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Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization for Desktops comparison

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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 Remote Desktop Se...
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
91
Ranking in other categories
Remote Access (3rd)
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 September 2026, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is 6.9%, up from 6.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization for Desktops is 2.0%, 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 (%)
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services6.9%
Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization for Desktops2.0%
Other91.1%
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
 

Featured Reviews

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.
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

"It's scalable enough for our needs and very reliable."
"Because of Covid, the solution has given those stuck at home the ability to continue working."
"It allows employees to log on to corporate resources remotely."
"The initial setup is not that difficult. I have gone through the RDS initialization steps, which only seem easy."
"It has enabled our clinical staff to get real-time medicine prescribing information at the patients' bedside with a near 100% service uptime."
"The most valuable features of the solution are ease of use and the simple environment."
"The most valuable feature is ease of use."
"I have found Microsoft Remote Desktop Services to be stable."
"There's lots of good support out there in the community."
"The improvement to our organization is managing all our KVM-based virtual machines in a management environment."
"The most valuable features are automated deployment and transparent movement for virtual machines over all our locations."
 

Cons

"The biggest reason we don't use the solution for our company's clients is the solution's prices."
"The speed should be a little more. When you're pitching from Mac to Windows, it takes a little more time than what is required."
"For Microsoft, maybe bandwidth optimization is one of the areas that need improvement."
"The solution is under the Microsoft infrastructure and therefore does not allow for service under other operating systems."
"I would like to see a web-based interface, instead of client installation to refresh the UI through HTML."
"The performance depends on connectivity."
"There could be some improvement in the integration of the solution."
"The solution is unsuitable for direct external internet connections. You must set up a VPN and password handling to use it."
"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

"The solution is overly expensive."
"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."
"I rate the price of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services a three out of five."
"The tool must be cheaper."
"The solution comes free with Microsoft Windows."
"It's not an expensive product."
"There is a licensing cost."
"I use the free developer stuff right now."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

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

Questions from the Community

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 is complex.
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 performance limits on shared resources with bottlenecks, the setup is complex, and ...
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 machine, desktop, or application over the internet and our network.
Ask a question
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Also Known As

Remote Desktop Services
Enterprise Virtualization for Desktops
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bank Alfalah Ltd.
Casio, Telef‹nica, British Airways
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs. Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization for Desktops and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,806 professionals have used our research since 2012.