- Unified Access: One secure client for virtual apps, desktops and files, fully backward compatible with Citrix Receiver.
- Cross-Platform Builds: Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and ChromeOS clients plus an HTML5 version that needs no install, with iOS and iPadOS distributed through the App Store.
- Enterprise-Grade Security: Works with App Protection, Adaptive Authentication and Citrix SecurAccess ZTNA for zero-trust access controls.
- HDX Virtualization: Optimised HDX delivery keeps remote sessions responsive over constrained links.
- Centralized IT Management: Deployment, updates and policy enforcement run centrally, with Workspace Environment Manager and Experience Insights for tuning and monitoring.
Citrix Workspace
Secure unified workspace app for accessing enterprise apps and virtual desktops
Updated July 27, 2026
Citrix Workspace Overview
Citrix Workspace is a unified digital workspace client that provides secure access to enterprise applications, virtual desktops, and data from any device.
Designed for hybrid and remote work, it integrates with Citrix’s virtualization and security platform, enabling organizations to deliver consistent user experiences while maintaining centralized IT control, strong security policies, and optimized performance across cloud and on‑prem environments. The app itself downloads at no cost, but the apps and desktops it connects to come from a Citrix platform entitlement that is quoted per organization rather than sold at a list price.
Key Features
Pricing
| Plan | Price | Featured |
|---|---|---|
| Citrix Workspace app (client) | $0 (free download) | The endpoint client itself, on every major platform and backward compatible with Citrix Receiver |
| Citrix Platform | Custom quote | Licensed per user; Virtual Apps and Desktops, DaaS Premium, NetScaler, Endpoint Management, SecurAccess ZTNA, App Protection, Gateway Service, XenServer |
| Citrix Platform Flex | Custom quote | All Citrix Platform components plus DaaS Flex, metered by the number of Flex Credits purchased |
| Universal Hybrid Multi-Cloud | Custom quote | The broadest bundle, spanning on-premises and cloud entitlements in one per-user licence |
| Citrix for Private Cloud | Custom quote | Virtual Apps and Desktops, XenServer, Provisioning Services, App Layering and Workspace Environment Manager for on-premises deployments |
The Workspace app itself is free to download, but it needs a correctly configured Citrix back end, and that back end is licensed separately. Citrix publishes no list prices for the platform and sells it through its own sales team and local partners.
Pricing source: https://www.citrix.com/buy/licensing/product.html
Pros
Competitor |
Pros |
|---|---|
| VMware Horizon | The client is free to download and covers almost everything an endpoint fleet can be, right down to a browser-only option for a locked-down or borrowed machine. It is also fully backward compatible with Citrix Receiver, so older deployments keep working through the upgrade. |
| Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop | Citrix licenses per user across hybrid estates rather than per Azure resource. Universal Hybrid Multi-Cloud bundles on-premises and cloud entitlements together, with 999 instances of each NetScaler form factor and 10,000 XenServer CPU socket licences included. |
| Amazon WorkSpaces | The platform is a stack, not a desktop service: App Protection, Adaptive Authentication, Workspace Environment Manager, SecurAccess ZTNA, Endpoint Management, Provisioning Services, App Layering and Experience Insights all ship inside Citrix Platform. |
| TeamViewer | This is built for scale rather than ad-hoc remote control. A Citrix admin on Reddit running thousands of daily users reports sub-30-second VDI logins for new users and apps launching in under 15 seconds, with BYOD allowed while IT keeps oversight of the workspace. |
| AnyDesk | Regulated environments get controls a screen-sharing tool does not have, which is why a Capterra reviewer calls it the best option for medical practices. Citrix for Private Cloud also keeps fully on-premises deployments supported for organisations that cannot move workloads to a vendor cloud. |
Cons
Competitor |
Cons |
|---|---|
| VMware Horizon | Licensing is opaque and layered. Citrix publishes no prices anywhere on its site, sells only through sales and partners, and offers at least five current packages — Platform, Platform Flex, Universal Hybrid Multi-Cloud, Private Cloud and NetScaler Fixed Capacity — with Flex metered in credits. |
| Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop | The free client is only the front door; the back end has to be built and licensed before it does anything. A Citrix admin on Reddit puts it bluntly: “I wouldn’t touch Citrix with a 10ft pole if my org was less than a hundred people. It costs too much in licensing and the infrastructure costs don’t make any sense.” |
| Amazon WorkSpaces | Good performance is an engineering project rather than a setting. The Citrix admin on Reddit who reports sub-30-second logins also says a well-run environment “is expensive and takes time to perfect,” with millions of dollars of infrastructure behind it, and that his first year felt like drinking through a fire hose. |
| TeamViewer | For simple remote support this is far too much machinery. The mobile app also has rough edges: reviewers report no way to refresh favourites when an app is deprecated, a generic error instead of a refresh prompt, no FIDO2 security key support on iOS, and launches breaking after updates. |
| AnyDesk | Support sentiment is the weakest part of the record, and it runs the same way on Trustpilot and Software Advice rather than being isolated to one site. AnyDesk is also far lighter for a small team: with Citrix the whole back end has to be stood up and licensed before a single session works. |
Reviews
- Software Advice Review (Rating: 4.2/5): One reviewer says updates have been nearly seamless and that when the internet drops, the client senses it and reconnects within five minutes, which keeps remote work steady. Another switched to the cloud version and found it “very intuitive and fast” next to the desktop app. Against that, reviewers report crashes under heavy workloads and an interface that makes basic things such as moving folders or turning on the camera feel limited. Value for money and customer support both score 3.9, below the 4.2 overall.
- Reddit r/ITCareerQuestions: In a June 2022 thread, IT professionals split it by scale. One who supported thin clients for bank staff says it “can get sluggish as things get cached in the individual virtual Windows desktops,” and the usual fix was to reboot or recreate the desktop, with the most frequent complaints being inability to connect, getting kicked, and slowdowns from high concurrent sessions. An admin running thousands of users argues the opposite way: “I actually think it’s shit for small orgs and is great for a larger one,” because BYOD and remote work stay manageable with oversight of the workspace, while a third says it secures their warehouse management software but goes “ridiculously slow” at month-end invoicing.
- Capterra Review (Rating: 4.2/5 from 121 reviews): One reviewer calls Citrix Workspace “the best option for medical practices” after working at two companies without it, and expresses strong overall satisfaction despite having to adapt to other setups since.
- apple.com Review (Rating: 4.3/5 from 6,381 ratings): One reviewer finds the app “fantastic when I need to access a virtual desktop in a pinch” but explains the favourites problem precisely: when an app is deprecated on the web, the mobile app has no way to refresh favourites, so tapping one returns a generic error instead of prompting a refresh. He also notes the iOS app does not support FIDO2 security keys. Others report the app breaking after updates and failing to launch .ica files.
- G2 Review (Rating: 4.4/5 from 70 reviews): G2’s summary of these reviews puts secure access to applications and desktops at the top, with strong security features and authorised access to data named repeatedly. The same summary lists slow loading, slow performance, connection issues and disconnections as the leading complaints, and one mid-market reviewer describes work freezing mid-task.
- Trustpilot Review (Rating: 2.1/5 from 22 reviews): This is a company-level profile for Citrix rather than a product page, and the small sample skews to support complaints. One reviewer writes that “they have excellent products it’s just their customer service is HORRIBLE. There is no one to contact. There chat bots are NOT helpful AT ALL!” Another says the only thing support is competent at is “requiring logs for everything and wasting time.” Others report login failures from a “weird disconnect” session that IT has to kill manually, grey screens on MacBook Pro under Catalina 10.15, and a Linux client that expects obsolete dependencies.
