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Apache Guacamole vs Microsoft Remote Desktop Services comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
312
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (2nd), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
Apache Guacamole
Ranking in Remote Access
9th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Remote Desktop Se...
Ranking in Remote Access
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.8
Number of Reviews
83
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Remote Access category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 9.3%, down from 9.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Apache Guacamole is 4.3%, up from 3.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is 8.5%, down from 11.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Remote Access Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Intune9.3%
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services8.5%
Apache Guacamole4.3%
Other77.9%
Remote Access
 

Featured Reviews

AkashKamble - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr MacOS specialist engineer at Cyber24
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.
HB
Full Stack Engineer at Datawyse
Rapid provisioning has transformed remote access and has reduced onboarding time for staff
Apache Guacamole can be improved in two areas: hosting, which requires a deeper understanding of the system to really set things up, and a definitive guide for setting it up neatly and cleanly, which should be updated regularly. Also, a manual for the rest of the features would help new users walk through it, ensuring better adoption. Additionally, while it is a really useful software, many dismiss it just because it is an Apache product and the UI looks outdated. I would give Apache Guacamole an eight out of ten because there have been moments where I faced some networking issues with it, where connections were a problem, and sometimes the login and logout processes were issues as well. I chose an eight because there are odd moments where Apache Guacamole tends to fail. Sometimes the login or logout systems would not work as well, or even after resetting the password, it would not have accepted it, making me redo the reset. Also, it can get overloaded without any warning, requiring me to debug it myself. It is good, just missing a few quality of life features that would have made it a ten.
MN
technology consultant at Bank of America
Remote access has simplified certificate checks and daily support tasks across our organization
The best features Microsoft Remote Desktop Services offers include providing me administrator access, certain inbuilt client tools, and the ability to remotely access enterprise applications, as well as helping me validate whether certificates exist or are missing, or near to expiry. The product also allows for multiple session virtualizations even if users are based in remote locations and offers support for legacy applications that need to be upgraded. Out of those features, the one I rely on the most is certificate validation and plugin installation or removal in certain IDEs which developers or coders generally use. Being able to do this remotely makes my job significantly easier than going to everyone's desk in the office.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The best features of Microsoft Intune include continuous implementation of new capabilities each year, covering almost everything."
"I like that we can implement conditional access."
"We were able to deploy about 65 computers in under two weeks to a completely remote user base without touching any of the machines."
"Overall, my user experience with Microsoft Intune has been great."
"The user experience of Microsoft Intune is very friendly and the interface is very good."
"For our clients, the conditional access feature along with different compliance policies that they can set is valuable."
"When a user receives the machine, sets it up, and turns it on, it connects to the domain and begins installing software, becoming ready within approximately half an hour, which represents a significant time savings for IT departments."
"I am easily able to manage devices and assets, especially laptops and desktops."
"I'm using Apache Guacamole as a gateway."
"Apache Guacamole has impacted my organization positively by providing us with a cheap alternative that is very customizable, which we can offer to customers that previously we had to decline because they could not afford Citrix."
"Apache Guacamole is really easy to use."
"Apache Guacamole thus far has been both open source, simple to use, easy to set up, quick, and it makes it easy for me to provision systems as well."
"For those considering using Apache Guacamole, I wholeheartedly support its users since it's a free open-source software that is easy to download and use with no significant issues."
"The most valuable feature of this solution at the moment is the HTML5 web client. You get a browser experience, not just the terminal sort of client, and the integration with Azure multi-factor application."
"The solution is now stable."
"The solution offers good value for money."
"The most valuable feature is the remote application access."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services has positively impacted my organization by leading to an overall productivity increase because it has simplified what used to be a physical task of going to certain users' machines for validation, allowing for remote management from geographically distributed locations."
"The most valuable feature is ease of use."
"What I found most valuable in Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is accessibility because the solution lets you take control of your computer remotely."
"The solution works on Microsoft servers."
 

