Guides / 9 min read
Remote desktop, app streaming or a virtual machine?
The words get thrown around as if they meant the same thing. They do not. Remote desktop, app streaming and virtual machines solve related problems in quite different ways, and picking the right one can save you weeks of fiddling. Here is each one in plain terms, with the trade-offs left in.
Remote desktop: a whole computer, from afar
Remote desktop connects you to another computer and lets you use it as though you were in front of it. You see its desktop, its taskbar and everything on it. It could be a PC at your office, a server or a machine in a data centre.
Its strength is familiarity and completeness. If something is on that computer, you can use it. Its weaknesses are setup and upkeep. Someone has to keep the machine switched on, patched and safely reachable, and you usually need a special program on the device you connect from.
App streaming: just the program
App streaming runs one program on a Windows machine elsewhere and shows only that program to you, often right in a browser tab. You do not see the rest of the computer. You do not install a client. Opening the program is closer to opening a website than connecting to a machine.
It is the lightest option for someone who needs one or two programs. It is less comfortable if you want to juggle many tools or manage files across a whole desktop. FarDesktop is this kind of service, and also offers a full desktop where a plan includes it.
Virtual machine: a computer inside your computer
A virtual machine is software that pretends to be a whole computer, running in a window on yours. You install Windows into it, then your programs. Everything stays on your device, it works without a connection and it is fast, because there is no network in between.
The costs are on your side. Your computer pays in disk and memory, you need your own Windows licence and you maintain the virtual machine like any other computer. On some computers, especially newer Macs, the version of Windows you can run is a different flavour from the usual one.
A side-by-side look
Roughly how they compare for one person.
- Setup effort: remote desktop high, virtual machine medium, app streaming low.
- What you manage: remote desktop and virtual machine, a whole Windows computer. App streaming, nothing beyond the program.
- Works offline: only a virtual machine.
- Best for: remote desktop when you have a machine to reach; virtual machine for daily heavy use; app streaming for occasional or focused use.
Choosing without overthinking it
Start from what you actually do. If you open one program a few times a month, you do not need your own virtual machine or a permanently running office PC. If you live in Windows all day, you probably do.
And if you are unsure, try the lightest option first. It is far easier to move up to a heavier setup than to discover you paid for one you barely used.
The Ledger
Compare a local PC, a virtual desktop and a single streamed program using your own numbers.
Written with small teams in mind.
Questions people ask.
Is app streaming the same as remote desktop?
They are cousins. Remote desktop gives you a whole computer. App streaming gives you a single program, usually with less to set up.
Which is most secure?
None wins by default. What matters is how it is set up: strong sign-in, up-to-date software and what is allowed to leave the machine.
Can I combine them?
Yes. Many people use a virtual machine for daily work and stream a program for the occasional extra tool.
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