Top 5 cloud PC providers to transform your computing experience [ Updated for 2024 ]

To keep up with the breakneck pace of technological innovation in 2023 and beyond, you really can’t depend on the capabilities of your local device/workstation alone. By its very nature, a single device or even an on-premise server is not as powerful as a cloud ecosystem set up to facilitate global-best processing times and optimal resource usage.

In other words, when you’re working on desktops or PCs hosted on the cloud, you have a massive advantage over competitors if you leverage the ability of a globally operational cloud. Thankfully, you don’t have to set up your own servers to get a taste of industry-best computing capabilities. You can simply access a pre-built cloud PC from a list of providers striving to meet your exact needs.

In this piece, I’ll discuss 5 such cloud PC providers that can transform your computing experience with a single subscription.

Neverinstall
What if you could access devtools like Android Studio online and VSCode without having to install them or manage their resource usage?

Wouldn’t life be easier if you could use necessary applications without your local device having to do the heavy lifting, resource-wise? Would it be even easier if you could collaborate with a colleague on the same virtual workspace/desktop in real-time, completely remotely (collaborative browsing)? For coders, how much faster work would get done if you could run real-time code reviews (and not just GitHub comments)?

With Neverinstall, the above is more than possible.

Neverinstall lets you use full-featured browsers, dev tools, design tools, utility solutions and numerous other tools - all through your own browser. You sign up for Neverinstall, log in, and as the name suggests, use industry-standard tools without ever installing a single one. It also comes equipped with with an AI assistant to whom you can offload your installing, debugging, coding, and even system maintenance.

The resource usage entailed in the launching and operation of these apps is handled completely by cloud servers, so you get exceptionally fast processing, compilation and build times. You can choose to launch all these apps off the backs of servers located in Europe or the USA. A single click and you’ll get accelerated internet speeds, no matter the speed of your home/office connection.

Here are a few of the tools you can access via Neverinstall:

DevTools: VS Code, Android Studio, Neovim, IntelliJ, Eclipse, Pycharm, Jupyter, Postman, DBeaver
Browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Brave, Vivaldi
Productivity: Obsidian. Slack, Telegram, Insomnia, GoLand
Design: Blender, Gimp, Figma
If you’re a developer, let me mention that Neverintall gives you a completely functional Linux OS - on the cloud. Neverinstall also has a Windows OS, which again gives access to a whole host of tools like Adobe Creative Suite, Blender, Docker and Github Desktop, AutoCAD etc.

Again, you access this OS by logging in through your browser. You never have to install/configure any of your devtools. You log in, select the tools you want, launch a browser/app/devtool on our UI, and it will initiate a new virtual Linux/Windows desktop.

Needless to say, using a single platform like Neverinstall will significantly reduce the time & effort you need to install, setup & configure your workspace. For organizations, this is especially useful because they don’t have to purchase employee devices, set up on-premise infra and invest in regular upgrade/maintenance costs of both the devices and the supporting infrastructure.

Don’t forget that you can leverage in-built features that enable collaborative browsing, real-time code reviews, a pre-built, fully customizable Any-OS desktop and much more.

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Read More: The Linux Advantage: Why developers should consider switching to Linux-Based Cloud PCs

Primary Features

• Instant access to pre-built devtools, design tools, and other collaborative solutions for easy remote work. No installation required.

• Zero operational overhead since all tools are launched and run via remote servers on the cloud.

• Instant access to a fully functional Linux/Windows desktop. Customize as required.

• Enables collaborative code reviews. Instead of uploading and downloading code to review and run it, devs can share their entire instance with the reviewer. Reviewers can check code in the same IDE in the same environment. No “works on my machine” argument ever again.

• Have an AI assistant right on the side, which can aid with coding, debugging, writing copy, mails and so much more, with an integrated context of the OS.

• Supports multiple programming languages – Python, C++, NodeJS, PHP, Flutter, and Go – pre-installed & pre-configured in online workspaces.

Pricing
Multiple pricing plans available.

Free Plan: $0

Premium Plan: $15 per month

Custom plans are also available.

KASM Workspaces
KASM offers multiple products relevant to different verticals in any organization. In the context of this article, I’ll be focusing on KASM’s DaaS solutions that, like Neverinstall, provide cloud desktops that can be accessed through any web browser.

You get a secure, customized virtual workspace which streams the entire desktop experience directly to your browser (applications, backgrounds, buttons, design elements), which means the quality of the desktop does not depend on the internal abilities of your device. Needless to say, you can use these workspaces to work from any place you want (as long as you have an active internet connection).

Once again, like Neverinstall, you don’t have to manually install programs or applications on these cloud PCs. You do, however, need to specify your requirements to the vendor so they can customize your cloud PC accordingly.

Primary features:

• No need to install any programs/applications on your or your employees’ devices. Everything comes pre-installed.
  Connect your existing cloud resources and use it on

• Neverinstall's intuitive platform with an auto pause function that helps you save on session costs, and excess cloud usage on free time.

• All workspaces are equipped with apps, security parameters, and configurations that match your requested requirements.

• Pay as you scale. As your team expands, you can purchase more desktops to expand on resource availability and usage.

• Straightforward pricing with no hidden costs.

• Get complete administrative control over your organization’s cloud PC environment so as to manage uploads and downloads.

• Implement restrictions on apps and other resources to filter and eliminate any malware before it can touch your data.

• Create persistent desktops to reset desktops between user sessions.

