☁️ What is a Cloud PC?
A Cloud PC is a virtual computer hosted in the cloud. It allows users to access their desktop environment and applications from any device with an internet connection. Because the computing resources are managed remotely, organizations can adjust capacity as needed, which supports flexibility and scalability. This approach is particularly useful for remote work, as it enables consistent access to files and applications from anywhere.
Examples of Cloud PC services:
- Microsoft Windows 365
- Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop
- Amazon WorkSpaces
- Google Cloud's Virtual Desktops
🧑💻 What is windows 365?
Windows 365 is Microsoft’s cloud-based Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) offering. It provides fully managed virtual PCs hosted in the cloud, which users can access from any device with an internet connection.
Use cases
- Security: You can keep your data on your own network, stay secure and compliant, reduce risk and still support remote work.
- Disaster Recovery: Quickly set up a secure work environment in case of compromise.
- Bring-yor-own-Device: Enable a secure and consistent environment without a physical devices.
- Short-Term Staff / Contractors: Provide secure and compliant access for temporary staff while reducing onboarding and offboarding effort.
- Performance spikes: Reduce the need for big, rarely used, local capacity and give demanding workloads the power they need without impacting the rest of your environment.
- Shared Devices: Frontline and frontline-shared licenses offer a cost-effective way to provide frontline and shift workers with their own desktop environment, eliminating the compliance and credential hassle associated with shared accounts.
- Mergers & Acquisitions: Spin-up capacity and give access to new useres quickly, without loosing security or compliance.
Windows 365 Plans
- Windows 365 Business: For businesses with up to 300 users, this is a fully Microsoft-managed Cloud PC solution with no management options.
- Windows 365 Enterprise: Microsoft-managed Cloud PC solution with management options through Intune.
- Windows 365 Government: Microsoft-managed Cloud PC solution for the US government with specific security and compliance requirements.
- Windows 365 Frontline: This license offers two options: dedicated desktop access for up to three users (one at a time per license) or a shared mode providing non-persistent machines to an unlimited number of users, also one at a time.
- Windows 365 Reserve: Microsoft-managed Cloud PC solution used as supstitude for an unavailable device or short-term access up to 10 days per user per year.
INFO
Classifications as seen on the Windows 365 Homepage:
- Windows 365 Basic - 2 vCPU / 4 GB RAM / 128 GB Storage (Desktop version of Teams (only Chat and audio calls))
- Windows 365 Standard - 2 vCPU / 8 GB RAM / 128 GB Storage (Desktop version of Teams)
- Windows 365 Premium - 4 vCPU / 16 GB RAM / 128 GB Storage (supports Visual Studio, Power BI and Dynamics 365)
These plans are not licenses, but examples of Cloud PC sizes. There are actually only four Windows 365 licenses: Business, Enterprise, Frontline and Reserve (Government is irrelevant for most).
Available Sizes
(as of December 17, 2025)
| vCPU | Memory | Storage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows 365 Business / Enterprise | 2 | 8 | 128 |
| Windows 365 Business / Enterprise | 2 | 8 | 256 |
| Windows 365 Business / Enterprise | 2 | 4 | 64 |
| Windows 365 Business / Enterprise | 2 | 4 | 128 |
| Windows 365 Business / Enterprise | 2 | 4 | 256 |
| Windows 365 Business / Enterprise | 4 | 16 | 128 |
| Windows 365 Business / Enterprise | 4 | 16 | 256 |
| Windows 365 Business / Enterprise | 4 | 16 | 512 |
| Windows 365 Business / Enterprise | 8 | 32 | 128 |
| Windows 365 Business / Enterprise | 8 | 32 | 256 |
| Windows 365 Business / Enterprise | 8 | 32 | 512 |
| Windows 365 Business / Enterprise | 16 | 64 | 512 |
| Windows 365 Frontline | 2 | 4 | 64 |
| Windows 365 Frontline | 2 | 4 | 128 |
| Windows 365 Frontline | 2 | 4 | 256 |
| Windows 365 Frontline | 2 | 8 | 128 |
| Windows 365 Frontline | 2 | 8 | 256 |
| Windows 365 Frontline | 4 | 16 | 128 |
| Windows 365 Frontline | 4 | 16 | 256 |
| Windows 365 Frontline | 4 | 16 | 512 |
| Windows 365 Frontline | 8 | 32 | 128 |
| Windows 365 Frontline | 8 | 32 | 512 |
When it comes to providing dedicated Cloud PCs, most businesses need to decide between Windows 365 Business and Windows 365 Enterprise. Below you find a feature matrix comparing these two plans:
| Feature | Business | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|
| Setup without domain (not local domain) | ✅ | ❌ |
| Self-serve device reset | ✅ | ❌ |
| Self-service upgrades | ❌ | ✅ |
| Universal Print Integration | ✅ | ✅ |
| Graph API & MSP tooling support | ❌ | ✅ |
| Image Management | ❌ | ✅ |
| Custom images | ❌ | ✅ |
| Microsoft Intune provisioning and management | ❌ | ✅ |
| Advanced reporting & monitoring | ❌ | ✅ |
| Service & Operational health alerts | ❌ | ✅ |
| Hybrid support | ❌ | ✅ |
Windows 365 GPU-enabled
Microsoft also provides a Windows 365 Enterprise plan for GPU-enabled Cloud PCs with basic graphics acceleration or a dedicatid GPU.
