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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
7.3
Number of Reviews
247
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
16th
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
6.6
Number of Reviews
78
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Remote Access category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 9.5%, down from 11.7% 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 11.0%, down from 14.8% 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 standout features of Intune are its excellent mobile device management and highly effective application management capabilities."
"The most valuable feature is Intune's ability to push out updates for the security and antivirus. I also like Intune's copilot and the ability to automate processes. For example, if you have 5,000 employees who are issued new PCs and you need to set them up with everything they need."
"The device profiling which uses the official Outlook email enabled us to control the screenshot feature and prevent copying outside of the organization's application."
"It's easy to manage and easy to configure."
"Its direct integration with all the other products that we have from Microsoft is valuable. We're using the E5 license, and we have a whole wealth of different products available. It just makes it easier to have everything from one provider."
"With on-premises Active Directory, the main challenge was that we had no control when a user was working from home. We didn't know what exactly a user was doing and whether the AV was up to date or not. Intune provides better control of their machines."
"It is helpful for managing devices anytime and any place without requiring dependency on the local networks."
"Intune's feature that I have found most valuable is its auto-pilot feature."
"Makes me instantly more focused on resolving the issue rather than getting to the issue."
"One credential can be used to access VPN, RDS, and more."
"The interface is great to work with as it allows multiple connections in a tabbed interface. It also has the option to automatically start a VPN or an SSH tunnel, if required."
"Allows us to configure limited access to resources with the security-based role feature (which we use for trainees and new employees)."
"Devolutions's team is constantly making improvements to their products. If you submit a feature request, they are usually quick to implement it."
"Integration with a third party credential storage, web login, and VPN are the most usable and useful functions at the moment."
"It really helps to have all the data already pre-entered and all I have to do is enter the password."
"The remote connection across platforms is great."
"The most valuable features are the desktop session and desktop virtualization."
"The solution is user-friendly and has a good user experience."
"The most valuable feature is performance."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is its security and simple configuration."
"The installation is straightforward."
"Since the tool has a graphical user interface, it's easier for us to access the server."
"I've had good experiences with Microsoft customer support."
"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."
 

Cons

"The reporting could be improved, as it's pretty poor compared to other products of this type."
"The synchronization of devices takes a significant amount of time, between 15 minutes and two hours. Microsoft should work on reducing this sync time to improve efficiency."
"The synchronization could be improved."
"Microsoft Intune could improve by being more user-friendly and having it geared toward device management. The graphic interface is not very good."
"Lacking in features such as Wi-Fi and network security."
"The installation is very easy. However, to be able to configure it you will need special knowledge, such as training or self-studies to have a proper level of security. There are many settings one has to understand before being able to implement Microsoft Intune."
"Intune should improve the management of non-Microsoft devices. It would be better to manage Mac, Android, and other non-Microsoft operating system devices within the same Intune interface."
"A new Intune feature allows application packaging, but it incurs additional licensing costs for a significant number of applications."
"Sometimes when updating, the install window is on top of the prompt to close the application."
"The filing system of connections is a little clunky, but is completely functional."
"On complex setups, I actually needed to reach out to support to get it working correctly."
"Sometimes the manual inventory of some entries hangs, and RDM must be closed via task manager."
"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."
"The console is a little bit clunky."
"The RDM client (.NET issue, actually) can stall or lock up while it clears communication threads to the server."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is its security and simple configuration."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services needs to improve its security."
"The solution should have better security."
"We are searching for a product with better remote access and remote sessions."
"We find the services are not as transparent as we would like for our integration with Citrix."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is only available for the professional version of the Windows operating system. This restricts a lot of users. The feature should be available for all versions."
"Teams component can be a bit cumbersome to use. It takes some time to get it working as expected."
"Security in the connection between us and our clients' servers is something that can be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's affordable. It's cheaper if you have an Office 365, E5, or E3 subscription because everything is there."
"The solution is cost-efficient."
"Previously the price was $4 per month per user. Now it's $2.25 per user per month."
"We don't pay for Intune because it is bundled with the premium subscription to Office 365. It includes Intune and Defender. I don't have to buy two extra products to manage my enterprise."
"The price could be better."
"Consider the Microsoft Enterprise Mobility Suite rather than choosing specific sub-components, e.g. only Microsoft Intune."
"Microsoft Intune's costliness stems from licensing fees and the overhead associated with its management, user experience, and device remediation."
"There is a license needed for this solution and it is either included in one of the enterprise license agreements. Microsoft licensing is a mathematical institute, it could be quite complex. We tend to ask specialized organizations to research what the most profitable way it would be for us to use licenses in the organizations."
"The Free Edition is completely free. You can try also the Enterprise Edition for 30 days for free."
"Setup costs for most people is negligible."
"If you are a Microsoft MVP, VMware vExpert, Cisco Champion, etc., Devolutions offers a free Enterprise License."
"The solution has a pretty comparable pricing."
"The solution comes free with Microsoft Windows."
"The solution is expensive. My company pays toward the monthly licensing costs of the solution...The additional cost, apart from the solution's licensing cost, is related to the technical support a user wants."
"Its licensing is on a yearly basis. We're on the educational or academic license, and our terms are good. We're very happy with the pricing."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is less expensive than some other solutions on the market."
"I am aware that for Azure we do have an extra license because we are leveraging on different tenants."
"We do not have to pay for the product."
"The solution is expensive. Since things are made to be a bit easier in the solution, the solution's cost is a bit on the higher side."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
24%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
18%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Educational Organization
8%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
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: March 2025.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.