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.

763,955 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
"Relative to other solutions, Citrix has fewer conditions and fewer parameters. Citrix also provides some flexibility because it can be used on any device.""This is a very stable solution which you can feel confident using.""The solution provides everything in one integrated platform. When it comes to monitoring their solution, it is really easy. We have all the information in one place so we can have the right information at the right moment. We can be proactive when it comes to dealing with performance, maintenance, and security issues.""Citrix DaaS’s most valuable feature is the virtualization of applications and desktops.""XenApp is a fast, secure and reliable solution for remote connections that is completely different than and superior to older Windows solutions.""The App is the most valuable feature.""Citrix Virtual Apps is the most valuable feature. Many customers use this feature to publish only applications, and not the full desktop. They can publish the internal resource or allow the end-user to reach a site or an application without having the full desktop. That's why they love this feature. It helps them save on resources.""The most valuable feature is the ability to connect to our on-premise applications, through the Workspace app and the Workspace experience. The user experience when using the solution's technology remotely is good. Our users are able to work and it's seamless. The performance is also good."

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

"The most valuable features of VMware Horizon View technology is easier to use and is user-friendly with the customers.""VMware is very helpful for customized platforms that offer auto-promotion and auto-deprovision.""The solution is seamless and easy to use.""The app virtualizing is a great feature.""VMware Horizon View is easily scalable. Its onboarding is easy and comes with flash provisioning features.""I like that it updates quickly and allows users to have virtual desktops.""It is a very stable solution...It is a very scalable solution.""It is a very scalable solution."

More VMware Horizon View Pros →

Cons
"The cost of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops is high and has room for improvement.""Using the app layering feature can be quite difficult and cumbersome.""Dependency on server virtualization after v7.x is an issue which I encountered in small environments.""The only thing we have found to be detrimental is when we have tried to find training. I realize that we're looking at it at the worst time possible, with a pandemic going on, but it seems that most of the training offered is learn-by-yourself online.""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.""Direct connection of USB devices on the terminals to be used by streamed applications is very important for printing and the usage of token authentication, but the current version does not support this one hundred percent.""We would like to be able to provide VDI, a full desktop, to each of our users.""We encounter compatibility issues related to hardware, scanners, and other devices."

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

"The integration could be improved.""The solution isn't quite mature yet. It needs more time to mature and to get more market recognition.""There is room for improvement in security features.""The product has to improve its performance and connectivity.""The initial startup costs for this solution are relatively high.""Technical support could be better and faster.""The system integration also needs some improvement.""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."

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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    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:For our company's customers, I feel that the product is stable.
    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:Recently, my company has started to face some troubles with Citrix at an organizational or corporate level, meaning we have no problems with Citrix as a product. After some new company recently… 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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    4,664
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    21
    Average Words per Review
    584
    Rating
    7.5
    Views
    6,281
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    4,774
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    27
    Average Words per Review
    424
    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 Firm10%
    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 Enterprise15%
    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.
    763,955 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 25 reviews while VMware Horizon View is ranked 3rd in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) with 31 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 "Enables secure delivery of applications and data, features exceptional stability over the Internet and handles demanding tasks like video playback, AutoCAD, and 3D image rendering smoothly". On the other hand, the top reviewer of VMware Horizon View writes "The solution's most valuable feature is its ability to work like a centralized management system". 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.