Horizon Cloud Service vs Microsoft Remote Desktop Services comparison

Omnissa and Microsoft are both solutions in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category. Omnissa is ranked #11 with an average rating of 8.0, while Microsoft is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.4. Omnissa holds a 3.9% mindshare in VD, compared to Microsoft’s 6.1% mindshare. Additionally, 91% of Omnissa users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 88% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

Horizon Cloud Service

Read 11 Horizon Cloud Service reviews

2,007 Views
1,826 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

Microsoft Remote Desktop Se...

Read 91 Microsoft Remote Desktop Services reviews

8,638 Views
4,060 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

Horizon Cloud Service

Microsoft Remote Desktop Se...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 5, 2024

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services and Horizon Cloud Service compete in the virtual desktop solutions category. Horizon Cloud Service has an edge with its comprehensive feature set, offering more advanced capabilities than Microsoft Remote Desktop Services.

Features: Microsoft Remote Desktop Services offers robust integration with Windows environments, seamless application compatibility, and centralized management. Horizon Cloud Service provides enhanced virtualization features, compatibility with multiple cloud platforms, and support for high-performance graphics applications.

Room for Improvement: Microsoft Remote Desktop Services could improve its support for non-Windows platforms, offer more flexible deployment options, and enhance its graphical capabilities. Horizon Cloud Service could streamline its initial setup process, offer competitive pricing, and enhance customer support for complex deployments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is known for its straightforward deployment within Windows ecosystems and strong support aligned with Microsoft resources. Horizon Cloud Service offers flexible deployment compatible with various cloud providers but has a more intricate initial setup process. Its customer service is capable and versatile, catering to multiple deployment scenarios.

Pricing and ROI: Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is attractive for organizations seeking lower initial costs and competitive pricing. Horizon Cloud Service, justified with its superior features and flexibility, offers a potentially higher ROI, particularly for businesses operating in multiple environments.

To learn more, read our detailed Horizon Cloud Service vs. Microsoft Remote Desktop Services Report (Updated: April 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Horizon Cloud Service vs. Microsoft Remote Desktop Services

April 2026

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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

Horizon Cloud Service

Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

11th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Desktop as a Service (DaaS) (3rd)

Microsoft Remote Desktop Se...

Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

5th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Remote Access (3rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of Horizon Cloud Service is 3.9%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is 6.1%, up from 6.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services	6.1%
Horizon Cloud Service	3.9%
Other	90.0%

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

Featured Reviews

SivaKuppala

Enterprise Architect at Wipro Limited

Centralized management enhances multi-cloud flexibility with cost efficiency improvements

The cost of Horizon Cloud Service is high, however, it could be optimized. The licensing model is complex, particularly for hybrid deployments, and simplifying it could help. Improvements in application performance, especially for resource-heavy applications like intensive 3D workloads, are needed. More built-in automation for routine tasks like patching and upgrading could reduce administrative effort.

Read full review

reviewer2795433

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.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Horizon Cloud Service provides deployment flexibility across multiple clouds with a scalable architecture that easily scales virtual desktops and applications up or down based on demand."

"The interface is much easier to use compared to Microsoft and other VDI vendors that are well known on the market. I like VMware so much more than the others. With Horizon Cloud, you don't need to spend a lot of money upfront to buy the infrastructure. You can use it the on the cloud, so it lowers the barriers to entry. It's easier to test it and get started. Some clients stay in the cloud, but others prefer to go on-premise. It depends on the nature of the client."

"The most valuable feature of VMware Horizon Cloud is all of its capabilities together."

"The product’s on-premise version has the ability to create an image of any updates or changes in the system."

"The main benefit of Horizon Cloud Service is that it is cloud-based, allowing our organization to leverage the service without having to manage all infrastructure directly."

"The most valuable feature of VMware Horizon Cloud is the ability to manage a great number of desktops at once and the remote access for users that are working from outside of the office or from different offices in the country."

"From the scalability perspective, that's one of the great things, because even with the basic setup, which has essentially very few components, you can run 10,000 desktops straight off the bat."

"The product allows a VPN connection, adding extra value to its features."

More Horizon Cloud Service pros

"It works fine, and it is largely issue-free."

"The most valuable part of RDS is that it allows you to work from any location and check the server through a VPN connection."

"It allows employees to log on to corporate resources remotely."

"The most valuable aspect is it is handy."

"The best features Microsoft Remote Desktop Services offers are the performance, which is excellent, with no lag, so I can work in my window on my laptop and it will appear as if I am working on the server, never feeling as though I am using a remote desktop."

"We've had a good experience with it over a number of years."

