
There’s no performance difference between the two clients. Microsoft Remote Desktop and Remote Desktop Connection function the same way under the hood, connecting to the remote computer using Remote Desktop Protocol ( RDP). It can be downloaded for free from the Microsoft Store. Remote Desktop Connection is an RDS client automatically installed on most Windows computers, but an alternative client called Microsoft Remote Desktop has been available since 2012.

You can use RDS to connect to all other editions of Windows, including Pro, Enterprise, and Education.

If you need to remotely connect to these specific editions of Windows, we recommend Splashtop or TeamViewer instead. Most importantly, with Remote Desktop Services, you can’t connect to a computer running Windows 7 Starter or Home, Windows 8 Home, Windows 8.1 Home, or Windows 10 Home. Early versions were called Terminal Services, and Windows 7 and 8 included a sister tool, Remote Assistance, that required extra steps for remote connections to work. Replace the "UserName" portion with the actual user account name you want to add to Remote Desktop users.While RDS has been bundled into most editions of Windows since Windows 2000, the available functionality is different in each edition.