• Get customized Linux desktops with specific applications, configurations, and brand imagery.

Pricing
Deployment: KASM Cloud

Personal Plan: $5/user/month

Teams Plan: $18/user/month

Enterprise Plan: $25/user/month

Deployment: Self-Hosted Server

Community Plan: Free

Professional Plan: $5/user/month

Enterprise Plan: $10/user/month

Workspot
Workspot lets your stream cloud-based Windows or Linux desktops, complete with apps, for greater business flexibility, data security and higher levels of performance/agility. This cloud-native SaaS platform provides secure, globally connected and enterprise-approved cloud PCs that operate off the word-class infra provided by Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud. Using Workspot, IT teams can deploy hundreds of cloud PCs across multiple global locations with a few clicks.

As a Workspot customer, you also get access to a secure, web console that IT leads can use to manage their Workspot desktops. They can configure policies, provision users and applications, view all configuration, performance and activity data in the cloud.

Primary Features:

• Workspot desktops are personalized, with specific apps, processing abilities and security configurations to match each user’s requirements. Get multiple configurations for different departments/user types in your team/company.

• All cloud desktops have in-built disaster recovery so you can recover data in the event of any anomaly, error or system crash.

• Workspot collects performance data from desktops and their big data engines pushes it to the Workspot Network Operations Center (NOC) which evaluates this data and anticipates issues before they emerge.

• You can use the Workspot Client, a downloadable tool on your device, to get a bird’s-eye view into all corporate assets (cloud desktops, apps, data). This tool is device-agnostic. Use it on your PC, Mac, phone or tablet.

• Users can access their Workspot desktops through HTML5 from any platform.

• Desktop support all major operating systems: Windows 10, Window 11, Linux, MacOS, iOS, Android.

• You get support for hybrid deployments, single-console global management, and wide-ranging monitoring tools.
  Pricing

• Workspot Cloud PCs start at $20/user/month. Beyond that, pricing follows a flexible model depending on customers’ requirements.

Citrix DaaS
Citrix provides cloud PCs you can start using via any device/physical endpoint. Like KASM, you will receive a high-performing virtual desktop that carries pre-installed apps (based on your predetermined specifications). Higher processing power translates to greater agility and inevitably, skyrocketed levels of productivity.

Citrix delivers its DaaS solutions from any cloud or data center and manages all the infrastructure while you and your team do real, revenue-driving work without extra hassle. There is quite the emphasis on comprehensive security that protects data without compromising on offering a sophisticated desktop experience on a hybrid multi-cloud. You also get actionable analytics data and a range of top-down management capabilities.

You can use workspaces deployed on KASM’s own cloud infra. Or, you select the Self-Hosted Server version and install/manage workspaces on your own on-premise server/ a cloud provider of your choice.

Primary features:

• A wide range of security mechanisms to deal with unmanaged endpoints and establish granular controls.

• Layered analytics data that tracks security and user behavior. You can also set up automated policy controls to protect systems and data against security breaches.

• You can store your work on any cloud (Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, etc.) which will be directly manageable from your dashboards.

• Get in-built optimizations to keep apps performing well even when dealing with weak internet connectivity.

• Setup and utilize industry-best management protocols – accelerated logins, server scalability, app response times – from a single dashboard.

• Get expert assistance from Citrix during the process of transitioning from on-premise to cloud infrastructure for quick setup and long-term productivity.

Pricing
Citrix DaaS Standard: $10/month

Citrix DaaS Advanced Plus: $13/month

Citrix DaaS Premium: $20/month

Citrix DaaS Premium Plus: $23/month

itopia
itopia is a hybrid work platform built to facilitate speed, security and reliability. It streams cloud-based desktops and apps via any browser on any device. itopia provides tailored environments for non-tech employees working in a hybrid setup, software developers and even students.

itopia uses BrowserDirect streaming technology which works on every browser and device. It carries no back-end tech (so setup is almost effortless). It also has state-of-the-art security, governance and productivity implementations that anticipate and meet user needs.

The itopia platform is the first and only fully managed version of Selkies, an open source project from Google.

Primary Features:

• Get tailored desktops (including the right pre-configured apps and programs) for hybrid workers, developers and students.
  Run graphics-intensive apps thanks to itopia’s high-performance computing cloud. You can stream graphics-intensive content at 60fps with HD resolutions for both video and multi-channel audio.

• Get enterprise-grade security and compliance mechanisms with no back-end tech to deal with.

• Make security and compliance controls as granular as you need them to be. Implement end-point isolation control.

• Automate administrative tasks using Command Line Interface (CLI) and Application Programming Interface (API).

• Initiate single sign-on and multi-factor authentication with access control and logging, along with egress filtering by CIDR range and domain.

Pricing
Your projected monthly cost per user for your Itopia cloud environment will depend on the specifics of your use case. Use this calculator to get pricing estimations.

Move it to the Cloud
In the real-world, you cannot afford to stay unconnected to the cloud if you want to match industry standards of efficacy, quality and productivity. Unless your company comes with approved budgets dedicated to setting up its own cloud environment (good enough to rival domain leaders like Azure, Amazon and Google Cloud), you’ll be suffering dips in revenue, customer satisfaction and brand credibility.

Explore the cloud PC providers rested above, and you’re sure to find one that will tailor your output levels to phenomenal highs. Let the experts take care of powering your desktops and giving you every tool/computing ability you need to bring innovative ideas to life and deliver consistent customer satisfaction. You focus on the work, let us give you the tools to excel.