Top 11 Best Virtual Desktop Solutions: Free Cloud Desktop

Read this tutorial to learn about the best virtual desktop solutions available and choose the cloud desktop per your requirements:

Virtual desktop solutions are essential for organizing IT resources, especially amidst social restrictions.

With social restrictions in place, every business is shifting towards a remote working environment. Most businesses have been forced to create a virtual environment to survive in the market. However, managing resources virtually can be extremely challenging without the right tool in hand.

Virtual Desktop Solutions

Virtual Desktop software offers a solution to this problem and allows us to manage staff remotely. From centralizing IT resources to securing data, the platform offers several advantages and builds the perfect foundation for remote work management. It is vital for creating and managing a virtual environment.

That said, not all virtual desktop solutions are the same, and finding an application that offers what you need is not easy. Therefore, IT professionals look for a solution that is easily accessible and has all the features to support remote management. Today, we will review the 11 best virtual desktop software in 2021.

North America is the largest market for virtual desktop solutions:

[image source]

List of Top Virtual Desktop Solutions

Here is a list of popular Cloud Desktop Solutions:

1. Venn
2. GoToResolve
3. V2 Cloud
4. Amazon Workspaces
5. Microsoft Azure
6. Cloudalize Desktop-as-a-Service
7. dinClouddinWorkspace
8. Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops.
9. OVHcloud
10. Evolve IP
11. Red Hat Virtualization
12. Nutanix AOS
13. Itopia Cloud Automation Stack
14. VMware Horizon Cloud.

Comparison of Online Virtual Hosted Desktops

Let us review the virtual desktops listed above:

#1) Venn

Venn is not yet another DaaS solution but rather it’s the evolution of DaaS. Rather than remote hosting of applications, Venn isolates and protects work applications from any personal use on the same computer. The result is a seamless local experience that’s secure and is not subject to network latency.

The signature feature of the solution is the “blue box” that visually identifies work applications distinct from any personal or other uses. Applications in the blue box live in a secure local enclave that is controlled by your company, where all data is encrypted and access is managed. Within the enclave, business activity is walled off from anything that happens on the personal side.

The Venn solution enables companies to centrally asset and manage policies for file access and storage, browser policies, peripheral use, copy/paste and screen capture privileges and network access.

Features:

• The evolution of DaaS – Fully local, apps run on endpoint devices.
• Blue box provides visual separation between work applications and other uses.
• No lag performance
• Data control and encryption to meet compliance requirements.
• Configurable policy including copy/paste protection, screen capture, etc.
• Remote wipe of secure enclave when required.

Verdict: If you have remote workers dealing with sensitive company data and applications, Venn can be deployed to protect company assets even on computers you don’t own or directly control.

The solution is also popular with the following use cases:

• Secure BYO and unmanaged devices.
• Secure Independent or offshore contractors.
• Reduce the cost of the virtual desktop infrastructure.
• Enable employees to safely use laptops for work and personal.

Pricing: Venn pricing is per seat per month, paid annually. The company offers no-cost proof-of-concept trials.

#2) GoToResolve

GoToResolve gives you easy background access to your systems from any remote location via a user-friendly dashboard. With just one click, you’ll be able to pull up system diagnostics like CPU, network, processes, memory, and much more from any device. You can do this without actually starting a remote session.

As long as the remote access window is open, you’ll be able to access data in real-time through your agent dashboard. Many administrative tasks can be executed by simply accessing the command line or registry. You’ll be able to work on multiple tasks concurrently. If you wish to remotely control a device, you can do so by accessing the Unattended Device prompt on your dashboard.

Features:

• Access data from any device in real-time
• Remote Terminal Access
• Background File Manager
• Visual Agent Dashboard.

Verdict: With GoToResolve, you’ll be able to keep your machines secure, updated, and in working order remotely, from any device. The intuitive agent dashboard does half the job at your behest. This is a great software for small businesses.

Price:

There is a free plan. The standard plan will cost $57per month. The Remote Support plan will cost $40 per month. All plans are billed annually. A 14 day free trial is also offered.

