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Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs VMware Fusion Pro comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 5, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Remote Desktop Se...
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
77
Ranking in other categories
Remote Access (2nd)
VMware Fusion Pro
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
4th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.9
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is 8.5%, down from 15.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware Fusion Pro is 26.5%, up from 13.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
 

Featured Reviews

Mihai Dinca - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to use with good availability and reliability
The availability is very good. It's easy to use. New users especially find it very simple. You just connect and go. The solution is stable and reliable. You can combine the Remote Desktop Services with Citrix in some form, however, not with all of the features of both. It depends on the situation.
Bruce Lundberg - PeerSpot reviewer
Create custom virtual environments quickly with minor macOS integration issues
The primary advantage of VMware Fusion Pro is its simplicity in creating custom virtual machines. It allows quick construction and provides connectivity to full VMware server systems, enabling remote management. It facilitates downloading images from main VMware servers for local testing. The ability to construct a virtual environment on my laptop meets my needs, even ones I wasn't aware of.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Microsoft is very reasonable in its approach to cost."
"It allows employees to log on to corporate resources remotely."
"Since the tool has a graphical user interface, it's easier for us to access the server."
"The most valuable feature is ease of use."
"It works fine, and it is largely issue-free."
"The installation of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services was easy."
"The solution is easy to use."
"Everything is really good and it works well."
"VMware Fusion Pro offers simplicity of use and stability."
"VMware Fusion Pro offers simplicity of use and stability."
"The most value that it provides is that it is versatile."
"The product is easy to use and has a simple user interface."
"It is a highly stable solution."
"The whole point of it is to run Windows VMs on a Mac. This is the most valuable feature. There is snapshotting, but we don't really use that. The Pro version allows me to actually attach to the Windows ESXi infrastructure at the backend, and I'm able to create a session that I can attach to the VMware hooks at the backend, so one is running a VM, and the whole operating system is running on the actual Mac. The other one is literally a frontend to the VMs that are running in the infrastructure at the backend. These are the two main features I use."
"For me, VMware Fusion Pro has been invaluable, allowing me to meet all my needs with a single system."
"The primary advantage of VMware Fusion Pro is its simplicity in creating custom virtual machines."
 

Cons

"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."
"My customers are worried that the RDP protocol can be easily compromised and would like the option to use an alternative like Blast."
"We find the services are not as transparent as we would like for our integration with Citrix."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is only available for the professional version of the Windows operating system. This restricts a lot of users. The feature should be available for all versions."
"I want to connect easily from an external network even when I'm not in my enterprise or company. It should be easy to connect or integrate Microsoft Teams, for example, with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services."
"The user interface needs improvement."
"I would say it's expensive as there similar products available for free."
"Lacks a notification feature when internet is down."
"Fusion is not meant to be scalable as it runs on desktops and laptops."
"Fusion is not meant to be scalable. It runs on desktops and laptops, indicating limitations in scalability."
"The only issue I've experienced with VMware Fusion Pro is that it doesn't register correctly with the main macOS system, causing repeated notifications about background installations."
"The only issue I've experienced with VMware Fusion Pro is that it doesn't register correctly with the main macOS system, causing repeated notifications about background installations. This is a minor inconvenience."
"Additionally, enhancing the API interactions could improve the ability to manage VS and deploy various kinds of guests."
"I would like to see newer and updated cloud functions."
"The way they handle snapshotting can be improved. One time, I moved a machine from one to another, and I tried to pull it up on the second machine, but it didn't work. This was because I had not cleaned up the snapshot before I deleted it and moved it across. So, when I tried to pull it up, it wouldn't let me bring it up. The backups for the VMs themselves can also be improved. I pretty much have to rely on Windows backups and not something on VMware. That's where it needs improvement. I am able to upload from my Fusion into the ESXi easily. I'm able to spin something up on Fusion and push it into the big arena, but the reverse is not as easy, that is, trying to pull something down from that. I would love to have a functionality where I could pull something from the VMware infrastructure into Fusion, but I'm not sure if I can take something from ESXi and pull it into Fusion."
"VMware Fusion's licensing cost needs improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution has a pretty comparable pricing."
"I think that Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is expensive compared to Login solution."
"I would say it's expensive as there similar products available for free."
"The price of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is reasonable. The solution can come for free for some clients with certain agreements."
"I recall that you don't need to pay for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services because that's included in Windows."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is less expensive than some other solutions on the market."
"Although not an expensive product, pricing is always something that can be improved."
"I am aware that for Azure we do have an extra license because we are leveraging on different tenants."
"Starting with version 12, it is now free on a Mac for personal use. Fusion Pro has a cost."
"I rate the product's pricing a seven or eight. It is highly-priced."
"The cost varies depending on the season and whether it is scaled up or scaled down, but I would guess that it's approximately $1,000 per month."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
14%
University
12%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Educational Organization
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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?
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.
What do you like most about VMware Fusion?
The product is easy to use and has a simple user interface.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware Fusion?
The pricing for VMware Fusion was reasonable and not very expensive. The licensing costs were for a year or two, and although there are free alternatives, VMware Fusion offers value for the money.
What needs improvement with VMware Fusion?
Fusion is not meant to be scalable as it runs on desktops and laptops. For scalability, ESXi is the right solution.
 

Also Known As

Remote Desktop Services, MS Remote Desktop Services
No data available
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bank Alfalah Ltd.
NetApp
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs. VMware Fusion Pro and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.
825,609 professionals have used our research since 2012.