ConnectWise ScreenConnect vs. VMware Horizon

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
ConnectWise ScreenConnect
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
ConnectWise ScreenConnect is a remote support, access, and meeting solution. With it, users can utilize remote support and access to repair computers, provide updates, and manage machines. Users can also conduct online seminars and presentations using remote meetings.N/A
VMware Horizon
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
A VDI solution used for the secure delivery of virtual desktops and apps from on-premises to the cloud. It is used to deploy, manage, monitor and scale desktops and apps across private, hybrid and multi-cloud infrastructure using a cloud-based console and SaaS management services.
$4.67
per month per user
Pricing
ConnectWise ScreenConnectVMware Horizon
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Horizon Apps Standard
$4.67
per month per user
Horizon Standard Plus
$5.79
per month per user
Horizon Apps Universal
$6.00
per month per user
Horizon Enterprise Plus
$10.71
per month per user
Horizon Universal
$12.50
per month per user
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
ConnectWise ScreenConnectVMware Horizon
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
ConnectWise ScreenConnectVMware Horizon
Considered Both Products
ConnectWise ScreenConnect
Chose ConnectWise ScreenConnect
I find Connectwise Control combines features I liked in Kaseya and GoToAssist at an affordable price point with a better interface. There are things I like and things I find lacking in each, but I find only the features I liked in Connectwise Control: the ability to install …
Chose ConnectWise ScreenConnect
TeamViewer is prohibitively expensive and was much more confusing for the user we were trying to connect to.
VMware Horizon

