No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs Parallels Access comparison

Why PeerSpot?
Sponsored
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

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
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
384
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (3rd), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
Microsoft Remote Desktop Se...
Ranking in Remote Access
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
91
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (2nd)
Parallels Access
Ranking in Remote Access
26th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Remote Access category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 4.6%, down from 10.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is 6.6%, down from 9.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Parallels Access is 1.8%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Remote Access Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services6.6%
Microsoft Intune4.6%
Parallels Access1.8%
Other87.0%
Remote Access
 

Featured Reviews

HA
Senior Business Development Executive at Digitaltrack
Centralized device management has automated onboarding and improves remote security compliance
One thing I feel Microsoft Intune could improve is troubleshooting visibility. In many cases, when a policy or application deployment fails, the error messages are a bit generic. So, admins still spend time checking logs manually or testing on devices one by one. Compared to the simplicity of deployment, troubleshooting sometimes feels less mature. I also think reporting and real-time monitoring could be stronger. The dashboard gives useful information, but in large environments, many teams still depend on additional tools or scripts for deeper reporting and analytics. If I had to focus on one area first, I would probably choose troubleshooting and reporting. Deployment through Microsoft Intune is generally straightforward, but when something fails, identifying the exact root cause can still take more time than expected. Error messages are sometimes too generic, and admins often have to dig through logs, sync status, or multiple portals to understand what actually happened. I think user experience and policy management could also improve further. Microsoft Intune has become much better over the years, but sometimes the admin portal still feels fragmented because certain configurations open in different sections or redirect to older interfaces. For new admins, especially, it can take time to understand where everything is located. Another thing is policy conflict handling. In larger organizations, multiple device policies, compliance rules, and configuration profiles can overlap. When conflicts happen, the visibility is not always very clear, so admins spend time figuring out which policy actually won or caused the issue.
reviewer2795433 - PeerSpot reviewer
Cloud Ops Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Secure remote access has protected sensitive country data and supports strict compliance needs
I understand from the IT team managing Microsoft Remote Desktop Services that it is complex to set up the multiple roles, certificates, and networks required. Networking is quite complicated. Even though on the data center side it is quite simple, maintaining the farm of other connections that connect to that server is the complex piece. I understand there are more modern systems replicating what this solution does, which are easier to use, such as Azure Virtual Desktop within Microsoft Azure Cloud or Amazon WorkSpaces, which I have used before. Rather than having to manage all the complex networking, you could abstract it away a little further in the cloud for easier use. I also understand that this tool is in an end-of-life state now, with Microsoft actively pushing people towards Azure Virtual Desktop or Windows 365. I do not believe further features will be rolled out due to its end-of-life state, making it a legacy solution now.
JP
CEO at a non-profit with 1-10 employees
Allows users to access and operate their computers remotely
When you want to transfer a file from your iPad or remote device to the computer, the copy-and-paste feature doesn't always work. I'd have to turn on the Bluetooth a lot of times and transfer it that way on both devices, which was troublesome. However, it would sometimes randomly work. I could go on my iPad, find whatever I wanted to do, click copy, then go over to the computer through Parallels Access, click paste, and it would randomly work. I had to call Parallels many times. They would log in and try something, which would temporarily work, but then it wouldn't. When it worked, it made integration between the two things great. That was a very helpful feature that didn't get polished.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Once it is well integrated with the rest of the environment, it makes everything easy."
"The most valuable features in Microsoft Intune for me are application deployment, Defender deployment, and asset management."
"If you are looking for an MDM provider specifically for user and device certificate enrollment for your BYOD use cases or corporate devices, I believe Microsoft Intune could be one of the best solutions available."
"I am very satisfied that when any user comes into our organization and we provide the user ID and password, the setup will auto-complete with basic applications and security installed automatically, making the device ready within approximately ten to fifteen minutes."
"The most valuable feature is that we can manage workstations or Android devices remotely without needing the device to be connected to our local network."
"The best features in Microsoft Intune that I appreciate most are its centralized features."
"It is quite policy-enabled, so you can build pretty much any policy to manage remote endpoints."
"Most people prefer to use Intune if they want to implement conditional access policies to restrict customer Exchange Online or Exchange user formats emails until their devices comply."
"We have scaled the solution and find this easy to do."
"The solution is stable."
"It allows employees to log on to corporate resources remotely."
"In terms of the valuable features, I like the profile, the new version is really good."
"Microsoft is very reasonable in its approach to cost."
"We have deployed Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for logistics, CNC, and machine shop areas, and I think that it is very flexible in order to provide the correct maintenance and deploy the services."
"It works fine, and it is largely issue-free."
"Since we have to be on a secure network, it gives me access into my system at work that is more secure than my system at home."
"Parallels Access has flexible licensing policies, which is beneficial for customers who have intermittent usage or users who are on and off the system."
"The application used to publish for mobile devices is very good and the desktop publishing is very, very good."
"What seems to be the most valuable from the customer side is the ease of operation, and the overall experience they have."
"We don't have problems with stability. Everything is good."
"Parallels Access gives me full access and control of the computer, and I can do anything I want remotely."
"It's great that the total deployment can happen completely remotely."
"It's got a very easy-to-use interface."
 

