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Horizon Cloud Service vs Microsoft Remote Desktop Services comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 5, 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

Horizon Cloud Service
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
11th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
11
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
91
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
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services6.1%
Horizon Cloud Service3.9%
Other90.0%
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
 

Featured Reviews

SivaKuppala - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
reviewer2795433 - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I honestly liked the application itself because it was just like using a desktop; you could copy and paste, inside and outside, use multiple monitors, and access it anytime, anywhere, no matter whether you were in the office or out of the office."
"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."
"VMware Horizon Cloud is easy to use and the full development cloud is very good."
"The product’s on-premise version has the ability to create an image of any updates or changes in the system."
"The most valuable feature of VMware Horizon Cloud is all of its capabilities together."
"The tool remains pretty stable."
"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."
"What I found most valuable in Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is accessibility because the solution lets you take control of your computer remotely."
"The solution is rock solid; it’s stable and reliable, there are no bugs or glitches, and it doesn’t crash or freeze."
"The advice I would give to others looking into using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is to use it out of the box as it is one of the best and most valuable tools on the market."
"The solution is now stable."
"We use it to connect to the legacy system."
"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."
"We have deployed Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for logistics, CNC, and machine shop areas, and I think that it is very flexible in order to provide the correct maintenance and deploy the services."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services has positively impacted my organization by giving us the freedom to work from any location remotely and at any time."
 

Cons

"Logging into VMware Horizon Cloud could be made easier. Additionally, the VMs could be better in their performance."
"It can be very expensive to scale up because each part of scaling up requires you to have new components of the infrastructure."
"It is too expensive as compared to other solutions because of which we don't use it that much."
"The licensing model is complex, particularly for hybrid deployments, and simplifying it could help."
"There should be more emphasis on the Workspace One access part of the solution."
"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 application remoting features have some room for improvement."
"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."
"The product can be improved by ensuring that people can access it from anywhere and be leveraged on any kind of device virtually."
"I would like to see a web-based interface, instead of client installation to refresh the UI through HTML."
"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."
"I would like to see the hard drives work without locking up and integrate the local drives in the next release."
"Having a secondary app to log in to a remote VN is not ideal, but the app itself is very good."
"For Microsoft, maybe bandwidth optimization is one of the areas that need improvement."
"The stability must be improved."
"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.""
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate VMware Horizon Cloud pricing a ten out of ten."
"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."
"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."
"There is a license required for the use of this solution and there are different tier levels available."
"VMware Horizon Cloud is an expensive solution. This solution is approximately 30 percent more than Microsoft Azure Cloud. There can be extra costs."
"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."
"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 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."
"The tool must be cheaper."
"There is a licensing cost."
"The price of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is reasonable. The solution can come for free for some clients with certain agreements."
"I would say it's expensive as there similar products available for free."
"I recall that you don't need to pay for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services because that's included in Windows."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Performing Arts
9%
Construction Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise6
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business45
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise36
 

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.
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...
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...
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.
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 ...
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.
 

Also Known As

VMware Horizon Cloud, VMware Horizon DaaS
Remote Desktop Services
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Marriott, Sprint
Bank Alfalah Ltd.
Find out what your peers are saying about Horizon Cloud Service vs. Microsoft Remote Desktop Services and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
894,830 professionals have used our research since 2012.