Remote Desktop Services vs. Zoho Assist

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Remote Desktop Services
Score 7.8 out of 10
N/A
Remote Desktop Services from Microsoft is virtual desktop and remote user session technology.N/A
Zoho Assist
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Zoho Assist from Zoho Corporation is a remote administration tool for SMBs and outsourced IT.
$12
per technician/per month
Pricing
Remote Desktop ServicesZoho Assist
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Remote Support - Standard
$12
per technician/per month
Unattended Access - Standard
$12
25 unattended computers/per month
Remote Support - Professional
$18
per technician/per month
Unattended Access - Professional
$18
25 unattended computers/per month
Remote Support - Enterprise
$28
per technician/per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Remote Desktop ServicesZoho Assist
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Remote Desktop ServicesZoho Assist
Features
Remote Desktop ServicesZoho Assist
Remote Administration
Comparison of Remote Administration features of Product A and Product B
Remote Desktop Services
4.4
4 Ratings
57% below category average
Zoho Assist
8.1
23 Ratings
2% above category average
Screen sharing6.54 Ratings8.921 Ratings
File transfer4.64 Ratings8.222 Ratings
Instant message1.01 Ratings8.421 Ratings
Secure remote access with Smart Card authentication6.32 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Access to sleeping/powered-off computers2.02 Ratings7.719 Ratings
Over-the-Internet remote session3.74 Ratings8.922 Ratings
Initiate remote control from mobile3.43 Ratings7.313 Ratings
Remote management of servers & workstations6.03 Ratings9.018 Ratings
Remote Active Directory® management6.83 Ratings4.43 Ratings
Centralized management dashboard3.83 Ratings8.417 Ratings
Session record4.03 Ratings8.514 Ratings
Monitoring and Alerts4.33 Ratings7.14 Ratings
Annotations00 Ratings7.712 Ratings
Multi-platform remote control00 Ratings8.715 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Remote Desktop ServicesZoho Assist
Small Businesses
Getscreen.me
Getscreen.me
Score 9.6 out of 10
Getscreen.me
Getscreen.me
Score 9.6 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Remote Desktop Manager
Remote Desktop Manager
Score 9.4 out of 10
Remote Desktop Manager
Remote Desktop Manager
Score 9.4 out of 10
Enterprises
Remote Desktop Manager
Remote Desktop Manager
Score 9.4 out of 10
Remote Desktop Manager
Remote Desktop Manager
Score 9.4 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Remote Desktop ServicesZoho Assist
Likelihood to Recommend
7.9
(19 ratings)
8.8
(23 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
6.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
7.0
(4 ratings)
8.7
(13 ratings)
Performance
5.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
3.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(6 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
5.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Remote Desktop ServicesZoho Assist
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft
Remote Desktop Services provides access to work environments from any device. This allows us to ensure business continuity in case of disaster. It provides admins more control over access and security. Remote Desktop Services simplifies software updates and compliance management by reducing the need to act on end users devices.
Read full review
Zoho
If you have many remote users in challenging-to-access locations and they use multiple platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux), Zoho Assist is the solution. If you have a limited budget, you'll like Zoho Assist pricing. If you have a large team of IT technicians, you'll appreciate Zoho Assist's concurrent usage licensing.
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
Zoho
  • One user's computer screen is black, no task bar and start button, after system crush, Unattended Access help me remote control it and use tools under quick Launch to change system settings and created new account for the user, so she can work few hours later.
  • One user computer need help vpn setup but it is not on Unattended Access list, so I create a temporarily Remote Support session, send the link to him by WhatsApp, after he download and install agent, I can connect and remote control it.
  • Sometimes user computer has randomly happening issue, I will connect it by Zoho Assist, record the remote screen, then will catch the issue and know it's triggered
  • sometimes I use video chat as a meeting tool with users
  • The file transfer by web client is useful for me, most of time is to upload files into user computer when it is not able to access our network drive
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
Zoho
  • Instructions to the tech and the person receiving support could be more clear.
  • Providing mobile support is still a bit clunky. Interacting with the user's device on the other end is not totally functional.
  • It would be nice to have a PC app to use instead of accessing via the browser.
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
Zoho
Zoho Assist has proven to be a highly effective and reliable tool that I use on a daily basis. While the "wake up" feature occasionally fails to respond, this seems more likely due to network connectivity issues rather than a flaw in Zoho Assist itself. On rare occasions, the unattended access installation doesn't appear on the administrator's dashboard, which could potentially be caused by firewall restrictions rather than a problem with the software. Aside from these minor and infrequent issues, the platform has consistently performed well and has become an essential part of my workflow.
Read full review
Performance
Microsoft
There are some third party tools available that allow you to manage multiple connections.
Read full review
Zoho
No answers on this topic
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
Zoho
Support is terrible. Quick to initially respond with the boilerplate "The information provided by you should be sufficient for my development team to analyse this further. I shall also write back to you as soon as I get an update from them on this
regard." And then you will hear nothing more from them. Chase further and you'll get stock responses such as "Our development team are still looking into this," etc.
Read full review
Implementation Rating
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Zoho
Make it easier to deploy mulitple agents for different departments.
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
Zoho
The value for Zoho Assist and the functionality is superior to what is now known as LogMeIn Resolve. I knew it before as Goto Assist. My decision to try out and ultimately purchase Zoho Assist has been a great one for my business. I am glad I heard about Zoho Assist and will continue using them for years to come.
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
Zoho
  • Zoho Assist helped in managing our files and records even if ours is not an Enterprise version.
  • Connectivity is maintained despite having faced some latency issues, thus allowing us to save more time and money.
  • Low maintenance costs, since Zoho Assist is cloud-based
Read full review
ScreenShots

Zoho Assist Screenshots

Screenshot of On-demand Remote SupportScreenshot of Browser-based Remote SupportScreenshot of Unattended Access to remote computersScreenshot of Detailed Analytics