Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) vs VMware Horizon View comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Sep 8, 2022

We performed a comparison between Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops vs VMware Horizon View based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.

  • Ease of Deployment: Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops users find the solution easy and straightforward to deploy. VMware Horizon View users share mixed reviews regarding deployment.
  • Features: Users of both products are happy with their stability and scalability.

    Citrix users like the solution’s data protection, and that it is flexible and can be used on any device. Reviewers mention that the endpoint user and zero trust protocols need some improvement.

    VMware users like the solution’s performance, desktop management, and its remote virtual desktop interface. Users say the reporting could be improved and that they would like to see more useful monitoring.
  • Pricing: Users of both solutions say the pricing is expensive.
  • Service and Support: Citrix users are satisfied with the technical support. VMware users share mixed opinions.
  • ROI: Users of both solutions report a positive ROI.

Comparison Results: Based on the parameters we compared, Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops seems to be the more favorable solution. It is easier to deploy than VMware Horizon View, and users are happier with the technical support.

765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"The most valuable feature is how secure the solution is.""The most valuable feature is the desktop experience so that users don't see much difference between the remote desktop and the local desktop... It also provides virtualization for high-end graphics so that they can be displayed. AutoCAD can be done on Citrix. The graphics are very good.""It has very good performance in delivering 3D applications over WAN.""We've been able to scale the environment quite nicely by using the Citrix Remote PC. I can't say enough about that. And because that relies on utilizing your existing hardware resources, and making those available as a part of your Citrix farm — with a second level of authentication and security pieces around it — we added some 4,000 workstations without an additional overhead or cost.""Among the most valuable features is the Citrix Workspace, which allows us to drive that thin-client connection and the remote control/remote access capabilities. Those things have allowed us to connect an awful lot of people quickly from home and that's obviously helped during the pandemic.""The most valuable feature of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops is the security and it is easy to work with.""We can provide tons of applications with different settings, behaviors, and operating systems. It is the same way for the user. Then, we are totally transparent for the user to use a lot of totally different applications, which is the most important part of Citrix today.""The shadow feature is extraordinary and helps a lot when supporting remote users."

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"The product helped us deploy complex applications.""The most valuable feature is that VMware Horizon is easy to setup.""Horizon View provides virtual desktops on demand.""Managing all operating systems in a single environment helped a lot in organizing and integrating it.""The support from VMware is very good and they have amazing experts.""Instant Clone instantly creates another VM with a Delta disk, which is just the VMware backend. This helps with scalability and management.""The most valuable features of VMware Horizon View technology is easier to use and is user-friendly with the customers.""I appreciate how simple and straightforward the operation of VMware Horizon View is."

More VMware Horizon View Pros →

Cons
"As an end-to-end solution for implementing Zero Trust principles I would rate it a six or a seven out of 10, because it doesn't cover all aspects of Zero Trust. There are quite a few aspects you need to cover.""The solution's technical support is not so good.""Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops is a complex solution.""The initial setup is complex.""We have had issues with certain aspects, which is why we are looking for alternatives. For example, the firewall solution from Citrix is a bit complicated. Integration is hard.""The monitoring and management is in need of improvement.""The product should expand its capabilities for integrating with other environments.""Their customer support can be improved a lot as it lacks a lot of knowledgeable help."

More Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) Cons →

"The initial setup is a little complicated.""The integration could be improved.""In the area of automation, there are some improvements needed in the solution.""The initial setup was complex, and you need system experience to walk through it.""VMware Horizon View can improve by making it easier to use for first-time users. You should learn the whole concept of VMware to be able to use it.""In VMware Horizon View, app volume is an area of concern where improvements are required.""Reporting could be improved, we currently have to export manually.""In the future, I would like to see better support for application virtualization."

