- Fully Managed DaaS: AWS handles provisioning, patching, and infrastructure maintenance.
- Flexible Billing Options: Choose hourly or monthly pricing to match workforce usage patterns.
- High Security Posture: Built on AWS with encryption, compliance programs, and no local data storage.
- Global Scalability: Deploy desktops across multiple AWS regions with rapid scaling.
- Multiple Use Cases: Supports task workers, developers, contact centers, and contractors.
Amazon WorkSpaces
Fully managed cloud desktops and secure application streaming on AWS
Updated July 27, 2026
Amazon WorkSpaces Overview
Amazon WorkSpaces is a fully managed Desktop as a Service (DaaS) solution that delivers secure cloud-based desktops and applications to users anywhere. Built on AWS infrastructure, it supports remote and hybrid workforces with flexible pricing, rapid deployment, and centralized management.
Organizations can scale instantly, choose performance profiles, and integrate deeply with the broader AWS ecosystem.
Key Features
Pricing
| Plan | Price | Featured |
|---|---|---|
| WorkSpaces Personal — AlwaysOn | Windows bundles per user per month: Value $25, Standard $33, Performance $45, Power $70, PowerPro $127 | Flat monthly rate for unlimited use with instant sign-in; 80 GB root and 10 GB user volume at the entry price |
| WorkSpaces Personal — AutoStop | From $7.25 per user per month base, plus $0.22 to $1.53 per hour depending on bundle | Billing stops when the desktop is idle and resumes on sign-in, after a short start-up wait; suits part-time users |
| Bring your own Windows licence | Per user per month: Value $21, Standard $29, Performance $41, Power $66, PowerPro $123 | Drops the Microsoft RDS Subscriber Access Licence fee; Value bundle is not offered on BYOL |
| Linux bundles | From $21 per user per month on Amazon Linux, $22 Rocky Linux, $23 Ubuntu, $24 Red Hat Enterprise Linux | No RDS Subscriber Access Licence fee on any Linux image |
| High-end bundles | GeneralPurpose.4xlarge $295 per month; GPU Graphics bundles from $193 per month | 16 to 64 vCPU desktops and GPU desktops for design, engineering and visualisation work |
| WorkSpaces Secure Browser | $7 per monthly active user, including up to 200 streaming hours, then $0.035 per hour | Isolated enterprise browsing; you are billed only for users who actually sign in that month |
| WorkSpaces Thin Client | $195.00 per device, or $279.99 with the dual-monitor hub, plus $6.00 per device per month | Centrally managed endpoint with 1080p dual-monitor support; device billed by Amazon Business |
| WorkSpaces Core | Per user per month: Value $16.80, Standard $23.20, Performance $32.80, Power $52.80, PowerPro $98.40 | AWS infrastructure for a partner VDI platform, with the VDI software licensed separately |
WorkSpaces Personal prices shown are US East (Ohio) and Secure Browser and Core are US East (N. Virginia); both vary by region. Windows license-included bundles add a $4.19 per user monthly Microsoft RDS Subscriber Access Licence, charged in full and never pro-rated. Extra storage is $0.10 per GB-month. New AWS accounts receive up to $200 in Free Tier credits, and the WorkSpaces Free Tier covers two Standard AutoStop desktops with 40 combined hours a month for up to three months. Amazon WorkSpaces Pools will no longer accept new customers beginning July 31, 2026, with AWS directing non-persistent desktop workloads to WorkSpaces Applications.
