Microsoft Azure vs Azure Virtual Desktop

Side-by-side comparison of features, pricing, and integrations.

Quick Verdict

Microsoft Azure offers more features (112 vs 16) and more integrations (8 vs 5). Starting price: Microsoft Azure at Free vs Azure Virtual Desktop at Contact Sales. Microsoft Azure has 112 unique features while Azure Virtual Desktop has 16 unique features, with 0 features in common.

Microsoft AzureAzure Virtual Desktop
CategoryCloud InfrastructureCloud Infrastructure
Total Features11216
AI-Powered Features270
Starting PriceFreeContact Sales
Pricing Tiers40
Integrations85
Shared Features0
Shared Integrations0
Data Quality90%50%

Feature Comparison by Category

AI (13 vs 0)

FeatureMicrosoft AzureAzure Virtual Desktop
Azure AI Bot Service
Azure AI Search
Azure AI Video Indexer
Azure Document Intelligence
Azure Machine Learning
Azure Machine Learning Studio
Azure OpenAI Service
Content Safety in Foundry Control Plane
Foundry Agent Service
Foundry Models
Foundry Tools
Hugging Face on Azure
Microsoft Foundry

Analytics (8 vs 0)

FeatureMicrosoft AzureAzure Virtual Desktop
Azure Analysis Services
Azure Data Factory
Azure Databricks
Azure HDInsight
Azure Stream Analytics
Azure Synapse Analytics
Microsoft Fabric
Microsoft Power BI Embedded

Application Delivery (0 vs 1)

FeatureMicrosoft AzureAzure Virtual Desktop
Remote App Streaming

Compute (15 vs 0)

FeatureMicrosoft AzureAzure Virtual Desktop
Azure App Service
Azure Batch
Azure Cloud Services
Azure Container Apps
Azure Container Instances
Azure Container Registry
Azure Dedicated Host
Azure Functions
Azure Kubernetes Service
Azure Kubernetes Service Edge Essentials
Azure Red Hat OpenShift
Azure Service Fabric
Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets
SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines
Virtual Machines

Cost Optimization (0 vs 1)

FeatureMicrosoft AzureAzure Virtual Desktop
Multi-Session Capabilities

Databases (9 vs 0)

FeatureMicrosoft AzureAzure Virtual Desktop
Azure Cosmos DB
Azure Database for MariaDB
Azure Database for MySQL
Azure Database for PostgreSQL
Azure DocumentDB
Azure HorizonDB
Azure Managed Redis
Azure SQL Database
Azure SQL Managed Instance

DevOps (8 vs 0)

FeatureMicrosoft AzureAzure Virtual Desktop
Azure App Testing
Azure Deployment Environments
Azure DevOps
Azure DevTest Labs
GitHub Copilot
GitHub Enterprise
Microsoft Dev Box
Visual Studio Code

Hybrid Cloud (0 vs 1)

FeatureMicrosoft AzureAzure Virtual Desktop
Azure Virtual Desktop for Azure Local

Hybrid and Multicloud (2 vs 0)

FeatureMicrosoft AzureAzure Virtual Desktop
Azure Arc
Azure Local

Identity (3 vs 0)

FeatureMicrosoft AzureAzure Virtual Desktop
Microsoft Entra Domain Services
Microsoft Entra External ID
Microsoft Entra ID

Infrastructure (2 vs 1)

FeatureMicrosoft AzureAzure Virtual Desktop
Global Availability
Global Azure Infrastructure
Maia 200

Integration (4 vs 2)

FeatureMicrosoft AzureAzure Virtual Desktop
Azure API Management
Azure Event Grid
Azure Logic Apps
Azure Service Bus
Citrix DaaS Integration
Omnissa Horizon Cloud Integration

IoT (1 vs 0)

FeatureMicrosoft AzureAzure Virtual Desktop
Azure IoT

Management (13 vs 2)

FeatureMicrosoft AzureAzure Virtual Desktop
Azure Advisor
Azure App Configuration
Azure Automanage
Azure Automation
Azure Backup
Azure Cloud Shell
Azure Lab Services
Azure Monitor
Azure Scheduler
Azure Site Recovery
Copilot in Microsoft Cost Management
FinOps on Azure
Host Pool Management
Managed Control Plane
Microsoft Cost Management

Migration (0 vs 1)

FeatureMicrosoft AzureAzure Virtual Desktop
Cost-Efficient Cloud Migration

Monitoring (0 vs 1)

FeatureMicrosoft AzureAzure Virtual Desktop
Connection Quality Analysis

Networking (8 vs 1)

FeatureMicrosoft AzureAzure Virtual Desktop
Azure Application Gateway
Azure Bandwidth
Azure ExpressRoute
Azure Load Balancer
Azure Network Watcher
Azure VPN Gateway
Azure Virtual Network
Flexible Networking Options
IP addresses in Azure

Operating Systems (0 vs 1)

FeatureMicrosoft AzureAzure Virtual Desktop
Familiar Windows Experiences

Pricing (3 vs 1)

FeatureMicrosoft AzureAzure Virtual Desktop
Azure Hybrid Benefit
Azure Reservations
Azure Savings Plan for Compute
Pay-Per-Use Model

Remote Access (0 vs 1)

FeatureMicrosoft AzureAzure Virtual Desktop
Access from Anywhere

Security (7 vs 2)

FeatureMicrosoft AzureAzure Virtual Desktop
Azure Confidential Computing
Azure DDoS Protection
Azure Dedicated HSM
Azure Key Vault
Azure Managed Confidential Consortium Framework
Embedded Security and Compliance
Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Microsoft Sentinel
Secured Virtual Machines

Specialized Services (1 vs 0)

FeatureMicrosoft AzureAzure Virtual Desktop
Azure Data Manager for Energy

Storage (8 vs 0)

FeatureMicrosoft AzureAzure Virtual Desktop
Azure Blob Storage
Azure Data Box
Azure Data Lake Storage
Azure Files
Azure Managed Disks
Azure NetApp Files
Azure Storage
Azure Table Storage

Support (1 vs 0)

FeatureMicrosoft AzureAzure Virtual Desktop
AI-powered Assistant

Tools (1 vs 0)

FeatureMicrosoft AzureAzure Virtual Desktop
Azure Pricing Calculator

Web (5 vs 0)

FeatureMicrosoft AzureAzure Virtual Desktop
Azure Communication Services
Azure Content Delivery Network
Azure Notification Hubs
Azure SignalR Service
Azure Static Web Apps

Unique Features

Only in Microsoft Azure (112)

Azure AI Bot Service
Azure AI Search
Azure AI Video Indexer
Azure Document Intelligence
Azure Machine Learning
Azure Machine Learning Studio
Azure OpenAI Service
Content Safety in Foundry Control Plane
Foundry Agent Service
Foundry Models
Foundry Tools
Hugging Face on Azure
Microsoft Foundry
Azure Analysis Services
Azure Data Factory
Azure Databricks
Azure HDInsight
Azure Stream Analytics
Azure Synapse Analytics
Microsoft Fabric

+ 92 more unique features

Only in Azure Virtual Desktop (16)

Remote App Streaming
Multi-Session Capabilities
Azure Virtual Desktop for Azure Local
Global Availability
Citrix DaaS Integration
Omnissa Horizon Cloud Integration
Host Pool Management
Managed Control Plane
Cost-Efficient Cloud Migration
Connection Quality Analysis
Flexible Networking Options
Familiar Windows Experiences
Pay-Per-Use Model
Access from Anywhere
Embedded Security and Compliance
Secured Virtual Machines

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