Citrix DaaS vs. Remote Desktop Services

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Citrix DaaS
Score 8.1 out of 10
N/A
Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, or XenDesktop) is a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) and application virtualization solution from Citrix.
$375
Remote Desktop Services
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Remote Desktop Services from Microsoft is virtual desktop and remote user session technology.N/A
Pricing
Citrix DaaSRemote Desktop Services
Editions & Modules
Virtual Apps
$375
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Citrix DaaSRemote Desktop Services
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Citrix DaaSRemote Desktop Services
Considered Both Products
Citrix DaaS
Chose Citrix DaaS
We have tried two alternates, one of which is not listed in this web sites database. Normal MS Remote Desktop Services/Terminal Services and 2X Applications Services. Both had similar offerings to Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops (formerly XenDesktop), but both had the same …
Chose Citrix DaaS
Citrix Virtual Apps & Desktops is platform agnostic (we can use any underlying hypervisor technology) and really flexible for any use case. Using a golden image and provisioning it (with Machine Creation Services or Provisioning Services) is powerful and really straightforward, …
Chose Citrix DaaS
Other products were more cost efficient, offered a better support contract, were much simpler to configure, and had better documentation.

We chose Citrix over the alternatives, because one of our customers required the use of Citrix for the connection of third-party vendors.
Remote Desktop Services
Chose Remote Desktop Services
We have reviewed Citrix Xen Desktop and VMware's VDI solutions. For the cost, when compared to what Remote Desktop Services can provide us there was no contest. Remote Desktop Services can provide us all the features we require with little to no cost since we are an EA customer …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Citrix DaaSRemote Desktop Services
Remote Administration
Comparison of Remote Administration features of Product A and Product B
Citrix DaaS
-
Ratings
Remote Desktop Services
8.9
3 Ratings
8% above category average
Screen sharing00 Ratings9.33 Ratings
File transfer00 Ratings9.33 Ratings
Secure remote access with Smart Card authentication00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Access to sleeping/powered-off computers00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Over-the-Internet remote session00 Ratings8.73 Ratings
Initiate remote control from mobile00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Remote management of servers & workstations00 Ratings9.02 Ratings
Remote Active Directory® management00 Ratings9.02 Ratings
Centralized management dashboard00 Ratings9.02 Ratings
Session record00 Ratings9.52 Ratings
Monitoring and Alerts00 Ratings8.02 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Citrix DaaSRemote Desktop Services
Small Businesses
VMware Fusion
VMware Fusion
Score 8.4 out of 10
Getscreen.me
Getscreen.me
Score 9.8 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
VMware Fusion
VMware Fusion
Score 8.4 out of 10
mRemoteNG
mRemoteNG
Score 9.7 out of 10
Enterprises
VMware Fusion
VMware Fusion
Score 8.4 out of 10
BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access
BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access
Score 9.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Citrix DaaSRemote Desktop Services
Likelihood to Recommend
8.9
(54 ratings)
9.3
(17 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.2
(4 ratings)
6.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
8.2
(6 ratings)
6.6
(2 ratings)
Availability
8.4
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
7.4
(4 ratings)
5.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
7.9
(8 ratings)
3.0
(1 ratings)
In-Person Training
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
8.3
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
8.4
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
2.4
(4 ratings)
5.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.2
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
5.2
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
7.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Citrix DaaSRemote Desktop Services
Likelihood to Recommend
Citrix
Citrix Virtual Apps & Desktops is best in class for offering a great user experience in VDI, server-based sessions, or published apps. Using additional GPU allows uses like rich video, 3D apps, and great modern uses (MS Teams, Office 365, Zoom, etc.). Citrix products are very well integrated (Citrix Virtual Apps & Desktops used with Citrix ADC is the best way to secure access and monitor everything).
Read full review
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
Pros
Citrix
  • Enables remote access anywhere, to any device which eliminates managing the endpoints how traditional VPN would require.
  • Integrates well with modern applications to offer optimized user experiences similar to native applications which increases user acceptance.
  • Extremely flexible in how policies are applied to different use cases to ensure the appropriate security mitigations are in place with minimal effort.
  • Easy to maintain and expand environments to fit business needs.
Read full review
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
Cons
Citrix
  • A single console to manage the environment.
  • The configuration is a bit complicated and we have hired Citrix administrators. But it's a good solution.
  • User profiles need improvement. They could use more stability and more functionality as well as user profile redirection.
Read full review
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
Likelihood to Renew
Citrix
Because it has been a mainstay of our business for many years.
Read full review
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Usability
Citrix
Getting the environment setup took me three months of off and on work, with 3 complete rebuilds of the environment. Utilizing the WebUI to access the environment had presented so many random issues that we had to require end users to use the Citrix Reciever App. As it was the only stable solution. Aside from that, it hasn't required much admin intervention since the stand-up was completed.
Read full review
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
Reliability and Availability
Citrix
Xendesktop did a great job with HA of all the components.
Read full review
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Performance
Citrix
The performance of XenDesktop is the best in the industry because of the fine-tuned protocol and years of updating. Overall, I don't think there is a better performer on the market. The question is if the added complexity of running XenDesktop is really worth the performance gain. While the latest version of XenDesktop is the easiest to deploy so far, it is still more challenging than the competitors.
Read full review
Microsoft
There are some third party tools available that allow you to manage multiple connections.
Read full review
Support Rating
Citrix
The support is great when you get an engineer that knows what they are doing but getting that individual sometimes takes a while. Overall, they are professional and polite and competent in their knowledge. Sometimes the cases are open for an extended period of time which becomes very frustrating when dealing with critical issues.
Read full review
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
In-Person Training
Citrix
I was self trained
Read full review
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Citrix
Easy to understand and learn at my own pace
Read full review
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Citrix
Take it slow and read the directions each step of the way. If you are not familiar with Citrix products, use a reseller or other experienced engineer to assist you in the setup of your environment
Read full review
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Citrix
I never had the chance to test other products like these since whenever I read and searched online during the first phase it was only popping up Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops.... so we got in touch with the sales department and the rest is history. After the technical consultation, it was more obvious that the implementation would have been very easy and the security layers are very well for my company.
Read full review
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
Scalability
Citrix
Easily scalable
Read full review
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Citrix
  • XenApp has allowed us to continue support of legacy applications and all access of those applications to users across the globe with any device.
  • XenApp can also manage software licenses by restricting number of users, number of concurrent sessions, or combination of both to required specification.
  • While initial investment in XenApp can be costly, continuing support and upgrade are very cost effective and product stability is excellent.
  • While there are competing products from Microsoft and VMware, when it comes to remote application access, XenApp is the best of breed.
Read full review
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
ScreenShots