No answer on this topic

Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
ConnectWise ScreenConnectVMware Horizon
Remote Administration
Comparison of Remote Administration features of Product A and Product B
ConnectWise ScreenConnect
8.3
613 Ratings
1% above category average
VMware Horizon
-
Ratings
Screen sharing9.4583 Ratings00 Ratings
File transfer8.4556 Ratings00 Ratings
Instant message8.1490 Ratings00 Ratings
Secure remote access with Smart Card authentication7.573 Ratings00 Ratings
Access to sleeping/powered-off computers6.5303 Ratings00 Ratings
Over-the-Internet remote session9.3589 Ratings00 Ratings
Initiate remote control from mobile7.8381 Ratings00 Ratings
Remote management of servers & workstations9.2506 Ratings00 Ratings
Remote Active Directory® management8.8167 Ratings00 Ratings
Centralized management dashboard8.9470 Ratings00 Ratings
Session record8.4309 Ratings00 Ratings
Annotations8.0258 Ratings00 Ratings
Monitoring and Alerts6.6181 Ratings00 Ratings
Multi-platform remote control9.1390 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
ConnectWise ScreenConnectVMware Horizon
Small Businesses
Getscreen.me
Getscreen.me
Score 9.8 out of 10
VMware Fusion
VMware Fusion
Score 8.4 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
mRemoteNG
mRemoteNG
Score 9.7 out of 10
VMware Fusion
VMware Fusion
Score 8.4 out of 10
Enterprises
Remote Desktop Services
Remote Desktop Services
Score 9.0 out of 10
VMware Fusion
VMware Fusion
Score 8.4 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
ConnectWise ScreenConnectVMware Horizon
Likelihood to Recommend
8.7
(613 ratings)
7.2
(35 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(39 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
9.3
(42 ratings)
9.0
(3 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(5 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Performance
10.0
(9 ratings)
10.0
(4 ratings)
Support Rating
8.2
(63 ratings)
8.1
(10 ratings)
Online Training
7.5
(24 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(20 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
10.0
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
8.7
(3 ratings)
Product Scalability
10.0
(16 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
10.0
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
5.0
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
ConnectWise ScreenConnectVMware Horizon
Likelihood to Recommend
ConnectWise
We often need to create an ad-hoc session with a device that is not under our management. We find ourselves doing this more than ever in the COVID world. Many people are working from home on personal machines with their employer, our client's permission and we are facilitating more support for these personal machines. Connectwise Control [(formerly ScreenConnect)] gives us a robust resource to control the device, navigate anywhere we need, execute various commands, and engage in an on-screen chat with the client. The session is very simple to create and very user-friendly to initiate. We do not recommend it for Android, Apple, or Chromebook applications. There is little to no support for these platforms.
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VMware by Broadcom
VMware is well suited to a business where there will be many remote users needing to connect to the companies desktop. The installation on a remote computer is simple and is easy to use remotely but can be complicated to set up on the back end on the office system. It may not be worth the effort for a company that has few people who need remote access.
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Pros
ConnectWise
  • The interface is easy to use and makes sense. It's easy to understand how to organize a large number of machines involving multiple clients. But, it's also applicable for smaller set of machines too.
  • The connection speed is very quick. I've used solutions in the past that take a variable amount of time to connect, or they just take a long time every time. Control is quick every time. It doesn't get in the way of being able to support the machines on the other end.
  • The connections are reliable. I haven't experienced random disconnects throughout hundreds of instances. It was a breath of fresh air coming from the previous solution we used. I consider Control a gold standard for what a great remote connection solution can be.
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VMware by Broadcom
  • It provides a robust, secure, rich desktop environment that is able to access all internal network resources.
  • Addresses security and compliance concerns as all data resides within the internal network. All data accessed stays within the internal network and does not need to traverse a VPN to the local desktop where it may be cached, etc.
  • The connection is thin client that does not require large amount of bandwidth.
  • Client application is available for all common devices and O/S’s.
  • No need to install, configure and maintain applications on local desktop.
Read full review
Cons
ConnectWise
  • I'd like to see the ability to selectively log off the remote machine via a button on the toolbar. Currently it's a setting to always lock on disconnect, or never lock on disconnect, requiring the tech to manually lock the machine if called for at the end of a session. Its a small time save that would add up!
  • The chat feature could be expanded to be a lot more useful. Allowing clients to start conversations, and have conversations ping an email address if no one is monitoring the dashboard would be extremely valuable.
  • Some clarity on licensing when providing host-passes to guest technicians would be a boon, especially for one-off support sessions with vendors.
Read full review
VMware by Broadcom
  • Move away from Adobe Flash version in UI, currently on the path but they need to hurry up
  • Speed up the boot process of the environment when servers need maintenance
  • Provide clear steps on what should be upgrade path in terms of components, the order
  • price! A bit too much
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Likelihood to Renew
ConnectWise
I would recommend this product for both internal remote control of end user workstations and remote access to other clients over the internet. It provides a secure and feature rich product that allows me to complete any necessary tasks without ever leaving the office. I will continue to renew as I'm eager to see what they do next. I would however wish the cloud service had a better API to work in conjunction with team collaboration or chat services to make it easier to connect with end users who use multiple workstations. (Slack or Stride provide this functionality)
Read full review
VMware by Broadcom
We are committed to VMware Horizon and we plan to stick with it for the future unless something drastically changes.
Read full review
Usability
