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Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs VMware Fusion Pro comparison

 

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

Microsoft Remote Desktop Se...
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
86
Ranking in other categories
Remote Access (3rd)
VMware Fusion Pro
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
3rd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.8
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is 5.9%, down from 7.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware Fusion Pro is 11.6%, down from 25.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
VMware Fusion Pro11.6%
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services5.9%
Other82.5%
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.
Bruce Lundberg - PeerSpot reviewer
Linux HPC Systems Administrator at a manufacturing company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Create custom virtual environments quickly with minor macOS integration issues
The primary advantage of VMware Fusion Pro is its simplicity in creating custom virtual machines. It allows quick construction and provides connectivity to full VMware server systems, enabling remote management. It facilitates downloading images from main VMware servers for local testing. The ability to construct a virtual environment on my laptop meets my needs, even ones I wasn't aware of.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Things can be made easier if someone is not with us or at a long distance since we can connect easily with those people. So, it's easy for us to use such features."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is highly stable."
"The solution has very smooth connectivity and is a very user friendly product."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services has positively impacted my organization by allowing us to remote in rapidly and securely."
"For all users that love the convenience of being able to work from any location, Remote Desktop Services provides a secure network connection and has the potential of lowering developers cost, making it a great way to get more work from your employees at all times."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is scalable."
"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."
"We use it to connect to the legacy system."
"My advice right now would be to download it for free and use that instead of a VirtualBox or some of the other free stuff because it is more flexible than other solutions."
"Veeam Backup and Replication is the common product for backing up virtual machines."
"The most value that it provides is that it is versatile."
"VMware Fusion Pro offers simplicity of use and stability."
"The product is easy to use and has a simple user interface."
"The most important feature of VMware Fusion is that it helps me rapidly launch a new OS."
"VMware Fusion Pro offers simplicity of use and stability."
"The primary advantage of VMware Fusion Pro is its simplicity in creating custom virtual machines."
 

Cons

"Currently, installation of applications on an RDS farm must be performed manually on each server."
"In the next release, I would like to see better performance over slower networks, and integration with Linux, but this is something that we're going to get out of Microsoft in terms of a unified solution."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is its security and simple configuration."
"We find the services are not as transparent as we would like for our integration with Citrix."
"It could offer better security for enterprises."
"The solution is under the Microsoft infrastructure and therefore does not allow for service under other operating systems."
"We face frequent disconnections."
"We had some instability during the implementation process."
"Additionally, enhancing the API interactions could improve the ability to manage VS and deploy various kinds of guests."
"I would like to see newer and updated cloud functions."
"Its installation process could be simpler."
"The way they handle snapshotting can be improved. One time, I moved a machine from one to another, and I tried to pull it up on the second machine, but it didn't work. This was because I had not cleaned up the snapshot before I deleted it and moved it across. So, when I tried to pull it up, it wouldn't let me bring it up. The backups for the VMs themselves can also be improved. I pretty much have to rely on Windows backups and not something on VMware. That's where it needs improvement. I am able to upload from my Fusion into the ESXi easily. I'm able to spin something up on Fusion and push it into the big arena, but the reverse is not as easy, that is, trying to pull something down from that. I would love to have a functionality where I could pull something from the VMware infrastructure into Fusion, but I'm not sure if I can take something from ESXi and pull it into Fusion."
"The only issue I've experienced with VMware Fusion Pro is that it doesn't register correctly with the main macOS system, causing repeated notifications about background installations. This is a minor inconvenience."
"I would like to see newer and updated cloud functions."
"VMware Fusion's licensing cost needs improvement."
"Fusion is not meant to be scalable. It runs on desktops and laptops, indicating limitations in scalability."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services comes free as part of Microsoft Windows."
"I recall that you don't need to pay for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services because that's included in Windows."
"It's not an expensive product."
"We do not have to pay for the product."
"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 solution is expensive. Since things are made to be a bit easier in the solution, the solution's cost is a bit on the higher side."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is less expensive than some other solutions on the market."
"It will probably cost about $500 USD to get the resources set up in the cloud."
"I rate the product's pricing a seven or eight. It is highly-priced."
"Starting with version 12, it is now free on a Mac for personal use. Fusion Pro has a cost."
"The cost varies depending on the season and whether it is scaled up or scaled down, but I would guess that it's approximately $1,000 per month."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Comms Service Provider
16%
University
12%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business41
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise34
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise4
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
I was not involved in the pricing and licensing perspective, so I cannot speak too much on that. However, I know that two license types are needed: the Windows Server license and another client lic...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
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 ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware Fusion?
The pricing of VMware Fusion Pro is reasonable. The licensing covers all minor version updates, while major updates require payment every three years. Buying it once can sustain you for years witho...
What needs improvement with VMware Fusion?
In future updates of VMware Fusion Pro, I think there should be another community to input features. It is an infrastructure tool that may need embedding some AI to help or catching up with the new...
What is your primary use case for VMware Fusion?
My specialty is about IBM AS/400 applications, so I got to be in contact with several packages, including LX, which is why I had this research on your website.I'm mostly interested in ERP packages;...
 

Also Known As

Remote Desktop Services
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bank Alfalah Ltd.
NetApp
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs. VMware Fusion Pro and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
885,264 professionals have used our research since 2012.