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Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs N-able Take Control 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
6.7
Number of Reviews
301
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (2nd), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
Microsoft Remote Desktop Se...
Ranking in Remote Access
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
80
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (5th)
N-able Take Control
Ranking in Remote Access
28th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Remote Access category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 9.7%, down from 10.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is 9.5%, down from 13.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of N-able Take Control is 1.0%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Remote Access Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Intune9.7%
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services9.5%
N-able Take Control1.0%
Other79.8%
Remote Access
 

Featured Reviews

AkashKamble - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables management of multiple operating systems with a single license
The best feature is that it's a Microsoft product, so if anything goes wrong, we get quick support for anything required. Remote system functionality allows us to sit anywhere and take control of any device via remote management. We can enhance security for clients' laptops with built-in Microsoft Defender, which is available with the Microsoft Intune license. We use it for reporting purposes through endpoint analytics. When pushing scripting, there are two types available: remediation script and reservation script. Through endpoint analytics, you can push defender policies to clients. It helps with reporting, inventory updates, and monitoring tenant status health.
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.
Brian Hershey - PeerSpot reviewer
It covers you for HIPAA and PCI certification
Take Control is a way to remotely take over the console of a managed machine, but it also gives you other abilities. You can take over the console, access the registry, throw commands at it in the background, and manipulate the file system Take Control enables you to collaborate with end users.…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We are a remote company, and the product helps us manage the global endpoints. It helps us natively manage the endpoints in the cloud from anywhere."
"The ability to wipe data from and reset devices is one of the most important and valuable features. If a device is reported stolen, we can freeze it or wipe the data from it, preventing data leakage."
"The best features of Microsoft Intune include helping to know if computers are configured correctly and if users have access to apps or the platform."
"The most valuable feature for us is the security, including risk analysis and patch management."
"I like Intune's ability to manage roles, maintenance tasks, compliance settings, and patch development for all endpoints."
"We have not experienced any bugs or glitches with this solution."
"Intune provides a centralized management solution, although its suitability depends on specific needs and comparisons with alternatives like Jamf, Kandji, or ManageEngine."
"Microsoft Intune is reliable, scalable, and user-friendly."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is stable and reliable."
"It's part of the Microsoft Operating system and is free."
"The most valuable feature is the remote application access."
"Mostly we are quite happy with it."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is that it scales well."
"Good screen draw feature and ability to use two monitors."
"The solution is stable and reliable."
"The solution is stable."
"Take Control enables you to collaborate with end users. It's for supporting a workstation where you want the person on the other side to see you moving their mouse, and you can work with them."
"The most valuable part of N-able Take Control is being able to remotely access your customer's site. You are able to view their network. Once you have it set up, it's always available. N-able Take Control can be used even when other remote access controls have been made."
 

Cons

"Lacking in features such as Wi-Fi and network security."
"Microsoft Intune could be improved by adding short video tutorials or direct links to Microsoft articles in the information button."
"From an end-user perspective of Microsoft Intune, I haven't experienced any challenges since installation. However, some customers have reported experiencing slowness when using lower versions of the Android system."
"While the ability to deploy applications at startup is reliable, the policy-based application deployment method has not reached the same level of consistency."
"Technical support is not that great."
"Customer service used to be better, but as we are nearing the end of the contract, the focus on investing in us as a customer has diminished. It is what one would expect in such a situation."
"There is room for improvement in server patch management and allowing direct uploads of EXE applications instead of needing to convert them to Intune format, which would save time."
"Areas for improvement in Intune include expanding support beyond Samsung devices to accommodate other Android manufacturers like Redmi and Motorola."
"Its look and feel could be updated. In Azure Remote Desktop Services (RDS), which is a VDI solution, we would like to see linked clones. It is a Hyper-V solution, and it doesn't support linked clones and uses a lot of storage. That's why we don't use it. VMware has a similar solution that supports linked clones for the master image."
"We've had issues with security breaches."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services could improve by having a better application for managing multiple sessions. There used to be one but they stopped supporting it."
"Sometimes difficult to set up without the requirement for login credentials each time."
"We find the services are not as transparent as we would like for our integration with Citrix."
"The current process I have to go through to get a Windows 11 VM up and running is difficult. Windows 10 worked a whole lot better than Windows 11."
"We face frequent disconnections."
"The product is not very scalable."
"The dashboards I do not use because there are issues. The solution monitors your antivirus and other programs but it does not seem to work well."
"We've seen some latency problems in AWS environments. Aside from that, it's a pretty solid service."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate Intune five out of 10 for pricing. It's expensive."
"It is reasonable. When you have Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 license, it is already licensed in that license. So, you could say it is free."
"We work with the subscription rather than a server license. I think it's economical this way because we don't have to have a server license for that, and I think that works in our favor."
"The clients pay for a license and each can have a different type of license, such as an E3 or E5."
"The Intune license model is costly."
"For Microsoft 365 E5 clients, cost is not an issue as this product is one of the benefits."
"I am not that aware of the pricing, but as compared to other MDM solutions, Microsoft is providing a lot of things at the organizational level. So, it is quite reasonable as compared to other MDM solutions."
"The pricing is inherently reasonable, as Microsoft leverages market insights to maintain the total cost of ownership at around ninety to ninety-five percent of what would be incurred in an on-premise scenario."
"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."
"It's not an expensive solution."
"The cost of the solution is low."
"The solution has a pretty comparable pricing."
"It will probably cost about $500 USD to get the resources set up in the cloud."
"The tool's pricing is high in the Slovenian market. I rate it a nine out of ten."
"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."
"I recall that you don't need to pay for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services because that's included in Windows."
"N-able Take Control charges you a monthly fee for every customer that you have booked in, and it used to be inexpensive but it's a little bit more expensive now."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software Company
19%
University
10%
Non Profit
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business116
Midsize Enterprise45
Large Enterprise151
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business39
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise30
No data available
 

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 Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
In limited use cases, Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is free as it is defaulted by any Microsoft license. The paid...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
The only problem I see is that when I am connected, there is a certain lag because of the network.
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Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
Remote Desktop Services
SolarWinds MSP Take Control, SolarWinds MSP Anywhere, SolarWinds Take Control
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Bank Alfalah Ltd.
Bainbridge Technology Solutions, NKIT Systems
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs. N-able Take Control and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
867,497 professionals have used our research since 2012.