ConnectWise
On the whole SC is a very powerful tool that is a vital part of the IT service arsenal. On-site visits are an "emergency" only type of scenario. Just "showing your face" is not winning any browny points for me. If my client sees my face, it's usually just to upgrade hardware or to deal other aspects of business. SC provides me and my client the bulk of the info I need to get projects done.
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VMware by Broadcom
VMware Horizon is very easy to use. It is very easy and quick to log in remotely. It is very easy to install remotely. It is usable easily on many different operating systems. It is easy to set up which tools are available to each remote user so that each user has just what they need to perform their work without any extra tools cluttering up their space or bogging down the system.
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Reliability and Availability
ConnectWise
In my 5 years of using the product, I am only aware of one time when the service was down and is was due to a backbone outage upstream.
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VMware by Broadcom
No answers on this topic
Performance
ConnectWise
It performs well. It also has full control over windows security and does not get hung up like GoToMeeting when trying to install remote software at the prompt to install as admin / override. I have used TeamViewer, WebEx, LogMeIn and GoToMeeting. This is by far the best at spontaneous, remote control. It is also very easy to get a novice user connected to the session.
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VMware by Broadcom
Performance is excellent of you provide the needed hardware to support the sessions/connections. Pages load very quickly at the client end as the thin client application does a very good job and requires very little bandwidth. All applications function well, as they are running on a session on an internal server that is accessing data directly on the network
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Support Rating
ConnectWise
There have been two times when something has went wrong and I needed immediate assistance in order to be able to use Screenconnect to be able to help clients and response has not been immediate. The response time has been within 24 hours. Both times if there had been easier to navigate self help I would have been able to help myself. With better self help and a speedier response it would definitely be a 10 as they always respond and help. Just a little more difficult or slow than it should be at times
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VMware by Broadcom
It is surely way better than Citrix, but it could improve a bit. Usually, they send us the solution without saying what was the root cause so we can avoid breaking something in the future. Besides that, VMWare support answers in an OK time-frame and even speaks our language (Portuguese).
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Online Training
ConnectWise
I find ScreenConnect to be very simple and effective overall, with the main problem being that a number of my clients can't download the app due to existing firewalls and so on. Otherwise it does its job well, and I'm happy with it.
Read full review
VMware by Broadcom
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
ConnectWise
ConnectWise has done everything they could to help us in any situation. Great support team and their new updates are always providing features that we need. Its a simple solution that works the way we need it to. Their legacy pricing model is still much better than their subscription based model however it is still fair pricing
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VMware by Broadcom
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
ConnectWise
I have worked with Citrix, AnyDesk, LogMeIn, VNC Connect, and many others. I ultimately installed ConnectWise as a self-hosted solution, based on the incredible list of features and capabilities, and the pricing at the time. I continue to use the product as it is still one of the best solutions out there and is certainly capable of growing and expanding to meet the needs of my business.
Read full review
VMware by Broadcom
Although I really prefer Microsoft Remote Desktop for accessing Windows servers (from Windows machines especially), and this can be done from off-site with a VPN, this entails much more effort, namely getting everyone's Active Directory in the correct group to have access. VMWare Horizon is a much simpler solution in terms of granting access. Chrome Remote Desktop and TeamViewer are really not viable solutions for remotely accessing servers in business settings, although they work alright for home servers and such, especially from off-site.
Read full review
Scalability
ConnectWise
I have used multiple remote desktop support software in the past (Bomgar, Team Viewer, Logmein and Join.me) and this is far the easiest of the bunch to use. It is very easy to create a session and easy to maintain remote desktops from their access view (where you install the software and can get in at any time) I highly recommend this product from ConnectWise!
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VMware by Broadcom
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
ConnectWise
  • Instead of waiting 30+ seconds to initiate sessions, they initiate and display a desktop in two or three seconds. The amount of frustration this avoids is immeasurable.
  • Once installed it doesn't need more handholding, i.e., having the remote enter a username/password. It is always just there.
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VMware by Broadcom
  • Saved money on PC purchases.
  • Save a lot of man hours by not having to image new PCs. We just create one Template VM and clone the others from that.
  • Bit of a learning curve to get the deployment right for the environment.
  • Ability to make sure VMs always turn back on once they are shutdown. This speeds up load times for users.
  • Less management for our PCs. If one gets a virus or something corrupts we just refresh it and within 5 minutes the user is back to work.
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ScreenShots

ConnectWise ScreenConnect Screenshots

Screenshot of The guest page, where end-users enter a code to join a session with a technicianScreenshot of Connecting from a Windows machine to a macOS machineScreenshot of The Extension Marketplace, where administrators can install and configure new features and integrationsScreenshot of The Access view of the Host page, where a technician can connect to unattended machinesScreenshot of The toolbox menu, which allows technicians to store and run executables, scripts, and other frequently-used filesScreenshot of the Host page, where a command can be run directly without connecting to the machine