#3) V2 Cloud

Best for Business owners, IT managers, Managed Service Providers, and Independent Software Vendors.

V2 Cloud is the fully integrated cloud desktop solution for the secured remote access. It offers the features of antivirus protection as well as daily backups. It has an intuitive management console.

It is a web-based tool and also offers an easy to use mobile app. It is a platform with expandable 50 GB disk space, daily backup snapshots, office 365 & AzureAD integration, and blazing fast processors & drives.

Features:

• Multi-user desktops are Windows Server-based and have the capacity to hold 250 users on each virtual machine.
• Daily Backups with the facility to restore individual files.
• All the apps have the built-in facility of live help chat.
• It offers many more features like IPsec VPNs and MFA & SSO, etc.

Verdict: V2 Cloud offers an easy to use platform with quality support and superfast cloud desktops. This Desktop as a service (DaaS) is a cost-efficient, fast, and scalable solution for business owners, IT managers, Managed Service Providers, and Independent Software Vendors.

Price: V2 Cloud offers a free trial for 7 days. Its Basic plans start at $40 per month and business plans start at $60 per month.

#4) Amazon Workspaces

Best for personal use and organizations of all sizes

Amazon WorkSpaces is one of the leading hosted virtual desktop environments and infrastructure providers in the industry. The platform allows you to provision Linux and Windows desktops in a matter of minutes and scale your desktop infrastructure across the globe.

With scalable payment and a range of plans, Amazon WorkSpaces helps you to build the perfect plan for the company and delivers exactly what your company needs.

Features:

• Collaboration
• DaaS
• Multi-Device support
• Third-Party integration
• Two-Factor authentication

Verdict: Amazon Workspaces is the ideal virtual desktop solution that offers powerful remote access features assisting workers file sharing and collaboration.

Price:

• Free Tier:2 Standard bundle WorkSpaces with 50 GB User volumes and 80 GB Root.
• Amazon offers separate pricing for OS bundles and region. You can check the pricing here.

Website: Amazon Workspaces

#5) Microsoft Azure

Best for personal use and for organizations of all sizes.

Backed by the technology giant Microsoft, Azure is perhaps the earliest cloud platform for VM creation in the software industry.

Facilitating XML web services and smart client applications, and helping to build and operate web-based applications, Microsoft Azure also gives users free cloud desktop and cloud personal computer for as many as 12 months.

Features:

• Application development
• API management
• Infrastructure-as-a-Service solutions
• VDI
• Virtual Machine

Verdict: For organizations working on the Windows Server, Microsoft Azure is the ideal choice given its plethora of powerful Windows cloud desktop features.

Price:

• Free account for 12 months
• Contact vendor for pricing

Website: Microsoft Azure

#6) Cloudalize Desktop-as-a-Service

Best for solution deployment and testing for software providers, medium to large organizations.

Cloudalize is an all-round platform dedicated to solution deployment and testing. That said, it also provides excellent features for Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS), giving the perfect infrastructure for remote work and collaboration management. With this solution, you can automate the entire decision-making process and create workflows according to your needs.

Features:

• DaaS
• Multi-Device support

Verdict: With secure remote access, Cloudalize offers a reliable setup for virtualized desktop management.

Price:

• Contact vendor for pricing.

Website: Cloudalize Desktop-as-a-Service

#7) dinClouddinWorkspace

Best for medium to large organizations.

dinWorkspace is the offshoot of the famous dinCloud cloud services provider. Relying on its strong portfolio of cloud management, dinWorkspace gives users a cloud desktop in the form of hosted workspaces, where users can control virtual computers online through direct and open access.

On top of that, the platform’s subscription-based services are tailored for various plans, giving you a secure, cost-efficient, and reliable platform for online virtual desktops.

Features:

• VDI
• Virtual Machine Encryption
• Virtual Machine Migration
• Virtual Machine Monitoring
• Virtual Server

Verdict: Apart from powerful cloud infrastructure, dinWorkspace gives you a privately hosted virtualized desktop for medium and large companies.

Price:

• Contact vendor for pricing.