"The most valuable feature is that it gives me full accessibility to my servers."

"Everything is really good and it works well."

More Microsoft Remote Desktop Services pros

Cons

"Our technical support of VMware is good, but the main problem is it takes a lot of time."

"It is very expensive. Its price needs to be improved. They can do a better job with external resources such as a USB or a hard drive. When I tried to connect using these external resources, it failed a lot of times. I had to do a shared connection with a local laptop and then connect from a network standpoint, rather than through VMware Horizon point. They definitely have weaknesses with external connections. A lot of companies probably don't let people use external connections because it defeats the purpose of having a cloud solution and keeping the data in a secure area. You can copy to an external device, and you can lose the data. A lot of companies may not focus on this feature, but if you are providing it, you should make it work."

"There should be more emphasis on the Workspace One access part of the solution. This is essentially identity management provided with Horizon. There needs to be some kind of integration because you are able to have all of these desktops on any device, but you have to have this other component to make it easier from a single sign-on perspective. That's why there should be an emphasis on Workspace One access. It actually comes free with the product, but people don't really know how powerful it can be."

"The licensing model is complex, particularly for hybrid deployments, and simplifying it could help."

"It is too expensive as compared to other solutions because of which we don't use it that much."

"In the design phase, sometimes the tools for designing Horizon solutions have issues when they're calculating the number of nodes and platforms needed to support the VDI systems."

"The product has a lot of bugs."

"The licensing model needs to be adjusted, as a cloud license is currently required even for on-premises devices."

More Horizon Cloud Service cons

"I've sometimes had trouble setting up an RDS connection if I want a specific user to be able to log in with their credentials and have the RDS element retain those settings so that the password isn't required each time."

"It could be more user-friendly."

"Sometimes the server stops working, and we don’t know why. Occasionally we’ll get a message to the effect of "There is no remote license.""

"In a future release, they could improve by providing more advanced technology and better buffering for if the connection is degraded or lost."

"Regarding the interface, I would rate it a nine mainly because it still looks like an old application, and if it could be modernized, that would be appreciated."

"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is a good tool that does what it is meant to do, and from a security perspective, it is brilliant. However, there is a lot of overhead with managing it, which modern tools do not have, especially tools that exist in the cloud."

"Scalability maybe should be improved. I know that there were better products in the market on the side of scalability."

"The stability could be improved."

More Microsoft Remote Desktop Services cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"For what you get, it is very compelling. You've got to look at the total cost of ownership of this type of piece of software in terms of being able to utilize it as a cloud service. I don't have to run everything on-premises. When you look at the total cost of just being able to use it and then being able to point it to any public or private cloud, it is very compelling. You have one less thing to manage."

"VMware Horizon Cloud is a low-cost solution. The model that they have is consumption-based. However, some features are expensive."

"Initially, the product is cheap, but it starts to get expensive when users try to scale out."

"VMware Horizon Cloud is an expensive solution. This solution is approximately 30 percent more than Microsoft Azure Cloud. There can be extra costs."

"I rate VMware Horizon Cloud pricing a ten out of ten."

"There is a license required for the use of this solution and there are different tier levels available."

"It is too expensive as compared to other solutions because of which we don't use it that much. We tend to go more for Hyper-V or Azure just because VMware licensing is quite up there. We sway people away from VMware Horizon Cloud. We have some clients who already have it. They stay on it for a little while, and then most of them end up moving off when we provide them a better solution that isn't as license heavy cost-wise."

"I recall that you don't need to pay for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services because that's included in Windows."

"The tool must be cheaper."

"The solution has a pretty comparable pricing."

"I am aware that for Azure we do have an extra license because we are leveraging on different tenants."

"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."

"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."

More Microsoft Remote Desktop Services pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Performing Arts

10%

Construction Company

Manufacturing Company

11%

Computer Software Company

Comms Service Provider

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	6

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	45
Midsize Enterprise	16
Large Enterprise	36

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware Horizon Cloud?

The cost is considered normal, not remarkable but not outrageous. In terms of expense, compared to other virtualization products, I would rate it as a six.

See all answers

What needs improvement with VMware Horizon Cloud?

The licensing model needs to be adjusted, as a cloud license is currently required even for on-premises devices. Horizon Cloud Service should continue improving their protocol and work with other h...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for VMware Horizon Cloud?

Our primary use case focuses on virtual desktop and application hosting. This is spread across different industries. We have a large number of employees, and we are one of the largest GSIs globally...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?

The experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that the pricing is based on licensing costs and the setup is complex.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services can be improved in several areas. Currently, it requires a license cost, it has performance limits on shared resources with bottlenecks, the setup is complex, and ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?

Our main use case for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is to allow multiple users to remotely access our Windows machine, desktop, or application over the internet and our network.

See all answers

Comparisons

Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) vs Horizon Cloud Service

Compared 12% of the time

Nerdio vs Horizon Cloud Service

Compared 11% of the time

Azure Virtual Desktop vs Horizon Cloud Service

Compared 9% of the time

Horizon 8 vs Horizon Cloud Service

Compared 8% of the time

VMware Workstation vs Horizon Cloud Service

Compared 6% of the time

More Horizon Cloud Service Competitors

Horizon 8 vs Microsoft Remote Desktop Services

Compared 7% of the time

TeamViewer vs Microsoft Remote Desktop Services

Compared 6% of the time

Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) vs Microsoft Remote Desktop Services

Compared 5% of the time

VMware Workstation vs Microsoft Remote Desktop Services

Compared 5% of the time

VMware Fusion Pro vs Microsoft Remote Desktop Services

Compared 2% of the time

More Microsoft Remote Desktop Services Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Horizon Cloud Service

May 2026

Download Horizon Cloud Service product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services

May 2026

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services report

Download Microsoft Remote Desktop Services product report

Also Known As

VMware Horizon Cloud, VMware Horizon DaaS

Remote Desktop Services

Overview

Horizon Cloud Service offers stable, flexible access to virtual desktops anytime, anywhere. Its centralized cloud management and scalable architecture support hybrid environments.

Horizon Cloud Service provides a cloud-based desktop solution ideal for businesses seeking remote access and power management. With features like centralized management and dynamic environment handling, it supports a seamless desktop experience. While offering remote accessibility and advanced management, it aids in reducing infrastructure costs through cloud-based scalability. However, improvements are needed in VM performance and external connection support, with current licensing complexities posing a challenge. Designed for VDI and application hosting across platforms such as Azure, Google Cloud, and AWS, it enables secure remote working with efficient workload management.

What are the main features of Horizon Cloud Service?

Centralized Cloud Management: Efficiently manage desktops from a unified platform.
Dynamic Environment Management: Customize environments to suit user needs dynamically.
Remote Access: Access desktops from anywhere with high reliability.
Multiple Monitor Support: Enhanced user experience with multi-screen compatibility.
VPN Connectivity: Secure connections for remote access users.

What benefits or ROI should users look for?

Infrastructure Cost Reduction: Lower costs with cloud-based scaling.
Seamless Desktop Experience: Consistent user interface across devices.
Hybrid Environment Support: Foster versatile deployment methods across clouds.
Flexible Deployment: Accommodate diverse business needs with adjustable solutions.

In industries like finance, healthcare, and education, Horizon Cloud Service facilitates secure remote operations and automates cloud-based machine generation, supporting hybrid workspaces for resource-efficient deployment.

Omnissa

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services provides secure, seamless access to remote applications with cross-platform compatibility and centralized management, enhancing productivity and resource sharing in Windows environments.

The robust security features of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services enable efficient data handling and user support across devices. With a focus on remote application access, scalability, and ease of use, this solution integrates effortlessly with Windows environments. It offers centralized management, facilitating smooth IT operations. However, there is potential for improving interface intuitiveness and setup simplicity. Addressing keyboard compatibility with macOS, network connectivity challenges, and security vulnerabilities could enhance the user experience. Optimization for performance on slower networks and clearer license management would further benefit users.

What are the key features of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?

Robust Security: Ensures data remains secure on servers.
Seamless Remote Application Access: Provides smooth access to applications remotely.
Cross-Platform Compatibility: Supports multiple devices and operating systems.
Centralized Management: Simplifies IT resource management.
Ease of Use: Facilitates setup and offers excellent accessibility.

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Increased Productivity: Enables efficient resource sharing and task management.
Enhanced Flexibility: Improves performance through remote access.
Scalability: Allows for easy management of growing resources.
Secure Access: Protects sensitive data and client applications.

In numerous industries, Microsoft Remote Desktop Services supports remote server management, virtual desktops, and application virtualization. Organizations use it for collaboration, secure data handling, and accessing critical resources across different locations. It aids in troubleshooting, ensuring secure connections to client applications and facilitating testing and support for multiple users in diverse environments.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Marriott, Sprint

Bank Alfalah Ltd.

Buyer's Guide

Horizon Cloud Service vs. Microsoft Remote Desktop Services

April 2026

Free Report: Horizon Cloud Service vs. Microsoft Remote Desktop Services

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