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Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs TeamViewer 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
238
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
6.6
Number of Reviews
78
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (5th)
TeamViewer
Ranking in Remote Access
4th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
87
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Meetings (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Remote Access category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 9.6%, down from 12.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is 11.6%, down from 14.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of TeamViewer is 12.4%, down from 12.9% 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.
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.
Sanjay Patankar - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to install and has lots of resources but need to improve performance
It's a remote access solution. We use it for conferences, meetings, and communication.  It works just like other communications tools. It also integrates well with Office 365 and Outlook, et cetera. The performance is good.  It's got a lot of resources for users.  The product is easy to install.…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Dynamic groups allow us to set conditions for automatic membership, eliminating the need for user intervention or manual review and ensuring a seamless workflow."
"The conditional access policies that we set up are very useful."
"This solution saves us a lot of time once it's implemented."
"There are so many features, but Windows Autopilot is one of the features that are very valuable for most customers."
"The ability to push applications on devices is valuable. You do not have to manually install applications one by one. If you like to use ten different applications, you do not have to manually go and download them one by one. Intune can compile a package for you, and then you can just push them from the admin center."
"One of the most valuable aspects of Microsoft Intune is its seamless integration with Azure Active Directory, offering capabilities akin to Group Policy Objects."
"Intune is effective because of the configuration management and endpoint security it provides. The graphical interface makes it easier to configure and deploy devices."
"Intune device restriction policies enable me to enforce limitations on the device, like blocking the mobile camera or restricting the employees from using and inserting USB devices, including thumb drives and flash drives."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is managing the remote desktop end user or remote server."
"In terms of the valuable features, I like the profile, the new version is really good."
"What I found most valuable in Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is accessibility because the solution lets you take control of your computer remotely."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is highly stable."
"Microsoft is very reasonable in its approach to cost."
"The most valuable feature is the ease of use."
"Since the tool has a graphical user interface, it's easier for us to access the server."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is stable and reliable."
"From my perspective, the most important is the login."
"I like that it helped a lot, even with low bandwidth network connectivity. For example, while I was traveling, sometimes there were requirements for me to join a TeamViewer session and provide technical support. I was able to do that without much of an issue. It is also a secure solution."
"Getting started with TeamViewer was easy, with a very straightforward usage"
"The product is easy to install."
"TeamViewer allows us to do multiple controllers on a Host, which is great. We have a lot of Macs in our organization, and TeamViewer being cross-platform is a good thing."
"I have found the solution to be user-friendly even for beginners. It is not that sophisticated. There are different types of security features available, such as encryption and random machine ID."
"There have been a couple of times with the handy remote access feature, where I have been asked for something at eight o'clock on a Thursday evening and it is on my desk machine, but I am driving back to my office. With TeamViewer, I can just stay at my home machine, connect to my work machine, and get the data needed without having to drive back across town."
"The most valuable features of TeamViewer are the ease of connecting to remote computers. I do not need a lot of information about their computers to connect, a nontechnical person can give me the information needed for me to connect. Additionally, the solution does not gather other system information about the host or client's systems as other solutions might, such as AnyDesk."
 

