Remote Desktop Services vs. Splashtop

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Remote Desktop Services
Score 9.1 out of 10
N/A
Remote Desktop Services from Microsoft is virtual desktop and remote user session technology.N/A
Splashtop
Score 8.6 out of 10
N/A
Splashtop is a software solution for both remote access and remote support. Boasting 30+ million customers worldwide and users among both large and small organizations across the globe, Splashtop states they have a secure, high-performing solution to fit specific use-cases. Splashtop is ISO certified, SOC 2 and GDPR compliant. Splashtop Business Access is a remote desktop software solution for business professionals and teams, allowing them to work from wherever, using…
$5
per month per user, billed annually
Pricing
Remote Desktop ServicesSplashtop
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Splashtop Business Access Solo
$5.00
per month per user, billed annually
Splashtop Business Access Pro
$8.25
per month per user, billed annually
Splashtop Business Access Performance
$13.00
per month per user, billed annually
SOS
$17.00
per month per concurrent technician, billed annually
SOS+10
$19.00
per month per concurrent technician, billed annually
SOS Unlimited
$34.00
per month per concurrent technician, billed annually
Remote Support
$40.00
per month billed monthly or annually
Splashtop Enterprise
Contact Sales
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Remote Desktop ServicesSplashtop
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Remote Desktop ServicesSplashtop
Considered Both Products
Remote Desktop Services
Chose Remote Desktop Services
Because it is a built-in, free solution for a small set of managed computers. No extra licenses required. No budget. Setup and configuration is instanteneous.
Splashtop

