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Best Free Alternatives to Citrix DaaS (Modern Cloud Edition)

Stop paying $13/mo (Advanced Plus) | $20/mo (Premium) | $23/mo (Premium Plus). Discover professional-grade tools that won't break your budget.

Category: VDI & Desktop as a ServiceVerified for 2025

Top Recommended Replacements

Kasm Workspaces

FREE

Top Modern Alternative

Why we like it

Browser-native (no client install needed); incredibly fast container-based streaming; perfect for secure web browsing and virtual labs; zero 'per-core' tax; open-source core.

Keep in mind

The community edition lacks some high-availability features found in Citrix.

Apache Guacamole

FREE

Best Clientless Gateway

Why we like it

100% free; uses HTML5 to provide access to RDP, VNC, and SSH without plugins; stateless design scales easily with load balancers; supports 2FA natively.

Keep in mind

Requires manual infrastructure setup for the backend virtual machines; lacks the advanced 'Application Layering' features of Citrix.

Omnissa Horizon 8

Best for VMware-Heavy Stacks

Why we like it

The spiritual successor to VMware Horizon; exceptional integration with vSphere; superior graphics handling for CAD/Engineering workloads.

Keep in mind

Undergone significant corporate restructuring (formerly VMware); pricing is similarly high to Citrix.

Parallels RAS

Best Value for Ease of Use

Why we like it

Simple, 'single-pane-of-glass' management; significantly easier to deploy than Citrix; predictable, all-in-one licensing; excellent mobile client experience.

Keep in mind

Fewer deep security analytics tools compared to Citrix Premium Plus.

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