Two of fourteen models named Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop first on the direct prompt; one named Amazon WorkSpaces. Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop was named by twelve of the fourteen models and Amazon WorkSpaces by fourteen and Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop carries 25 labels and Amazon WorkSpaces 61, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in one category this edition.
Named in one category this edition.
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the virtual desktops page.
Across every category in the October 2026 Edition, Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop and Amazon WorkSpaces were named in the same answer sixty-nine times, of the 79 answers naming Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop and the 181 naming Amazon WorkSpaces. In those answers Amazon WorkSpaces took the first choice two times and Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop thirty-two.
| Model | DirectMAAW | ParaphraseMAAW | ComparativeMAAW | Budget-constrainedMAAW | Scale-constrainedMAAW | NegativeMAAW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | MA | MAAW | MAAW | |||
| GPT-5.4 mini | AW | AW | MAAW | AW | AW | AW |
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | AW | MAAW | AW | |||
| Perplexity Sonar | AW | |||||
| Grok 4.1 Fast | AW | MAAW | MAAW | MAAW | AW | AW |
| Mistral Small | AW | MAAW | AW | |||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | AW | AW | MAAW | AW | AW | MAAW |
| Llama 4 Maverick | AW | |||||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | MAAW | MA | MAAW | AW | MAAW | AW |
| Kimi K2 | AW | MAAW | AW | AW | ||
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | MA | MAAW | MAAW | |||
| MiniMax M2.5 | AW | MAAW | AW | AW | AW | |
| GPT-6 Luna | AW | AW | AW | AW | ||
| Muse Glimmer 30B | AW | MAAW | AW | AW |
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Four of five in this category shown.
“Cost concerns: Users report costs escalating quickly ... Complexity: Setup is noted as not straightforward” DeepSeek V4 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“Microsoft dominates cloud-native virtual desktops through two distinct offerings: Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD): A highly flexible, consumption-based cloud VDI platform.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · comparative prompt · first choice
“Best if you are already deep in the Microsoft ecosystem (Azure AD + M365). Often the most cost-effective for general knowledge workers.” Qwen 3.7 Flash · scale prompt · first choice
“Already all-in on Microsoft 365? → Azure Virtual Desktop (if you want control) or Windows 365 (if you want simplicity).” DeepSeek V4 Flash · comparative prompt · first choice
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“avoid or be cautious with Amazon WorkSpaces, Citrix DaaS, Azure Virtual Desktop (for non-Windows needs), and Shells” Mistral Small · negative prompt · hard negative
“Reasons to avoid: No text/data transfer from local machine to VM, additional technical support is paid” MiniMax M2.5 · negative prompt · hard negative
“AWS has published end-of-life timelines for some WorkSpaces client versions and support changes for PCoIP-based WorkSpaces Personal, which is a strong signal to avoid deployments that depend on deprecated clients or protocols.” GPT-5.4 mini · negative prompt · soft negative
“If I had to make a single recommendation without more constraints, I'd pick Amazon WorkSpaces for most mid-sized B2B companies” Perplexity Sonar · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“Windows 365 or Amazon WorkSpaces offer the best balance of affordability, reliability, and ease of management.” DeepSeek V4 Flash · budget prompt · first choice
“For most mid-sized B2B companies, Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop or Amazon WorkSpaces are excellent choices” Mistral Small · paraphrase prompt · first choice
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.