More VMware Horizon View Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "You have to do some hard work in order to get the suitable licenses."
  • "The licenses are affordable, but the support is a bit expensive, though worth the value.​"
  • "The product, XenServer, is free to use, and XenApp has a one month free license."
  • "It is a bit costly, but enterprise class features come with a cost."
  • "It is quite expensive, but so are the competitors on the market."
  • "I think it is a little high priced."
  • "I suggest using the concurrent user licensing scheme."
  • "A perpetual enterprise license costs approximately $300 USD."
  • More Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "Licensing and hardware outsourcing is expensive, but can be cost-effective in the three to five-year range."
  • "This solution is expensive."
  • "This solution is expensive. A lot of companies in Mexico find that the price is too high."
  • "There is a monthly subscription for the use of this solution and it is expensive."
  • "Customers pay a licensing fee."
  • "The pricing can be relatively competitive, but sometimes you have to go back to VMware and ask for additional discounts. You can make it competitive If you're prepared to put in the work. The list prices and standard discounts may not be competitive, but if you push hard enough, you can get the price to where you need it to be."
  • "The solution can be costly for customers who do not run mission-critical applications or who have less than 50 users."
  • "I cannot provide a detailed comment on the pricing; however, I can say that it is quite expensive."
  • More VMware Horizon View Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Comparison Review
    Answers from the Community
    Dante Dano
    Dan Reynolds - PeerSpot reviewerDan Reynolds
    Real User

    I think VMware Horizon View is a very solid product. 


    I think it is the most mature product on the whole spectrum. All virtual desktop environments require tuning for performance. Depending on the size of the company you don't need 1/10 of the bells & whistles that the vendors include. For example, I have a small environment - 70 employees. I don't use instant clones, personas, their analysis tools, ... Not only are they expensive (the tools) they overly complicate a complicated process. KISS. 


    I have honed down the environment to what is just needed. Most of the industry will tell you otherwise. And I do all this as a one-man IT department. 

    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:There are many features that I like, but the stability over the Internet is exceptional. Even if there's bandwidth fluctuation or network jitter, it performs well, offering a seamless experience to… more »
    Top Answer:In the past, the prices of the product were great. With the acquisition of Citrix by your company, the prices have drastically increased. For my company, it has become a bit of a problem to sell… more »
    Top Answer:I would like to see simplification in the management of the on-prem infrastructure component of Citrix DaaS, particularly in the studio tool used to manage the DaaS infrastructure. This simplification… more »
    Top Answer:I use the solution in my company for the area of VDI, consisting of multiple applications and allowing users the flexibility to use the applications on mobile devices.
    Top Answer:I rate the product cost a six on a scale of one to ten, where one is high price, and ten is low price. I haven't seen any additional payments being made apart from the licensing cause attached to the… more »
    Top Answer:The storage expansion in the product is a bit difficult to manage, especially when I have to modify a storage requirement of a particular area since it comes across as a complex job. I would like the… more »
    Ranking
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    Average Words per Review
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    Rating
    7.5
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    6,281
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    27
    Average Words per Review
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    Rating
    8.0
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, XenDesktop, XenApp (Citrix Virtual Apps)
    Horizon View
    Learn More
    Overview

    Enable secure, flexible work with the leader in virtual apps and desktops

    Deliver desktop as a service (DaaS) from any cloud or datacenter

    Get started with Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) in minutes to provide a familiar, high-performance digital workspace experience to your users. We’ll manage the infrastructure and security. You focus on your business.

    VMware Horizon View is a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) solution that helps organizations to provide virtual machines and applications to end-users that can be run on a variety of devices. With Horizon View, organizations are able to provide remote access to desktops, improve their security and compliance, and significantly reduce the costs and complexities of physical hardware management.

    Horizon View has an intuitive central management area for all virtual devices, which enables image creation and management, management of users, and access control. Horizon View users have the flexibility that allows them to access their virtual desktops and applications from any type of device and from any location.

    The solution has enhanced security abilities, including built-in encryption and secure communication between the devices and the virtual machines. These security measures help ensure the safety of sensitive data, even if the data is accessed from a non-secure device.