Cons

"In Microsoft Intune, error messages are an area that has room for improvement. Regarding error messages, I would like to see more detailed logs added."
"At this time, I do not have any areas for improvement. I have heard about some downtime, but I am not in the local IT team."
"Certificate management within Microsoft Intune's Suite is still under development. It's not very reliable compared to other certificate tools, though it has made good progress within a couple of years."
"The technical support by Microsoft is not so good. We have to manage many things by ourselves and do not receive responses in a timely manner."
"There is room for improvement in integrating additional features such as Purview and SharePoint activities into Intune."
"Data leak prevention can be integrated into it. Currently, it does not have data leak prevention."
"The granular support for other device types in Microsoft Intune could be improved."
"In future releases, I would like to see better integration with Apple products."
"I would say it's expensive as there similar products available for free."
"It could offer better security for enterprises."
"Sometimes, the updates break the system."
"We had some instability during the implementation process. This has since been resolved."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is a good tool that does what it is meant to do, and from a security perspective, it is brilliant. However, there is a lot of overhead with managing it, which modern tools do not have, especially tools that exist in the cloud."
"It could be more user-friendly."
"The solution should have better security."
"For Microsoft, maybe bandwidth optimization is one of the areas that need improvement."
"They could improve the reporting."
"There is room for improvement in the pricing policy. The price point is pretty aggressive."
"The scalability is great for small or medium-sized businesses. However, it may not scale well for enterprise-level entities."
"When you want to transfer a file from your iPad or remote device to the computer, the copy-and-paste feature doesn't always work."
"The solution may not scale well for enterprises."
"One challenge we do notice is that the application is limited to Windows servers only. If a customer has a Linux server, things get complicated. They should open it up a bit to be more compatible with different types of servers."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Microsoft Intune is pretty reasonable. We have difficulty with Azure, which is probably why we have not put many assets in Azure. Everything we put there is very expensive."
"The price of Intune is often included as part of a bundle with other Microsoft licenses, which makes it somewhat cheaper."
"While Microsoft charges for actual usage, it lacks discount options."
"We use Defender ATP and E5 licenses."
"This cost is approximately $30 USD per user per month."
"I am not that aware of the pricing, but as compared to other MDM solutions, Microsoft is providing a lot of things at the organizational level. So, it is quite reasonable as compared to other MDM solutions."
"The price is reasonable, but they should lower it a bit to make it more competitive. It's cheaper than AirWatch and other products, but I still feel like Microsoft can make a base version or with Exchange online or a la carte only Intune version which will be useful. A customer who doesn't want to go full-fledged E3 or E5 can take out or consume an Intune solution only for their purpose, and we want to target that customer."
"I don't have any problem as far as cost is concerned. It is bundled with our license."
"Although not an expensive product, pricing is always something that can be improved."
"There is a licensing cost."
"It's not an expensive product."
"The cost is fair."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is less expensive than some other solutions on the market."
"We do not have to pay for the product."
"I recall that you don't need to pay for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services because that's included in Windows."
"The solution has a perpetual license and it is purchased upfront."
"The licensing costs are about $100 per user."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Remote Access solutions are best for your needs.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Construction Company
7%
Outsourcing Company
14%
Construction Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Transportation Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business195
Midsize Enterprise64
Large Enterprise190
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business45
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise36
No data available
 

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
The experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that the pricing is based on licensing costs and the setup ...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services can be improved in several areas. Currently, it requires a license cost, it has per...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
Our main use case for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is to allow multiple users to remotely access our Windows mac...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

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

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Bank Alfalah Ltd.
Gilt Groupe K.K.
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs. Parallels Access and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.