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Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs VMware Workstation comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

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 Remote Desktop Se...
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
78
Ranking in other categories
Remote Access (2nd)
VMware Workstation
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
1st
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
55
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is 7.6%, down from 14.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware Workstation is 16.9%, up from 13.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Shambhu Narayan  Singh - PeerSpot reviewer
An easy-to-manage solution that has really good customer support compared to other market players
VMware Workstation makes it easy to manage all the resources that we are handling. VMware Workstation has reduced our infrastructure cost. If someone wants machines, I can create them easily using the solution. VMware Workstation is easier to manage than other workstations like Oracle Workstation. VMware Workstation is an easy-to-manage solution, and its support is really good compared to other market players. Overall, I rate VMware Workstation an eight out of ten.

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 part of RDS is that it allows you to work from any location and check the server through a VPN connection."
"Good screen draw feature and ability to use two monitors."
"The installation of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services was easy."
"The most valuable features are it is fast and cost-effective."
"The solution is really fast."
"The initial setup is not that difficult. I have gone through the RDS initialization steps, which only seem easy."
"It's largely stable."
"The technical support is good."
"Technical support is very good."
"VMware Workstation allows you to run a virtual machine."
"I appreciate the ease of backup and snapshot creation. The ability to revert to previous versions without losing data is very useful for our team."
"VMware Player helps you to virtualize and install Ubuntu or any other operating system, even on a Windows laptop."
"The most valuable features of the VMware Workstation solutions are the ESXi and vCenter."
"The product works well."
"I like that it's easy to use. It's easy to deploy virtual machines. You have to insert your ISO and the image of your OS and configure it. They provide a step-by-step guide, and you have to follow it. In the end, you have to start the machine, and that's all you have to do. I liked that they synchronized the mouse, keyboard, and everything. When you finish the installation, it directly links to your laptop. This makes copying and pasting things from my laptop inside the virtual machine easy."
"The product is really easy to use."
 

Cons

"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."
"The performance of Remote Desktop Services could be better."
"The performance depends on connectivity."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is its security and simple configuration."
"It could be made simpler from a management perspective."
"The solution is unsuitable for direct external internet connections. You must set up a VPN and password handling to use it."
"There are problems with using Microsoft Teams within a virtual desktop on a mobile device."
"It could offer better security for enterprises."
"The solution should provide a guide on its installation."
"The price should be reduced."
"It would be great if VMware Workstation had more networking options and compatibility, that would be great. I would like to deploy virtual switches and play around with networking a bit more. Otherwise, I have to deploy ESXi Virtual Edition and emulate it, which is painful and clunky."
"The interface is a little wonky and needs to be improved."
"The solution freezes sometimes."
"The product's integration capabilities are an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required."
"VMware Player should provide a cloud version with no limitations to hardware resources."
"My experience with Workstation is limited, so I don't know all the functionalities of this tool. Maybe Workstation could add some more compatibility with other vendors."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing could always be improved."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is less expensive than some other solutions on the market."
"The solution is overly expensive."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services comes free as part of Microsoft Windows."
"It's not an expensive solution."
"I would say it's expensive as there similar products available for free."
"The tool must be cheaper."
"It will probably cost about $500 USD to get the resources set up in the cloud."
"VMware Workstation is an expensive solution in Asian countries."
"I would rate the pricing an eight out of ten, with ten being expensive."
"Licensing costs are paid on a yearly basis."
"The product is expensive."
"The tool is not the cheapest."
"It is an expensive solution."
"You need to pay for a license, but I don't think it costs that much. I think it's a one-time payment."
"VMware Workstation is an expensive tool. I rate the product's price a three on a scale of one to ten, where one is a high price, and ten is a low or good price."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Government
8%
 

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?
We would like configuration to be automatic and the price to be close to zero, however, that's not realistic. Everyone wants to join some kind of cloud service today. We have decided to keep our ER...
Which VMware solution would you go with - Workstation or vSphere?
VM Workstation’s setup is so easy, you can use it almost instantly, it works well with Windows and Linux. We like VM Workstation primarily to test environments to determine how well a solution will...
What do you like most about VMware Workstation?
The product is stable, very easy to deploy, easy to use, easy to configure, and easy to set up.
What needs improvement with VMware Workstation?
The product's integration capabilities are an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required.
 

Also Known As

Remote Desktop Services
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bank Alfalah Ltd.
Akademiska Hus
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs. VMware Workstation and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
837,501 professionals have used our research since 2012.