What is Azure Virtual Desktop?

Azure Virtual Desktop is Microsoft's cloud-based desktop and app virtualization platform for delivering Windows 11 desktops, RemoteApps, and Microsoft 365 Apps from Azure to users wherever they work. This guide covers what it provides, how it compares with Windows 365, what you pay for, and when it fits.

Azure Virtual Desktop in 2026

Azure Virtual Desktop, formerly Windows Virtual Desktop, lets organizations host Windows desktops and applications in Microsoft Azure and provide access through supported clients and the Windows App experience. It is commonly used for hybrid work, contractor access, call centers, temporary workforces, development environments, and mergers.

What Azure Virtual Desktop provides

Azure Virtual Desktop supports Windows 11 Enterprise multi-session, single-session desktops, pooled desktops, personal desktops, and RemoteApp delivery. IT teams can publish full desktops or individual applications while keeping data and workloads in Azure instead of on unmanaged personal devices. Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise are supported and optimized for virtual desktop scenarios, and FSLogix profile containers provide a consistent user experience across pooled session hosts. Microsoft runs the control plane, so you no longer operate brokers and gateways yourself.

Modern management and user experience

A current Azure Virtual Desktop design includes host pools, application groups, workspaces, FSLogix profiles, autoscale, image management, monitoring, and Azure Virtual Desktop Insights. Users connect from supported Windows, macOS, iOS/iPadOS, browser-based, and other Microsoft-supported clients.

Identity is the first design decision: session hosts can be Microsoft Entra joined, hybrid joined, or joined to Active Directory Domain Services or Microsoft Entra Domain Services. Group Policy and Kerberos file shares point to a domain join; a cloud-only tenant with modern apps can go Entra joined and manage hosts with Intune.

Security, identity, and zero-trust access

Azure Virtual Desktop should be deployed with Microsoft Entra ID, multi-factor authentication, Conditional Access, role-based access control, and least-privilege administration. Microsoft Intune can manage session hosts and enforce compliance policies, while Microsoft Defender for Endpoint adds endpoint detection and response. AVD also reduces exposure because users reach desktops and apps without inbound RDP to session hosts. Segmentation, private connectivity, logging, backup, and monitoring belong in the design.

Azure Virtual Desktop vs. Windows 365

Both deliver cloud-hosted Windows, but they are priced and operated differently. Azure Virtual Desktop fits when you need pooled multi-session desktops, RemoteApps, autoscale, custom images, or control over Azure networking and cost. Windows 365 fits when each user needs a persistent Cloud PC with simple provisioning and a fixed per-user price. Many organizations use both: Windows 365 for standard persistent desktops and Azure Virtual Desktop for shared, app-specific, seasonal, or highly customized workloads.

The price shapes are the real difference. Windows 365 is a per-user subscription at Microsoft list price, October 2026 price list, per user per month on an annual commitment: Windows 365 Business 2 vCPU, 8 GB, 128 GB is $32.40 and 4 vCPU, 16 GB, 128 GB is $50.40; Windows 365 Enterprise is $36.90 and $59.40 for the same sizes. Azure Virtual Desktop has no per-user Microsoft charge beyond a qualifying Microsoft 365 or Windows subscription; you pay Azure consumption for the virtual machines, storage, and networking, billed to your own Azure subscription. The Windows 365 vs AVD calculator compares the two for your user count and hours of use.

Licensing and cost considerations

Access rights for Windows 11 Enterprise session hosts come with qualifying per-user Microsoft 365 and Windows Enterprise subscriptions rather than a separate AVD license; which plans qualify is set by Microsoft's product terms, and we confirm it for the plans in your tenant before quoting. Two cases are licensed differently and should be named up front: Windows Server session hosts still need Windows Server and RDS client access licensing, and external users who are not your employees are not covered by your staff subscriptions.

Azure costs are consumption-based and are always your own. The levers that keep them in check are pooled host pools with right-sized VM sizes, scaling plans that power hosts down outside working hours, reserved instances or savings plans for the predictable base load, a standard image in Azure Compute Gallery, and FSLogix profile storage sized correctly. Review licensing eligibility, expected concurrency, application requirements, and profile storage before the first host pool is built.

When Azure Virtual Desktop is a strong fit

Azure Virtual Desktop is a strong option when you need secure remote access to line-of-business applications, centralized data control, support for contractors or temporary workers, flexible scaling, or a modern replacement for traditional Remote Desktop Services. Our RDS to Azure Virtual Desktop Migration service ($35 per user plus a $3,950 tenant fee) covers the move from an existing RDS farm.

Frequently asked questions

Do we need our own Azure subscription?

Yes. Session hosts, storage, and networking run in an Azure subscription you own, and Microsoft bills that consumption to you. IT Partner designs and operates the environment; the Azure charges are always yours.

Should 20 office users get Azure Virtual Desktop or Windows 365?

Usually Windows 365. Twenty persistent desktops at a fixed per-user price are simpler to run than a host pool, and there is nothing to autoscale. Azure Virtual Desktop starts to pay off with shared multi-session hosts, published apps, or usage that varies by shift or season.

Key takeaways

• Windows Virtual Desktop is now Azure Virtual Desktop, centered on Windows 11 Enterprise multi-session, Microsoft 365 Apps, Azure, and zero-trust access.
• Azure Virtual Desktop supports full desktops and RemoteApps, including pooled and personal desktop models, with Microsoft running the control plane.
• FSLogix, autoscale, Azure Virtual Desktop Insights, Microsoft Entra ID, Intune, and Defender for Endpoint are the parts of a current production design.
• Windows 365 is a fixed per-user price ($32.40 to $59.40 per month for common sizes); Azure Virtual Desktop is a qualifying subscription plus Azure consumption.
• Windows Server session hosts and external users are licensed differently from staff on Microsoft 365, so settle that before sizing.

IT Partner can assess whether Azure Virtual Desktop, Windows 365, or a mix fits your users, applications, and licensing, then build it: the Azure Virtual Desktop Implementation service is $5,000 per project, quoted in writing before work begins.