Website: dinClouddinWorkspace

#8) Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops

Best for small to medium-sized businesses.

Social restrictions have forced businesses to adopt a digital workspace regardless of their size. Citrix Workspace is a solution targeted at small-medium-sized businesses.

It gives users a unified, secure, intelligent virtual desktop environment where they can guide, organize, automate the virtual workflow, making it easier to collaborate with others and make timely decisions.

Features:

• Activity/News feed
• Content management
• Document management
• Employee directory
• File sharing

Verdict: While there are plenty of options for large enterprises, not many virtual desktop solutions compare to Citrix Workspace when it comes to hosted virtualized desktop solutions for small-medium businesses.

Price:

• Workspace Essentials: $2 per user, per month
• Workspace Standard: $7 per user, per month
• Workspace Premium: $18 per user, per month
• Workspace Premium Plus: $25 per user, per month
• Contact vendor for customizable and scalable pricing

Website: Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops

#9) OVHcloud

Best for medium to large enterprises.

Although known for hyper scale cloud services, OVHcloud virtual cloud infrastructure support medium to large enterprises. Previously, OVHcloud offered a virtual desktop solution for smaller businesses but has now discontinued it in favor of a powerful virtual cloud infrastructure with robust virtual machines.

Features:

• High-Performance Computing (HPC)
• Virtual Machines (VMs)
• Edge Computing
• Virtual Networks

Verdict: Leveraging high-performance virtual infrastructure, the OVCloud virtual infrastructure solution allows you to create a scalable virtual workflow for medium to large enterprises.

Price:

• Value $5.52/month
• Essential $10.58/month
• Comfort $21.16/month
• Elite $31.28/month

Website: OVHcloud

#10) Evolve IP

Best for smart and affordable VD solution for small and medium-sized businesses.

With limited IT budgets, companies need a robust, secure, and affordable virtual desktop solution to maintain a remote workflow for their businesses. Evolve IP offers you VDI features so you can enjoy complete control over the virtual desktop environment.

Features:

• VMware Horizon View Infrastructure
• Private hosting in Evolve IP’s Virtual data center
• Private firewall context and VLAN
• Optionally encrypted disk to meet compliance standards

Verdict: Evolve IP offers you a secure, reliable virtualization experience without straining your budget.

Price:

• Free Demo
• Basic $2 per user/month
• Standard $4 per user/month
• Enterprise $6 per user/month

Website: Evolve IP

#11) Red Hat Virtualization

Best for dedication to companies that want a powerful, customizable Linux-based virtual infrastructure.

Red Hat Virtualization is perhaps the best known online virtual desktop freely available to users. Several companies leverage its open-source solution to create a comprehensive, customized, and scalable infrastructure. Optimize your existing infrastructure and take its performance to the next level while improving application development.

Features:

• Central Management dashboard
• Secure virtualization
• High availability configuration
• Workload management
• Cross-Platform migration

Verdict: Rare as it seems, Red Hat Virtualization’s open source and scalable virtual desktop infrastructure is a comprehensive solution for companies of all sizes.

Price:

• Free version
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server US$349
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Virtual Datacenters US$2,499
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation US$179
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Developer Suite US$99
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Developer Workstation US$299
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Developer Support US$5,000
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM Power Little Endian US$269

Website: Red Hat Virtualization

#12) Nutanix AOS

Best for large enterprises.

Nutanix Acropolis offers a unique OS for native virtualization solutions. By supporting virtual solutions such as Microsoft Hyper-V and VMware ESXi, Nutanix AHV provides you with enterprise virtualization integrated with the Acropolis system.

Features:

• Acropolis Block Services (ABS)
• Acropolis Dynamic Scheduling (ADS)
• Acropolis File Services (AFS)
• VM Scheduling Policies

Verdict: Robust and intuitive virtual desktop management solution with one-click technologies ease of use; tailored for large enterprises.

Price:

• Contact vendor for custom pricing

Website: Nutanix AOS

#13) Itopia Cloud Automation Stack

Best for medium to large enterprises who want a solution tailored for the Google Cloud Platform.