| vCPU | RAM | VRAM | Storage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 4 | 16 GB | 8 GB | 512 GB |
| Super | 8 | 56 GB | 12 GB | 1 TB |
| Max | 16 | 110 GB | 16 GB | 1 TB |
👩💻 What is Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD)?
Azure Virtual Desktop is around for many many years at this point. It is a computer virtualization solution (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)) in the Microsoft Azure Cloud. It offers all the known and loved features that your local VDI solutions provides and maybe a bit more, just in the cloud. Dedicated virtual desktops, multi-session desktops, non persistant desktops or remote apps is all possible with a maximum of control.
INFO
If you want to learn more about AVD look here.
🆚 Windows 365 vs Azure Virtual Desktop
Windows 365 and AVD are both cloud-based virtual desktop solutions but serve different needs.
- Windows 365 (Cloud PC) delivers a fully managed Cloud PC for a simple and consistent Windows experience with minimal deployment effort.
- AVD (Cloud VDI) offers a flexible VDI platform supporting complex scenarios with multi-session capabilities and advanced configuration options.
Responsibility matrix:
| Windows 365 Business | Windows 365 Enterprise | Azure Virtual Desktop | On-premise VDI | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physical datacenter | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |
| Connection Broker service delivery | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |
| Virtual Machines lifecycle | ✅ | ✅ | ||
| Device Management onboarding | ✅ | ✅ | ||
| Device identity | ✅ | ➖ | ||
| Virtual networking infrastructure | ✅ | ➖ | ||
| Capacity management (end-to-end, incl BCDR) | ✅ | ➖ | ||
| OS image lifecycle management | ✅ | |||
| Windows servicing (patching) | ||||
| Application Deployment & Management | ||||
| User identity |
✅ = Microsoft
➖ = You, if you want to manage it
WARNING
Be aware that a Cloud PC is not meant to be a Server and should not be used that way. For this purpose, Azure Virtual Machines are available. You can find more information here.
That's also why there are bandwidth limits for outbound data on Windows 365 dependend on your RAM.
| RAM | Outbound data allowance per month |
|---|---|
| 2 GB | 12 GB |
| 4 GB / 8 GB | 20 GB |
| 16 GB | 40 GB |
| 32 GB | 70 GB |
You can find more information about the Windows 365 Bandwidth here.
And more information about bandwidth costs in Azure in general here.
Win365 Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Simplicity: Easy to deploy, manage and support.
- Consistency: Provides a consistent Windows experience across devices.
- Predictable pricing: Subscription-based pricing makes costs predictable and forecasting easier.
- Accessibility: Accessible from any device with an internet connection.
- Microsoft 365 integration: Directly integrated with Microsoft 365, Entra ID and Intune.
Cons:
- Customization: Limited control over host pools, networking architecture and advanced customization compared to AVD.
- Costs: More expensive at scale because of its subscription-based nature, compared to the consumption-based model of AVD.
- Scalability: No flexible consumption based provisioning of machines to help with usage spikes.
AVD Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Flexibility: Highly customizable, supporting a wide range of configurations and multi-session deployments.
- Scalability: Easily scalable, allowing businesses to adjust resources based on demand.
- Integration: Deep integration with other Azure services.
- Costs: More cost-effective for large-scale or variable deployments.
Cons:
- Complexity: Requires highly skilled IT staff to set up and manage effectivly.
- Security: Harder to secure then fully managed Windows 365 devices.
- Cost Predictability: Costs can be difficult to predict upfront due to variable usage.
- Management: More hands-on management required compared to Windows 365.
💡 Conclusion
In conclusion, Windows 365 offers a straightforward and reliable way to deliver a full Windows experience from the cloud, with minimal setup and ongoing management. It is the best solution for specific problems, such as providing contractors with secure access without the need to send out physical devices. Rather than using one or the other, combining AVD and Win365 is the most effective way of providing a complete cloud desktop environment that is prepared for most scenarios, cost-effective and secure.
Lastly Microsoft has released a purpose build cheap machine to access cloud Desktops directly, without the need to manage a local OS. Windows 365 Link is the first Cloud PC hardware device that lets users sign-in directly to their Cloud PC through the Windows 365 service.
References