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 #3 with an average rating of 8.6. Omnissa holds a 4.2% mindshare in VD, compared to Microsoft’s 6.4% 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

2,343 Views
2,156 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

Microsoft Remote Desktop Se...

Read 91 Microsoft Remote Desktop Services reviews

9,417 Views
4,426 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

Horizon Cloud Service

Microsoft Remote Desktop Se...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services and Horizon Cloud Service compete in virtual desktop solutions. While Microsoft Remote Desktop Services offers exceptional integration for Windows environments, Horizon Cloud Service excels with versatile cloud capabilities.

Features:Microsoft Remote Desktop Services supports seamless remote application access, session-based desktops, and excellent integration within Windows ecosystems. Horizon Cloud Service provides multi-cloud support, advanced virtual desktop capabilities, and centralized cloud-based management.

Room for Improvement:Microsoft Remote Desktop Services could enhance its multi-cloud support and address its complexity for non-Windows integration. Horizon Cloud Service may benefit from simplifying its initial setup process and improving compatibility with non-cloud-centric infrastructures.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service:Microsoft Remote Desktop Services offers straightforward deployment within Windows infrastructures with minimal configuration, while Horizon Cloud Service involves a more complex setup due to multi-cloud support but offers comprehensive guidance and support.

Pricing and ROI:Microsoft Remote Desktop Services typically involves lower initial setup costs, favoring Windows-based environments. Horizon Cloud Service might incur higher upfront expenses but offers superior scalability and flexibility for better long-term ROI for companies pursuing broad cloud integration.

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)

3rd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Remote Access (3rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of Horizon Cloud Service is 4.2%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is 6.4%, up from 5.9% 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	6.4%
Horizon Cloud Service	4.2%
Other	89.4%

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

"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."

"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."

"VMware Horizon Cloud is easy to use and the full development cloud is very good. The main features of VMware are included. It's a cloud-based virtual desktop infrastructure software that allows you to permit the virtual desktops and applications to any device from the single unified management control. These are managed from the dedicated remote session desktop."

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

"I honestly liked the application itself because it was just like using a desktop. You could copy and paste, inside and outside, and you could use multiple monitors. You could access it anytime, anywhere, no matter whether you were in the office or out of the office. I could leave the office, go somewhere, go back in, and everything would be there. I could just leave it up and running. I absolutely love this feature in VMware Horizon Cloud."

"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 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."

More Horizon Cloud Service pros

"The availability is very good; it's easy to use, and new users especially find it very simple as you just connect and go."

"Things can be made easier if someone is not with us or at a long distance since we can connect easily with those people. So, it's easy for us to use such features."

"Microsoft is very reasonable in its approach to cost."

"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services has positively impacted my organization by giving us the freedom to work from any location remotely and at any time."

"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services has helped our organization because it provides easier access to desktops without having to be physically on-site."

"The solution is now stable."

"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is stable and reliable."

"The solution has very smooth connectivity and is a very user friendly product."

More Microsoft Remote Desktop Services pros

Cons

"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."

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

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

"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."

"Logging into VMware Horizon Cloud could be made easier. Additionally, the VMs could be better in their performance."

"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."

"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."

"It can be very expensive to scale up because each part of scaling up requires you to have new components of the infrastructure."

More Horizon Cloud Service cons

"The performance depends on connectivity."

"The only problems that you're going to have with the remote desktop are going to be firewall ports, security, and NLA, which is a net network level access control, or TLS transfer layer security or some other SSL-type of security."

"The administrative functionality is not enough for me."

"The product is not very scalable."

"Currently, installation of applications on an RDS farm must be performed manually on each server."

"I would not recommend going with this solution because I wouldn't recommend going for a big enterprise setup."

"Updates sometimes impact the application and we have system crashes."

"We'd like, in the future, if it would work with Linux or Unix-based operating systems or even Mac."

More Microsoft Remote Desktop Services cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"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."

"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."

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

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

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

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

"It's not an expensive product."

"It's not an expensive solution."

"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."

"The solution has a pretty comparable pricing."

"I think that Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is expensive compared to Login solution."

"The tool's pricing is high in the Slovenian market. I rate it a nine out of ten."

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

"The tool must be cheaper."

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

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 11% of the time

Nerdio vs Horizon Cloud Service

Compared 10% of the time

Azure Virtual Desktop vs Horizon Cloud Service

Compared 9% of the time

Horizon 8 vs Horizon Cloud Service

Compared 7% 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

VMware Workstation vs Microsoft Remote Desktop Services

Compared 5% of the time

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

Compared 5% of the time

Parallels Access vs Microsoft Remote Desktop Services

Compared 3% 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

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