Pricing source: https://aws.amazon.com/workspaces-family/workspaces/pricing/
Pros
Competitor |
Pros |
|---|---|
| Citrix DaaS | Amazon publishes the whole rate card, from the entry Windows Value desktop up to PowerPro at $127 per user per month, so finance can model a rollout before IT builds one. AutoStop gives a second lever, billing a low monthly base plus an hourly rate only while someone is signed in. Gartner reviewers name fast provisioning for new employees and centralized control without local hardware as the payoff. |
| Azure Virtual Desktop | WorkSpaces bundles the desktop, its storage and the Windows licence into one per-user line. Azure Virtual Desktop grants Windows 11 and Windows 10 Enterprise rights through an eligible Windows or Microsoft 365 licence but leaves you to size and pay for the underlying Azure compute and storage yourself, so a small IT team gets a simpler bill and less capacity planning on AWS. |
| VMware Horizon | AWS owns provisioning, patching and infrastructure maintenance, so there is no hypervisor, no host cluster and no image build farm to keep alive. Root and user volumes are still picked per bundle, from 80 GB root with a 10 GB user volume up to 175 GB root with 100 GB user, and a time-limited free tier lets a team try the service before committing. |
| Google Cloud Workstations | The catalogue covers office staff as well as engineers: Value through PowerPro bundles for knowledge work, GeneralPurpose.4xlarge at $295 per month for 16 vCPU workloads, and GPU Graphics bundles for design and visualisation. Windows, Amazon Linux, Ubuntu, Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Rocky Linux are all first-party images. |
| Nutanix Frame | The family reaches past desktops: Secure Browser at $7 per monthly active user with 200 streaming hours included, the Thin Client at $195.00 per device plus $6.00 per device per month, and WorkSpaces Core from $16.80 per user per month for running a partner VDI stack on AWS. Peer coverage is deep too, with 515 ratings behind Amazon WorkSpaces on Gartner Peer Insights. |
Cons
Competitor |
Cons |
|---|---|
| Citrix DaaS | AWS recommends only the Power, PowerPro or GeneralPurpose bundles for video conferencing, so anyone on daily calls starts at $70 per user per month rather than the entry Value desktop. A Gartner reviewer also reports input latency that measurably reduced engineer throughput against native machines, which is the kind of workload where a tuned display protocol earns its keep. |
| Azure Virtual Desktop | Windows license-included bundles carry a $4.19 per user monthly RDS Subscriber Access Licence that is charged in full and never pro-rated, however little the desktop gets used. AWS Directory Service for Microsoft Active Directory is also excluded from the desktop price, with only Simple AD and AD Connector included, and public IPv4 addresses bill at standard VPC rates. |
| VMware Horizon | Configuration stops at the menu. Instance sizes and root and user volume combinations come from AWS’s fixed list, with no access to the hypervisor or image pipeline an on-premises Horizon deployment exposes. AWS also requires a paid account plan with a credit card on file before the WorkSpaces console will open, even to provision free-tier desktops. |
| Google Cloud Workstations | AlwaysOn desktops bill the flat monthly rate whether anyone signs in or not, so idle seats cost full price. AutoStop is the fix but not a free one: a Value desktop is $7.25 per month plus $0.22 per hour, which passes the $25 AlwaysOn rate at roughly 80 hours of use, so heavy users cost more on the metered plan than on the flat one. |
| Nutanix Frame | Deployment is AWS-only, and the family keeps shifting underneath customers: the Pools option for non-persistent desktops closes to new sign-ups at the end of July 2026, so a team that standardised on it has to re-plan rather than renew. Nutanix Frame buyers get multi-cloud and on-premises choices that WorkSpaces has no answer to. |
Reviews
- Reddit r/aws: One long-term user shared 1.5+ years of running Linux workspaces as a “primary daily driver” and reported an overall positive experience with a DAAS-only setup. Another commenter felt uneasy about using a “locked down, centrally managed desktop,” calling it a “CISO wet dream,” while someone else noted that tools like Zoom can be one of the “worst use cases” for most VDI solutions.
- storagereview.com Review: The reviewer highlighted that the WorkSpaces Thin Client runs on hardware identical to the Fire TV Cube but uses purpose-built firmware engineered for a “fast, simple, and secure” experience. Support for 1080p dual monitors and peripherals such as cameras and headsets earned praise, though the single USB port means many users will need a USB hub.
- infotech.com Review: One HR professional valued the collaboration benefits and “team spirit it enhances” but reported that it “can be inaccessible most times.” Another reviewer applauded Amazon WorkSpaces for its seamless AWS Management Console integration and pay-as-you-go scalability, yet criticized its “limited customization options for user environments and management” and suggested running a small-scale pilot before full rollout.
- Software Advice Review (Rating: 4.3/5 from 32 reviews): High security levels and “uniquely assigned registration codes” give teams confidence when accessing desktop applications. Sub-scores run 4.5 for functionality, 4.4 for value for money, 4.3 for ease of use and 4.1 for customer support.
- TechRadar Review (Rating: 4/5): The service delivers affordable virtual systems that deploy easily and run on almost any platform worldwide. The review notes a gap in management tools for large-scale environments.
- Gartner Review (Rating: 4.3/5 from 515 ratings): Reviewers in the Desktop as a Service market credit fast provisioning of environments for new employees, strong integration with existing AWS infrastructure, and centralized control without relying on local hardware. A critical review from a finance-sector director, headlined “Spotty Connections and Workflow Disruptions Experienced With AWS Workspaces for Engineers,” reports connections that disrupted productivity, no video conferencing support on the desktop, and input latency that hurt engineer throughput compared with native machines.
- mcleanco.com Review: An IT end user applauded Amazon WorkSpaces for deep AWS integration, pay-as-you-go pricing, and centralized control through the AWS Management Console, though they criticized a setup process that “can be a bit tricky for people who aren’t familiar with cloud services.” Another reviewer called it “A Game Changer for Remote Work” and emphasized encryption, multi-factor authentication, and flexible options such as Standard, Performance, or Power WorkSpaces.