Cons

"The reporting functionality of Microsoft Intune is limited compared to Microsoft System Center, which offers many more reporting options."
"Microsoft Intune could improve in reporting data for endpoints and fleets. Enhanced capabilities to run queries and gather specific device data to identify trends or issues would be beneficial. The feature parity for MacOS and handling devices from an MDM perspective is not comprehensive. Consolidation of these functionalities within Intune would simplify processes and finances."
"No option to do end-to-en macOS management. Slow implementation of policies."
"To make it a perfect ten, it would be helpful if there was a better way to troubleshoot user issues, as I've had a few users with corrupt files before and had to redeploy it without knowing the root cause."
"When we implemented Intune, it would have been helpful if Microsoft had provided some videos or data about Intune."
"My main pain point for Microsoft Intune is the contact part. Not all Android or iOS applications have access to integration, for example, contacts."
"There have been instances where enrolling devices should take 10 minutes but ends up taking an hour due to various issues."
"Intune is not the most user-friendly mobile device management platform available."
"I gave it a nine because some very advanced features such as session recording and clipboard functionality are still not available on Apache Guacamole, though they are available on Citrix."
"The solution's USB redirection could be improved."
"There should be good documentation regarding GUI customization. Even though I can try customizing the GUI, the documentation is not comprehensive."
"I would give Apache Guacamole an eight out of ten because there have been moments where I faced some networking issues with it, where connections were a problem, and sometimes the login and logout processes were issues as well."
"There should be good documentation regarding GUI customization."
"The biggest reason we don't use the solution for our company's clients is the solution's prices."
"The product is not very scalable."
"The only issue I experienced was with the initialization of the session, which affected the stability of the solution."
"The initial setup of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is not the easiest. You need to have a certain understanding of how Microsoft is provisioning the solution to be able to set it up and use it."
"I would like to see the hard drives work without locking up and integrate the local drives in the next release."
"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 are searching for a product with better remote access and remote sessions."
"There have been some network issues in the solution. So, when we used to connect it, the solution suddenly got disconnected. So the network part needs to be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Existing E5 license holders for M365, Intune, and Azure, receive a free license."
"Microsoft Intune has been incorporated into our Microsoft E5 licenses."
"All security solutions worldwide are expensive. Microsoft has allowed a small scale of features within Microsoft Intune for cost-efficient solutions. If you want the full suite, you need to invest more to gain better security features."
"While I don't have access to high-level financial information, I believe we have achieved lower costs with this implementation."
"Microsoft Intune is more expensive than other solutions, but it offers a wider range of features and control."
"The pricing for Microsoft Intune is reasonable. Our clients are satisfied."
"It's affordable. In comparison to the competitors, the price depends on what features you need from Intune, but it's affordable. There are no hidden costs, but there are some features that go for a premium price. Those are the add-ons for which you have to pay extra."
"There is a license required to use this solution. However, it was part of a bundle package. Microsoft Intune is far less expensive than other solutions, such as Workspace ONE."
Information not available
"It will probably cost about $500 USD to get the resources set up in the cloud."
"Although not an expensive product, pricing is always something that can be improved."
"The solution has a pretty comparable pricing."
"The cost of the solution is low."
"The tool's pricing is high in the Slovenian market. I rate it a nine out of ten."
"The solution comes free with Microsoft Windows."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services comes free as part of Microsoft Windows."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business121
Midsize Enterprise47
Large Enterprise154
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business40
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise32
 

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 needs improvement with Apache Guacamole?
There should be good documentation regarding GUI customization. Even though I can try customizing the GUI, the docume...
What advice do you have for others considering Apache Guacamole?
For those considering using Apache Guacamole, I wholeheartedly support its users since it's a free open-source softwa...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Apache Guacamole?
It is completely free of charge as it is an open-source solution.
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?
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services could be improved because we have keyboard compatibility issues with some platforms...
 

Also Known As

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

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Information Not Available
Bank Alfalah Ltd.
Find out what your peers are saying about Apache Guacamole vs. Microsoft Remote Desktop Services and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.