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Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs VMware Workstation comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 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
6.5
Number of Reviews
80
Ranking in other categories
Remote Access (2nd)
VMware Workstation
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
1st
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is 6.2%, down from 11.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware Workstation is 15.4%, up from 15.3% 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

"I find the ease of use of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services most valuable, as it allows me to have remote access and connect securely."
"The most valuable features of the solution are ease of use and the simple environment."
"The most valuable feature is the ease of use."
"The most valuable features are it is fast and cost-effective."
"It allows employees to log on to corporate resources remotely."
"It is a stable product."
"You can scale the product."
"I've had good experiences with Microsoft customer support."
"Having ten people working off a single piece of hardware reduces costs."
"VMware is incredible and is designed for simple use. They help with efficiency."
"VMware Workstation’s most valuable features are backup and data transfer from one server to another."
"The most valuable features of VMware Workstation are the DirectX support, you can run Microsoft Hyper-V in virtual environments which is good for me to test different installations. Additionally, you can set up different VLANs, and overall it is a complete solution."
"The tool’s GUI is very user-friendly."
"VMware Workstation works correctly and has more features compared to Oracle VirtualBox."
"We can undo some changes using the snapshot feature."
"Technical support is very good."
 

Cons

"The price is too high."
"The performance of Remote Desktop Services could be better."
"Teams component can be a bit cumbersome to use. It takes some time to get it working as expected."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is its security and simple configuration."
"We would like configuration to be automatic and the price to be close to zero, however, that's not realistic."
"Sometimes difficult to set up without the requirement for login credentials each time."
"There could be some improvement in the integration of the solution."
"It could offer better security for enterprises."
"There could be more integration with different tools."
"The price of VMware Workstation could improve."
"The dashboard can be improved."
"The solution should provide a guide on its installation."
"They could include official support for macOS virtualization within VMware Workstation."
"Its price could be better."
"VMware Workstation could improve the export and import of virtual machines."
"The solution can be expensive."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's not an expensive solution."
"The pricing is moderate."
"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 cost of the solution is low."
"The tool must be cheaper."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is less expensive than some other solutions on the market."
"The pricing could always be improved."
"The solution has a pretty comparable pricing."
"The solution’s pricing is moderate."
"The price of the solution per workstation is approximately 200 Francs annually. We pay a total of 800 francs. Everything is included in the price such as the support."
"It is an expensive solution."
"VMware is expensive. Licensing can be tricky. For example, I recently had a client running VMware vSphere Essentials and wanted to migrate to a more scalable solution. However, they had no choice but to purchase a completely new license and deploy a completely new instance of VMware."
"VMware Workstation is an expensive solution in Asian countries."
"Licensing fees are paid on an annual basis."
"It has the best licensing modules."
"The pricing is reasonable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
 

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?
In limited use cases, Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is free as it is defaulted by any Microsoft license. The paid version for enterprise requires RDS ( /products/amazon-rds-reviews ) CALs, or c...
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.
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: July 2025.
861,524 professionals have used our research since 2012.