    Benefits of VMware Horizon View

    VMware Horizon View provides its users with several key benefits, including:


    • Enhanced security: VMware Horizon View’s virtual desktops are run from a secure data center, which reduces the risk of data loss or attacks.


    • High performance: Experience high levels of performance and stability, even with low-bandwidth connections.


    • Flexibility: Horizon View virtual machines can run on a wide range of devices, including laptops, smartphones, and tablets. Users are able to access their virtual desktops from any location.


    • Centralized management: Create and manage all of your virtual desktops from a single location.


    • Scalability: Scale your virtual machines up and down depending on your usage.


    • Reduced costs: Eliminate the usage of physical desktops and reduce hardware, maintenance, and energy costs.


    • Simple deployments: Horizon View automates the deployment and configuration of virtual desktops, making it faster and easier to roll out virtual desktops to users.


    VMware Horizon View features

    Some of Horizon View’s top features include:



    • Load balancing: Improve performance and stability by balancing workloads across multiple servers.


    • User management and access control: Create and manage user profiles, including their saved data and settings across virtual desktops. Control user access to virtual desktops based on multiple factors.


    • Multimedia optimization: Improve the performance of your applications that use audio and video by optimizing multimedia playback for virtual desktops.


    • Virtual application and machine sharing: Create and share pools of virtual desktops and applications between users, making them easy to maintain and manage.


    • Customizations: Enables IT to customize the user environment, including the desktop background, shortcuts, and start menu, to meet the needs of different users or departments.


    Reviews from Real Users

    VMware Horizon View stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Several major ones are its flexibility, powerful performance, and virtualizing capabilities.

    David G., a systems engineer at a tech services company, writes, “This product is great for desktop management. It enables you to update one golden image, save it and basically deploy it... It makes management a lot easier. There's also the huge savings. We've (used) it with the pandemic because everybody had to work from home. Even if there weren't enough laptops to go around, almost everybody has a home computer. It was just a matter of installing Horizon on your home computer and connecting to the office using two-factor authentication. They made it really simple.”

    Sample Customers
    Exelon, Aeronamic, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Alameda County Medical Center, Alaska Department of Fish & Game, Aloysius Stichting, Amarchand Mangaldas, AmBev, Amnet Technology Solutions, Arval
    Amway, Hertz International, Metro Health, North Carolina State University, Ottawa International Airport, Revlon, and Whirlpool.
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company19%
    Financial Services Firm9%
    Insurance Company8%
    Comms Service Provider8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company13%
    Financial Services Firm11%
    Government8%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm15%
    Government13%
    Computer Software Company13%
    University10%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company12%
    Financial Services Firm9%
    Government9%
    Healthcare Company7%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business28%
    Midsize Enterprise16%
    Large Enterprise56%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business23%
    Midsize Enterprise15%
    Large Enterprise63%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business49%
    Midsize Enterprise14%
    Large Enterprise37%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business22%
    Midsize Enterprise14%
    Large Enterprise64%
    Buyer's Guide
    Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) vs. VMware Horizon View
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) vs. VMware Horizon View and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) is ranked 5th in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) with 90 reviews while VMware Horizon View is ranked 3rd in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) with 67 reviews. Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) is rated 8.4, while VMware Horizon View is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) writes "Flexible Deployment, reliable performance, and fast transmission speeds". On the other hand, the top reviewer of VMware Horizon View writes "User-friendly, reasonably priced, and simple to install". Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) is most compared with Citrix Workspace, Amazon Appstream, Amazon WorkSpaces, Microsoft Remote Desktop Services and Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS), whereas VMware Horizon View is most compared with VMware Horizon, Citrix Workspace, Microsoft Remote Desktop Services, VMware Workstation and VMware Fusion. See our Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) vs. VMware Horizon View report.

    See our list of best Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) vendors.

    We monitor all Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.