Itopia’s Cloud Automation Stack serves as the foundation for building and managing a legacy VDI on the Google Cloud Platform. Leveraging this solution, you can manage hybrid Active Directory (AD)environments, VFX workstations, as well as a network of virtual desktops and applications.

From Sandbox to Production, Itopia lets you leverage Windows and Linux virtual machines and AD-based disaster recovery.

Features:

• Discovery & Automated VDI Migrations
• Automated Provisioning for Desktops & Apps
• Identity & Access management
• Unified console
• Custom Image Creation & Management

Verdict: Itopia is the best virtual desktop solution for users who rely on the Google Cloud Platform.

Price:

• 14-Day Free Trial
• Month-to-Month $16 per named user per month
• Annual Commitment: $12 per named user per month
• 3-Year Pricing Custom: Contact vendor for pricing

Website: Itopia Cloud Automation Stack

#14) Flaneer

Best for Business owners, IT managers, creative studios, 3D engineering, and architecture.

Flaneer is the simplest way to give access to a cloud workstation to its employees. Its unique web-based technology requires no local clients, and everything is doable from the browser. From an IT manager’s perspective, you can snapshot a Windows image, save it as a master image, and deploy it in hundreds of workstations.

Flaneer offers +450 configurations, GPU included. It’s a platform where you can upgrade/downgrade your workstation in one click, according to your needs.

Flaneer is available on every continent and operates +15 data centers spread around the world. Their pixel streaming technology offers a low latency experience for any usage, even graphic-intensive ones.

Features:

• Multi-monitors, 4K
• Integration with Azure Active Directory
• It offers many more features like fixed IP, VPNs, MFA, SSO, etc.

Verdict: Flaneer offers a very easy-to-use platform with high reactive support that replies in minutes. Their solution is super fast: 5 min to create a workstation, 1 min to get on it, and a few seconds to access it.

This Desktop as a service (DaaS) solution is the right choice for fast-growing companies or for organizations that work with freelancers or that hire remote workers.

Price: Flaneer offers a 90% refund if you cancel your subscription during the 48 first hours. Its subscriptions start at $40 a month per workstation.

#15) VMware Horizon Cloud

Best for medium to large organizations.

Relying on the powerful Instant Clone technology, VMware has revolutionized the deployment of customized virtual desktops.

It is one of the few platforms that have zero dependency on the parent after cloning, due to in-memory cloning inside parent virtual machines. As a result, you can deploy and scale servers quickly and easily and can create a powerful and robust virtual desktop infrastructure.

Features:

• Dedicated & Floating desktops
• vGPU desktops
• User Environment Manager
• Remote session desktop & apps
• Unified Management Console

Verdict: VMware Horizon Cloud offers one of the fastest cloud workspaces in the industry. Maximizing uptime and scalability, VMware Horizon Cloud drives the highest performance amongst the best-hosted desktop services.

Price:

• Standard capacity – $2,950 per host per month: 1 vCPU, 2GB of VRAM, and 30GB HD.
• Graphic Desktop Capacity (M10) – $6,400 per host per month: 2 vCPUs, 8GB of vRAM, 120GB HD, and a 1GB vGPU, including Max 64 VMs per host (64 M10s)
• Workstation capacity (M60) – $4,800 per host per month: 4 vCPUs, 16GB of vRAM, 120GB HD, and a 2GB vGPU.

FAQs About Cloud Desktop

Conclusion

Depending on your needs, your preference for a virtual desktop solution can change. Overall, Amazon Workspaces offers the best features for the VD solution and is suitable for any company that wants to transition to the Amazon infrastructure.

Microsoft Azure is not far behind and offers nearly the same features, but increases your dependence on the Microsoft technology stack.

If you are a small to medium-sized business looking for affordable virtual workspaces, solutions like Citrix and EvolveIP might be the best for you. In the end, you must see which of these solutions complements your existing architecture.

Research process:

• We spent 10 hours researching and writing this article so you can get a useful summarized list of tools with a comparison of each for your quick review.
• Total tools researched online: 20
• Top tools shortlisted for review: 11