network, Government Agency,Technology and Software Development,Telecommunications, Retail Chain Management, MSPs, Manufacturing, Global Logistics and Shipping, Education, IT teams.
Bank Alfalah Ltd.
Find out what your peers are saying about Devolutions Remote Desktop Manager vs. Microsoft Remote Desktop Services and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
850,671 professionals have used our research since 2012.