Cons

"An area for improvement is the absence of seamless integration, particularly with external dashboards."
"The solution's app deployment needs to be improved."
"Customer service used to be better. In the last couple of years, support has not been very good, even with Premier and Premium support. It's been very hit-or-miss."
"More integration with monitoring tools is needed."
"The synchronization could be improved."
"I'm still playing around with it and haven't had any issues with the product yet, but support can definitely be improved."
"The configuration and pricing can be improved."
"It should be simplified. I've worked with many different mobile device management solutions, and Intune is one of the more complex ones. It could be more simplified, and some of it is related to the wording that is being used, such as a configuration profile versus a policy. They really should have had different names to make it less confusing."
"We would like configuration to be automatic and the price to be close to zero, however, that's not realistic."
"The product is not very scalable."
"There are problems with using Microsoft Teams within a virtual desktop on a mobile device."
"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."
"My customers are worried that the RDP protocol can be easily compromised and would like the option to use an alternative like Blast."
"We'd like more granular security control of the desktop services."
"Microsoft still has some really bad remote desktop appliance for Mac."
"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.""
"It would be useful if the solution could facilitate more than one remote user accessing my desktop at a time."
"We access the solution through a VPN, which improves our security. However, earlier this year, around the beginning of March, a CVE in the TeamViewer client allowed remote connections to other network systems, which was concerning. You could have unintentionally gained admin rights if you didn't update TeamViewer promptly. It's crucial to always keep it updated to prevent such issues. The tool should consider implementing two-factor authentication to improve such security holes. It should also integrate good security updates, which should be implemented automatically."
"TeamViewer is publicly available and anyone can use it. This is the reason that many organizations do not permit the use of this solution. It is not considered to be secure enough."
"TeamViewer could be more secure."
"I'm not sure if they provide good quality audio alongside screensharing."
"The support could improve their speed."
"Sometimes we'll have a device in the field, and I'll click on remote control and it says "Can't authenticate." I'll double click in a different part of the TeamViewer interface and it'll say "Can't authenticate." Then I'll do it a third time and it connects. It's possible that it's just bad luck. It's also very possible that it's some bug within TeamViewer..."
"We have a consultant that helps us do the virtual aspects of TeamViewer."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"In terms of the product price and licensing costs, my company finds the product to be reasonably priced."
"It's affordable for the protection it gives. There are no additional costs."
"There is a license needed to use the solution and we are on an annual license."
"Generally, we get favorable discounts, so it's not too bad. Obviously, we're looking at decreasing those wherever we can to bring value back to the public purse because it's all charity based. It's all publicly funded."
"We work in the charity sector, so a lot of our clients get Microsoft Premium licenses or Business Premium for free. They get ten licenses free, and a lot of our clients do not have more than ten staff members. They are getting the tool for free, so its cost is not an issue."
"We spend a lot of money on Intune licensing, and some of our users have to be double licensed just because of how our dev and corporate environments are segmented."
"The pricing is not cheap, especially with inflation. They've had to increase their prices. It's not excessive, but alright."
"Even if they charge a premium, they aim to provide equal value."
"The cost is fair."
"It's not an expensive solution."
"I am aware that for Azure we do have an extra license because we are leveraging on different tenants."
"There is a licensing cost."
"The pricing could always be improved."
"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."
"Although not an expensive product, pricing is always something that can be improved."
"It will probably cost about $500 USD to get the resources set up in the cloud."
"I used the free version of TeamViewer."
"We have an annual subscription that is just under $1,900 with no additional costs. We get these promotions about upgrades and stuff like that, but we haven't had a need to add more seats. Users can also use TeamViewer for home use with a non-commercial free license."
"TeamViewer is very pricey. You have to sign up for a yearly subscription."
"TeamViewer pricing is reasonable... The simultaneous controller licensing model of TeamViewer - compared to LogMeIn’s controlled Host licensing model - seems to benefit us so far. We’re currently saving about 30 percent on licensing cost... The savings from licensing have been eaten up by the soft costs involved in dealing with and working around TeamViewer’s deficiencies in allowing granular control by multiple controllers, and the issues with the various settings that are missing on the macOS Host."
"The version of the solution we are using is free."
"TeamViewer has multiple licensing options."
"TeamViewer was willing to give us a one-year package. Whereas, a lot of the other companies that we explored were paid by the month or quarter. It's just easier for our finance people at the college if we can make a one-time yearly payment."
"TeamViewer offers a free version to try. Download and give it a shot. See what it's like and if you like it, then buy the license for it."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
27%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

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 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...
Should I choose Teamviewer Tensor over the regular Teamviewer?
The number one advantage of TeamViewer for me is its ease of use, specifically as it relates to the client side. By f...
What do you like most about TeamViewer?
It is easy to use and has a pretty good UI.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for TeamViewer?
The tool's price is a problem because TeamViewer wants users to sign up, and I feel most of the products want their u...
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
Remote Desktop Services
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Bank Alfalah Ltd.
Porsche Informatik, Philips, DHL, Intel, Motorola, Microsoft, IBM, Siemens, Fujitsu, American Red Cross
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs. TeamViewer and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
837,501 professionals have used our research since 2012.