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Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs VMware Workstation comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

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
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
80
Ranking in other categories
Remote Access (2nd)
VMware Workstation
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
1st
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is 6.2%, down from 11.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware Workstation is 15.4%, up from 15.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
 

Featured Reviews

Terje Romen - PeerSpot reviewer
Accessing the same desktop experience from anywhere but user template creation needs improvement
Mostly we are quite happy with it. However, some of us want a more powerful desktop. When not present, we use a remote tool called Splashtop, which is a good solution for some users. We have about ten licenses for those who need a powerful workstation at the office. We have not used many different tools. We are never in contact with Microsoft. These are quite basic configurations, to be honest. It's not complicated. AI is coming to or is already in some applications we are using. Not system-wise, however, it might be good. I'd rate the solution seven out of ten. It's quite good, yet certainly not perfect.
Shambhu Narayan  Singh - PeerSpot reviewer
An easy-to-manage solution that has really good customer support compared to other market players
VMware Workstation makes it easy to manage all the resources that we are handling. VMware Workstation has reduced our infrastructure cost. If someone wants machines, I can create them easily using the solution. VMware Workstation is easier to manage than other workstations like Oracle Workstation. VMware Workstation is an easy-to-manage solution, and its support is really good compared to other market players. Overall, I rate VMware Workstation an eight out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The installation of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services was easy."
"You can scale the product."
"The tool shares computer resources perfectly."
"The most valuable feature is the remote application access."
"It works fine, and it is largely issue-free."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is stable and reliable."
"The performance meets our requirements and the stability is good."
"The solution is easy to deploy and there are many features available that you can turn on or off depending on your budget."
"It is much more mature compared to Nutanix or SimpliVity when it's cross-platform based."
"The product is stable, very easy to deploy, easy to use, easy to configure, and easy to set up."
"The initial setup is simple and takes only five minutes to complete."
"VMware Player's best feature is the ability to run different OS's simultaneously."
"VMware Workstation works correctly and has more features compared to Oracle VirtualBox."
"I appreciate the ease of backup and snapshot creation. The ability to revert to previous versions without losing data is very useful for our team."
"VMware Workstation is easy to manage and understand."
"The solution's technical support team is excellent."
 

Cons

"The only problem I see is that when I am connected, there is a certain lag because of the network."
"The stability could be improved."
"It could be more user-friendly."
"I rate Microsoft's customer service support a two out of ten. In general, Microsoft has poor support."
"We would like configuration to be automatic and the price to be close to zero, however, that's not realistic."
"Security in the connection between us and our clients' servers is something that can be improved."
"The solution is unsuitable for direct external internet connections. You must set up a VPN and password handling to use it."
"The reliability of the solution could improve."
"I have had issues with the virtual network adapters in the past that has taken some time to troubleshoot."
"My experience with Workstation is limited, so I don't know all the functionalities of this tool. Maybe Workstation could add some more compatibility with other vendors."
"Installing VMware Workstation isn't so easy. It's highly complex compared to Windows. I rate it four out of 10 for ease of installation. Setting up a remote desktop only takes a minute or so, but the Workstation itself takes some time."
"It would be great if VMware Workstation had more networking options and compatibility, that would be great. I would like to deploy virtual switches and play around with networking a bit more. Otherwise, I have to deploy ESXi Virtual Edition and emulate it, which is painful and clunky."
"The network configuration was not as easy as it could be and could take less time. We faced challenges with backup due to limitations in the free version, requiring us to switch to a paid version."
"The dashboard can be improved."
"One improvement is mouse emulation. Some people in the office want to use a five—or seven-button mouse like they're used to at home, but they can't with the workstation setup."
"For some virtual machine configurations, you have to go to the text editor and make the configuration changes, which could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing could always be improved."
"The solution has a perpetual license and it is purchased upfront."
"The price of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is reasonable."
"The tool must be cheaper."
"I think that Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is expensive compared to Login solution."
"Its licensing is on a yearly basis. We're on the educational or academic license, and our terms are good. We're very happy with the pricing."
"The solution is overly expensive."
"The cost of the solution is low."
"VMware Workstation is an expensive tool. I rate the product's price a three on a scale of one to ten, where one is a high price, and ten is a low or good price."
"I would rate the pricing an eight out of ten, with ten being expensive."
"VMware Workstation has a high price than competitors in the market."
"The solution is moderately priced. I rate the pricing a six out of ten."
"It has the best licensing modules."
"With a VDI solution, there is always extra cost running a VDI solution but it's not for cost purposes anymore. In the beginning, it was to save money on hardware but at the moment it's other aspects that are more important why you should use a VDI solution."
"You need to pay for a license, but I don't think it costs that much. I think it's a one-time payment."
"The licensing costs are cheap. I pay approximately $100 per year."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
In limited use cases, Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is free as it is defaulted by any Microsoft license. The paid version for enterprise requires RDS ( /products/amazon-rds-reviews ) CALs, or c...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
The only problem I see is that when I am connected, there is a certain lag because of the network.
Which VMware solution would you go with - Workstation or vSphere?
VM Workstation’s setup is so easy, you can use it almost instantly, it works well with Windows and Linux. We like VM Workstation primarily to test environments to determine how well a solution will...
What do you like most about VMware Workstation?
The product is stable, very easy to deploy, easy to use, easy to configure, and easy to set up.
What needs improvement with VMware Workstation?
The product's integration capabilities are an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required.
 

Also Known As

Remote Desktop Services
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bank Alfalah Ltd.
Akademiska Hus
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs. VMware Workstation and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.