| DEPLOYMENT |
| Current Version (2026) | 2512 / ESB 2412 | 2511 CR / 2407 LTSR | Platform service (continuous) | Platform service (continuous) |
| Hypervisor support | vSphere, Nutanix AHV (GA 2512), Hyper-V, Azure | vSphere, Hyper-V, Nutanix, Azure, AWS, GCP | Azure only (Hyper-V managed) | AWS (Nitro hypervisor) |
| Cloud deployment | Horizon Cloud on Azure / on-prem | Citrix DaaS (multi-cloud) / on-prem | Native Azure service | Native AWS service |
| Provisioning | Instant Clone (non-persist), Full Clone (persist) | MCS (all platforms), PVS (on-prem only) | ARM template / image gallery | Bundle images / custom bundles |
| PROTOCOL & USER EXPERIENCE |
| Display protocol | Blast Extreme (HEVC/H.264), PCoIP (legacy) | HDX / ICA, EDT (QUIC-based UDP) | RDP (MS RD Gateway), RDP Shortpath | PCoIP / DCV (NICE) |
| WAN performance | Excellent — Blast adaptive HEVC | Excellent — EDT auto-adapts | Good — RDP Shortpath required for best | Good — PCoIP solid |
| GPU / 3D support | NVIDIA vPC/vWS/vDGA, Intel QSV, HEVC encode | HDX 3D Pro, NVIDIA vGPU, AMD MxGPU | NVv4 (AMD), NCasT4 (NVIDIA) | Graphics.g4dn (T4), GraphicsPro.g4dn |
| PROFILES & APP DELIVERY |
| Profile solution | FSLogix 26.01 CU1 (recommended), DEM | FSLogix (recommended), Citrix UPM | FSLogix 26.01 CU1 (native integration) | FSLogix on Amazon FSx |
| App delivery | App Volumes (AppStack/WV), MSIX App Attach, RDS | App Layering, MSIX, RDS published apps | MSIX App Attach (strict mode), Intune | Standard OS image; no native app layering |
| Policy / env management | DEM 2512 (FlexEngine, DirectFlex) | WEM 2511 (CPU/mem optimization, AppLocker) | Intune + GPO (no native WEM equivalent) | GPO / Active Directory only |
| MANAGEMENT & LICENSING |
| Management console | Horizon Console (web), vSphere Client | CVAD Studio / WebStudio, Director | Azure Portal, ARM templates | AWS Console, WorkSpaces client |
| Licensing model | OLM: Named User / CCU. Annual subscription. | CCU/Named. Annual. Perpetual (LAS April 2026!) | Per-user/month (included in M365 E3/E5+) | Per-WorkSpace/month (always-on or AutoStop) |
| Typical cost (1000 users) | $50–80/user/yr (Universal CCU) | $60–100/user/yr (Advanced Plus CCU) | $0 add-on (M365 E3/E5) + Azure compute | $35–85/user/month (AutoStop value tier) |
| STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES |
| Best for | vSphere shops, Nutanix, large on-prem, GPU workloads | Large enterprise, complex published apps, HDX customization | Microsoft-first orgs, M365/Azure investment, rapid scale | AWS-first orgs, simple persistent desktops, rapid deploy |
| Weaknesses | Complex setup, OLM transition ongoing | High licensing cost, LAS deadline risk, complexity | Azure lock-in, limited protocol options vs Blast/HDX | Limited app delivery, less mature than Citrix/Horizon |