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Horizon 8 vs Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization for Desktops comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 5, 2024

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

Horizon 8
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
117
Ranking in other categories
User Virtualization (1st)
Red Hat Enterprise Virtuali...
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
18th
Average Rating
7.0
Reviews Sentiment
2.4
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of Horizon 8 is 6.8%, down from 7.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization for Desktops is 2.1%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Horizon 86.8%
Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization for Desktops2.1%
Other91.1%
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
 

Featured Reviews

SF
Architect at Softcat plc
Architects have improved desktop environments and now optimize operations for diverse clients
From my perspective, there is significant room for improvement in Horizon 8. Many customers are actively seeking alternatives to VMware due to recent licensing changes after Broadcom's acquisition, necessitating upgrades or bundles that they often do not require. Given that Omniser builds on VMware technologies, this creates a negative perception, pushing customers to consider different brands or solutions.
RobertThompson 1 - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Security Manager at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Free version available but hard to understand
Personally, I don't think it has any commendable features. The biggest thing about it is that, compared to what you can do with VMware and Horizon, it just seems like there's an awful lot of extra work involved with the Red Hat virtualization. It doesn't just work out of the box. You have to read through about six different documents, and everybody's experience is different. So it's kind of annoying. That would be the main thing. If you're not a Linux geek, it's very hard to understand. And it's probably because I came out of the Windows world. I learned this as part of my cross-training, but I just found the way that it happens with VMware and all that stuff to be easier to use.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"So far, we've been able to secure everything, and we've been able to stand back and say that we're fine and, even with this new hybrid work model, we are secure and back to normal, so to speak."
"It is easy to maintain."
"I appreciate the ability to have a more centralized environment."
"The solution simplifies our work."
"It stands as a robust setup with considerable capabilities."
"We used to have desktops in our class rooms, and now 30% of our classrooms are on VDI, which is very easy to manage centrally and has reduced complaints about PCs in classrooms to less than 5%."
"The solution has provided flexibility by allowing an end user to remote in, log in, and get their VM VDI session and have all the icons and applications they need to use and retain the same booking view regardless of location."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the clone variant. We have been using the linked clone for the past five years, but I am willing to support and take on the function of the instant cloud."
"The improvement to our organization is managing all our KVM-based virtual machines in a management environment."
"There's lots of good support out there in the community."
"The most valuable features are automated deployment and transparent movement for virtual machines over all our locations."
 

Cons

"More ready-to-deploy templates should be available. Because they are not included, a lot of configuration is required."
"The initial setup was not difficult but there is room for improvement."
"Deployment and configuration could be simplified."
"Lacks sufficiently robust audio redirections."
"VMware Horizon needs to integrate with Azure, Teams, and Zoom."
"There is room for improvement in support. The response time could be faster."
"VMware Horizon 7 could improve by supporting the active-active data center. At this time we are only deploying it in the production environment. Our customer is considered to deploy the VMware Horizon 7 to a secondary data center, but we found out that it cannot fully support the user in the deployment in the active-active data center. Any improvement on this would be beneficial."
"Along with the high pricing, the profile synchronization mechanism also needs improvement."
"The best improvement for oVirt 4.2 is to enable backup features for major backup products of virtual machines."
"The biggest thing about it is that, compared to what you can do with VMware and Horizon, it just seems like there's an awful lot of extra work involved with Red Hat virtualization."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a monthly subscription for the use of this solution and it is expensive."
"VMware Horizon only has one license, which is a license to run desktops."
"At present, they provide decent pricing in terms of bundled licenses."
"The license could be cheaper."
"The solution's pricing depends on certain factors. It would be best if you know which components you are looking for, as you may have other hardware costs. It is recommended if users want to use the VMware HPE as the hypervisor."
"For long-term use, perpetual licenses are more cost-effective, and for short-term use, subscription-based would be more cost-effective."
"VMware Horizon View pricing is high compared to other solutions. I rate it two out of ten. Its licensing costs are monthly."
"It falls on the more expensive end in terms of cost."
"I use the free developer stuff right now."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Construction Company
9%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business63
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise45
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

How does VMware Workspace One compare with VMware Horizon 7?
VMware Workspace One has a powerful set of helpful features. The solution offers very good documentation, the initial setup is easy, and the product is very stable and reliable. I think the fact th...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware User Environment Manager?
Regarding the pricing aspect of Horizon 8, I find it currently quite acceptable. After VMware was bought by Broadcom, the pricing was ridiculous, but now that Onmises has VMware Horizon 8, the pric...
What is your primary use case for VMware User Environment Manager?
I have experience with products from Horizon 8, and I am currently working with Omniser version. I have been working with Horizon 8 from Omniser for nearly two years now. I am currently working in ...
Ask a question
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Also Known As

VMware Horizon, VMware Horizon View, Mware Dynamic Environment Manager
Enterprise Virtualization for Desktops
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

LCMC Health
Casio, Telef‹nica, British Airways
Find out what your peers are saying about Horizon 8 vs. Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization for Desktops and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
920,929 professionals have used our research since 2012.