No answer on this topic

Top Pros

No answers on this topic

Top Cons

No answers on this topic

Features
Remote Desktop ServicesSplashtop
Remote Administration
Comparison of Remote Administration features of Product A and Product B
Remote Desktop Services
8.9
3 Ratings
8% above category average
Splashtop
7.8
43 Ratings
5% below category average
Screen sharing9.33 Ratings9.337 Ratings
File transfer9.33 Ratings9.039 Ratings
Secure remote access with Smart Card authentication8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Access to sleeping/powered-off computers8.01 Ratings3.013 Ratings
Over-the-Internet remote session8.73 Ratings9.342 Ratings
Initiate remote control from mobile10.02 Ratings7.726 Ratings
Remote management of servers & workstations9.02 Ratings9.07 Ratings
Remote Active Directory® management9.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Centralized management dashboard9.02 Ratings7.132 Ratings
Session record9.52 Ratings7.219 Ratings
Monitoring and Alerts8.02 Ratings6.05 Ratings
Instant message00 Ratings7.930 Ratings
Annotations00 Ratings9.02 Ratings
Multi-platform remote control00 Ratings8.733 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Remote Desktop ServicesSplashtop
Small Businesses
Getscreen.me
Getscreen.me
Score 9.8 out of 10
Getscreen.me
Getscreen.me
Score 9.8 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
mRemoteNG
mRemoteNG
Score 9.7 out of 10
mRemoteNG
mRemoteNG
Score 9.7 out of 10
Enterprises
BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access
BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access
Score 9.1 out of 10
Remote Desktop Services
Remote Desktop Services
Score 9.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Remote Desktop ServicesSplashtop
Likelihood to Recommend
9.3
(17 ratings)
9.0
(470 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
6.0
(1 ratings)
10.0
(34 ratings)
Usability
6.6
(2 ratings)
9.6
(24 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
9.3
(5 ratings)
Performance
5.0
(1 ratings)
9.5
(5 ratings)
Support Rating
3.0
(1 ratings)
8.7
(429 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.5
(15 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
5.0
(2 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
5.0
(1 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
9.5
(5 ratings)
Professional Services
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.8
(3 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
5.8
(3 ratings)
User Testimonials
Remote Desktop ServicesSplashtop
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft
Remote Desktop services are well suited for people looking to connect to Local computers/Servers after connecting to VPN or Local Area Network. It is easy to use and performs superbly without any issues. However, it does not have support for connecting to Non-Windows-based Devices and Applications like Teamviewer beat RDP when it comes to connecting to machines outside one's network.
Read full review
Splashtop
In my position Splashtop is perfectly suited for my needs. Allows me to connect to remote workers, or those who work from home. I use it while in the office as well as if I am doing after hours support at home. If you have workers who are local but at a different address, also useful. If you are supporting users just in the office you are in, obviously, it's not going to be a tool you will need
Read full review
Pros
Microsoft
  • When you connect with RDS, everything looks and feels (and is) exactly like you're sitting at that desktop. This is great for us and for users.
  • You can sign in with RDS and the desktop will be the same as when you left it (if you choose to set it up that way).
  • Although they take some setup, RemoteApps are a very handy way to let users access a program without requiring them to actually connect to a remote desktop on the server.
Read full review
Splashtop
  • Splashtop lets me see what my clients see.
  • Splashtop usually works even when my client's computer isn't in great shape. I can sometimes do things remotely that an onsite user cannot.
  • Splashtop lets me work on many computers from one location, without leaving my own desk.
  • Splashtop allows me to serve clients who are hundreds and even thousands of miles away. I can do work for people I've never met.
  • My clients can usually install Splashtop by themselves, preventing the need for a costly and time consuming site visit.
  • Splashtop lets me create installation links for remote access that have been configured specifically to my particular needs and the needs of my clients.
Read full review
Cons
Microsoft
  • Remote Desktop Services currently does not support multiple monitors on the terminal server. Unlike other applications such as Teamviewer, there's no feature to toggle between multiple screens even if they were connected to the terminal server.
  • Remote Desktop Services should provide an option to scale up or down the screen size after a connection is established. Currently you can only adjust the screen size prior to a connection is established. So you'll have to take a best guess at what display screen resolution will fit best on your screen.
  • Remote Desktop Services should offer some kind of menu to send special key strokes like Ctrl+Alt+Del to the terminal server. Currently the substitute for that particular combination is Ctrl+Alt+End. But I have yet to discover a replacement for other combination keystrokes such as Alt+PrintScrn.
Read full review
Splashtop
  • Web Access should be available to all Splashtop Versions so support personnel do not need to have their laptop with them or Executable on USB Drive etc..
  • Remote access and scaling of screens sometimes is very difficult and have to resort to using keyboard commands to Navigate a screen because the mouse does not show where it is accurately on the remote screen no matter what changes you make on the client although I think this has been improving.
  • Intermittent loss of streamer access and showing that a system is online in the Dashboard has been flakey lately. What I mean by this is systems show offline then they come back online their own then offline again - intermittent
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Splashtop
I believe that I will renew Splashtop without any problems in the coming years as eating stable costs without increases even in critical periods such as the Covid virus, Splashtop allows access to 25 unattended stations and has continuous updates and new features. It also allows resale to users with sub-accounts
Read full review
Usability
Microsoft
The initial setup for Remote Desktop Services is complex, and licensing is costly. Each user connects to their virtual desktop hosted by a single server or group of servers, so a change or issue with servers quickly impacts every single user at the same time. Aside from that, users appreciate seeing their same personal desktop from any device or geographical location.
Read full review
Splashtop
It's hard to find any significant faults with Splashtop. It offers a very responsive remote access experience with clear and simple interface. There's very little learning curve as it's toolbar mimics other popular remote access solutions graphical user interface. It's gives you access to your remote computer quickly and stays out of your way
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Splashtop
I've never had any issues with it, nor any connectivity issues. They always say when they'll be maintaining the system and it's always in the odd hours, so nobody uses then. But I've never had any issues.
Read full review
Performance
Microsoft
There are some third party tools available that allow you to manage multiple connections.
Read full review
Splashtop
Pages and servers load fast, normal speed. It doesn't lag or anything like that. I don't integrate it with anything else.
Read full review
Support Rating
Microsoft
As with any Microsoft Server product, support for Remote Desktop Services requires a paid support package. These are license-based and very costly, on top of the already costly product licensing. Microsoft's licensing is complicated to begin with, so setting up licensing alone essentially requires a licensing expert's counsel. There is community documentation and support available on Microsoft websites, as well as community websites.
Read full review
Splashtop
Tickets lingered in the support queue. Our environment is complex and some solutions never work in it but inconsistency and long turn around time on seemingly simple support issues force our pursuit of alternative solutions. Our environment is atypical and should not be used as a litmus test for solutions however we found the support issues were more wide spread with other orgs voicing the same delays.
Read full review
Implementation Rating
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Splashtop
It couldn't have been any easier to setup and I have had no issues with it since it was implemented. It's a great product and makes remotely connecting to another device so simple and quick. I can't recommend it enough
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
Microsoft
We selected Remote Desktop Services based upon price alone. Other solutions on the market are significantly more expensive, but if your company can foot the bill you should seriously consider products that have been on the market for longer. The lack of an ability to easily upgrade farm servers has been a challenge for us - although it is still faster than updating an application on 2000+ machines. The lack of a centralized management console in 2008 R2 is also challenging, but you get by with the tools available to you. If you don't have the money to spend on Citrix or VMWare Horizon, Remote Desktop Services is a decent replacement.
Read full review
Splashtop
Splashtop Business Enterprise is actually easier to implement and get it up and running, all users have to do is download the standard or personalize file and run it, then share the code with you and you are all set to go, i like it because you can even do it from your phone if necessary
Read full review
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Splashtop
Terms were simple, straightforward, and acceptable.
Read full review
Scalability
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Splashtop
It's a product that allows us to work remotely and access our servers from anywhere in the world. Our team works from different parts of the world and it's a great tool for us.
Read full review
Professional Services
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Splashtop
Easy to work with
Read full review
Return on Investment
Microsoft
  • Allowed remote users access from home
  • Shared file access for multipolar users from a centralized location
  • Cost to add additional users when maxed out
  • Purchase multiple licenses for programs to run in virtual machines. Or unable to run on a virtual machine
Read full review
Splashtop
  • Clients are happy that we can support them almost instantly without needed to come on site
  • Clients have asked us to do more work on their computers remotely and more often which means increased billing
  • Clients rely on our rapid response with Splashtop which helps build a stronger relationship with them
Read full review
ScreenShots

Splashtop Screenshots

Screenshot of Splashtop Business Access - The solution enables users to connect with remote computersScreenshot of Splashtop Business Access - Managers can assign role-based access and define permissionsScreenshot of Splashtop SOS - Access with a 9-digit session codeScreenshot of Splashtop SOS - View current sessionsScreenshot of Splashtop Remote Support - Files can be transferred between local and remote computersScreenshot of Splashtop Remote Support -  Administrators can control remote capabilities