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Azure Virtual Desktop vs Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) comparison

 

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

Azure Virtual Desktop
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
11th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Citrix DaaS (formerly Citri...
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
125
Ranking in other categories
Application Virtualization (1st), Remote Access (5th), Desktop as a Service (DaaS) (1st)
 

Featured Reviews

Makarand-Shrikhande - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables flexible remote application access with auto-scaling and hybrid work support
The use cases include providing application access to users through Azure Virtual Desktop using MSIX App Attach or remote app, enabling remote users like BPO or contact center resources to connect and work on applications, and allowing vendors to access specific applications securely without a…
Mohd Abdul Aziz Shah Sulaiman - PeerSpot reviewer
Delivers secure and unified access to apps, desktops, and content for enhanced productivity
Citrix Workforce is good, but it needs improvement in diagnosing network issues. When errors occur, it is difficult to determine if they're due to network issues, Workspace issues, or environment issues. The error messages are too vague, just stating "connection error" without specifying if it's an IP address issue, connectivity problem, or something else related to the network. This lack of detail makes troubleshooting difficult. We often have to reinstall everything in Workspace, without knowing the root cause. Even after engaging with Citrix and sending logs, the feedback is often unsatisfactory, not meeting my expectations. This trial-and-error approach isn't effective problem-solving. While these issues aren't everyday occurrences, when they do happen, they can be catastrophic for our operations team.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I've always found Azure Virtual Desktop to work for me without issues."
"I rate the overall solution nine out of ten."
"Azure pricing is quite cheap due to licensing benefits with Microsoft."
"The biggest advantages are the price and flexibility."
"Absolutely, this solution is probably the leader in its field."
"The auto-scaling option allows provisioning additional virtual desktops based on user demand, making it scalable and flexible."
"The ability to spin up virtual machines quickly and speedily in Azure has been really valuable."
"The scalability is probably the most valuable feature since I can quickly add or remove machines or increase or decrease the size depending on resources to manage the cost better."
"It is stable, easy to scale, and provides secure remote access."
"It has very good performance in delivering 3D applications over WAN."
"It is user-friendly and easy to use."
"It is a stable solution."
"Among the most valuable features is the Citrix Workspace, which allows us to drive that thin-client connection and the remote control/remote access capabilities. Those things have allowed us to connect an awful lot of people quickly from home and that's obviously helped during the pandemic."
"We can provide tons of applications with different settings, behaviors, and operating systems. It is the same way for the user. Then, we are totally transparent for the user to use a lot of totally different applications, which is the most important part of Citrix today."
"With this product, everyone can have a similar kind of desktop environment."
"The Provisioning Services are the most valuable feature. We have Premium licensing, so Provisioning Services is huge for us, along with the Virtual Apps and Desktops part. It allows us to have a vDisk for every region, one that can easily be copied between them if we need to, to limit the amount of updates we have to do."
 

Cons

"Access from Entra ID should be implemented to provide only tenant access to users connecting to the Azure Virtual Desktop environment, eliminating the need for on-premises requirements."
"The costs are a bit difficult to predict upfront."
"One of the issues I had was the ability to add an internet proxy. I would like to see built-in proxy and internet filtering."
"The primary area for improvement is around the scalability of Azure, specifically on the desktop side."
"Azure could improve its uptime and the scaling aspect, as it lacks intelligent scaling."
"Access from Entra ID should be implemented to provide only tenant access to users connecting to the Azure Virtual Desktop environment, eliminating the need for on-premises requirements."
"The costs are a bit difficult to predict upfront. When I am trying to sell it to a customer as a consultant, it is hard to give them a fixed price."
"Azure is vast, and perhaps an architect-level experience could provide more insights into potential improvements."
"The only thing we have found to be detrimental is when we have tried to find training. I realize that we're looking at it at the worst time possible, with a pandemic going on, but it seems that most of the training offered is learn-by-yourself online."
"Some customers find the price to be a significant factor. They have a hard time understanding the extra cost of the services"
"Citrix Workforce is good, but it needs improvement in diagnosing network issues. When errors occur, it is difficult to determine if they're due to network issues, Workspace issues, or environment issues"
"The monitoring and management is in need of improvement."
"There is room for improvement on the hypervisor side, providing better integration between the hypervisor and the product line. I suspect that they haven't put the work into that because of the move to the cloud. They want everything to be cloud-hosted. But for folks like us, who will always be a hybrid model, that's of some concern."
"Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops are not easy to set up. However, I have the experience and I can do it easily. It could be easier to set up."
"The sales team does not focus on client needs but instead focuses on selling higher-priced items."
"For us, pricing is the most important feature to improve."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"They offer licensing per user. From time to time, they give discounts. Because it's a hybrid model, you can deploy some portion of it on cloud and some portion your on-prem."
"Where Citrix really needs to improve is in their support and in the way that they manage their licenses. Everything else comes second because if I'm not in a position where I can get proper support or manage my own licenses in an easy way, then it is pointless. Today, I am at a point where I may not be able to use Citrix anymore because they want to take away some of the licenses that I bought, pretending they are not valid anymore. That is frankly unacceptable. If they don't solve this, everything comes second because I cannot use my product."
"We are just now approaching the end of our initial purchase, which was an excellent price for us as an academic institution. We got a very good deal to get us on board. That license is up for renewal in about a year, and we are nervously waiting to see what the pricing will be."
"It is an expensive solution. I rate its pricing a nine out of ten."
"The cost of the Citrix software reflects what I would expect a product of that nature, in that market, to be. Understanding the licensing is quite a bit more complicated, because one of the things about Citrix is that you can buy licensing at different levels... Yet I still like the idea because it means that if all you need is a basic load balancing solution, then you don't need to buy an advanced or premium license."
"We're paying for a standard license and, in my view, the price is too high. I would be satisfied with it if it were reduced by about 20-30%. Right now, I would rate the pricing a five out of ten."
"The product, XenServer, is free to use, and XenApp has a one month free license."
"The Citrix licensing scheme is really straightforward and simple. It doesn't have hidden costs. You get what you pay for. It is easy to understand what is on the product, so it's simple to get a clear idea of how much it costs. Licensing is not an issue."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
55%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Virtual Desktop?
Purchasing high-configured virtual machines can be costly, but Azure Virtual Desktop offers cost-effective opportunities by allowing us to utilize resources as needed and shut them down when not in...
What needs improvement with Azure Virtual Desktop?
Currently, based on my understanding and knowledge, everything is good and meets customer requirements. However, Azure is vast, and perhaps an architect-level experience could provide more insights...
What is your primary use case for Azure Virtual Desktop?
We are dealing with Azure Virtual Desktops as well as physical desktops and laptops. We manage the endpoints and customers, so we use this solution in collaboration with a distributor partner for A...
What do you like most about Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops?
My focus has primarily been on publishing virtual applications.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops?
I rate the product’s pricing a seven out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive.
What needs improvement with Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops?
I have found that Citrix DaaS is still a complex product, especially on the desktop side, which affects scalability. Although it works well on the apps side, the desktop aspect still has room for i...
 

Also Known As

No data available
XenDesktop, XenApp (Citrix Virtual Apps), Citrix Workspace
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Exelon, Aeronamic, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Alameda County Medical Center, Alaska Department of Fish & Game, Aloysius Stichting, Amarchand Mangaldas, AmBev, Amnet Technology Solutions, Arval
Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Virtual Desktop vs. Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) and other solutions. Updated: February 2025.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.