Your team's Windows desktop lives on a server instead of on each laptop, so the applications, files and printers stay in one place. From $45.99 a month for one person: $37.99 for the server with Windows included, plus $8.00 per user.
| User | State | Running | Memory |
|---|---|---|---|
| elena.m | Active | Outlook, QuickBooks Desktop, Chrome | 2.4 GB |
| rob.t | Active | Excel, Sage 50, Teams | 2.9 GB |
| priya.s | Active | Practice management, Edge | 1.8 GB |
| ken.a | Disconnected | SQL Server Management Studio | 1.1 GB |
| dana.k | Active | Word, Outlook | 1.6 GB |
| + 3 more active sessions | |||
Tell us how many people will work on it. You pay for one server plus $8.00 a month for each person who signs in, so the bill follows your head count instead of a tier.
Light office work: Outlook, Excel, a browser, one line-of-business app. About 2 to 3 GB per person.
2 vCPU · 4 GB · 80 GB NVMe, single user
4 vCPU · 8 GB · 120 GB NVMe, RDS Session Host
8 vCPU · 16 GB · 180 GB NVMe, RDS Session Host
8 vCPU · 32 GB · 240 GB NVMe, RDS Session Host
16 vCPU · 32 GB · 360 GB NVMe, RDS Session Host
| People | Mode | Plan | NVMe | Server / mo | Users / mo | Total / mo | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Just me | Single user | 2 vCPU · 4 GB | 80 GB | $37.99 | 1 × $8.00 | $45.99 | Deploy |
| 2 people | RDS Session Host | 4 vCPU · 8 GB | 120 GB | $55.99 | 2 × $8.00 | $71.99 | Deploy |
| 5 peopleMost deployed | RDS Session Host | 8 vCPU · 16 GB | 180 GB | $91.99 | 5 × $8.00 | $131.99 | Deploy |
| 8 people | RDS Session Host | 8 vCPU · 32 GB | 240 GB | $152.99 | 8 × $8.00 | $216.99 | Deploy |
| 12 people | RDS Session Host | 16 vCPU · 32 GB | 360 GB | $189.99 | 12 × $8.00 | $285.99 | Deploy |
Every Windows Server includes two administrator connections, which covers one or two people. From the third, the server runs the Remote Desktop Services role and each user gets their own profile and desktop. Raff bills that licence monthly at $8.00, so there is nothing to buy up front.
| Admin RDP | RDS Session Host | |
|---|---|---|
| Who | You, or two administrators | Your team, each with their own desktop |
| Sessions | 2 at once | As many as the plan carries |
| Licence | None beyond Windows | $8.00 per user per month, through Raff |
| Profiles | Shared administrator | Separate per user |
| Typical plan | 2 to 4 vCPU | 8 to 16 vCPU, 2 to 3 GB per user |
Desktop as a service means renting a Windows desktop in someone else's data centre. Azure Virtual Desktop, Amazon WorkSpaces and Windows 365 all price per person. A Raff Session Host gives your team the same desktop from one server you administer, at a total you can read off an invoice.
Vendor prices were read from Microsoft's and Amazon's own pricing pages on 11 September 2026 and change without notice; check them before you compare. Azure Virtual Desktop bills Azure consumption rather than a per-user price, so there is no single figure to quote.
Exposed RDP is one of the most attacked ports on the internet, so your Session Host has none. Everyone signs in through a Remote Desktop Gateway over HTTPS with multi-factor authentication, behind a default-deny firewall, with failed logins logged.
A Session Host is a normal Windows Server desktop, so the Windows-only application gets installed once for everyone. QuickBooks Desktop and Sage both run in multi-user mode.
Not every Windows server is for a team. Plenty of people want one machine that never sleeps: a trading terminal, a scheduled bot, a build runner, a vendor application. The two administrator sessions cover that with no per-user licence, so the whole cost is the server.
Raff accounts are verified and the acceptable use policy applies: no bulk-account automation, credential stuffing, or resale of sessions.
From an ageing on-premises terminal server, Azure Virtual Desktop, AWS WorkSpaces or another host. Users, profiles, printers and applications move in a window you choose, and the old server stays up until the team has worked a full day on the new one.
Send the user count, the applications and how people connect today. We size the host and the gateway.
Session Host, RD Gateway with MFA, user accounts, profiles and printers set up, applications installed with your licences.
Your team tests for a day. Everyone moves when you say so, and the old server stays until you sign off. Remote Desktop server for business
Short answers. The long ones live in the Remote Access hub.
RDP is the protocol your Remote Desktop client uses to reach any Windows server. Every Raff Windows VPS allows two administrator connections with it, so one or two people can work on the server with no extra licence. RDS, Remote Desktop Services, is the Windows Server role that turns the server into a shared desktop for a whole team, each user with their own profile. On Raff each RDS user is $8.00 a month, shown as its own line on your statement.
Two at a time on the administrator sessions Windows Server includes. With the RDS Session Host role, as many as the plan carries. For light office work allow 2 to 3 GB of RAM per person on top of about 2 GB for Windows: 8 vCPU with 16 GB suits 3 to 5 people, 8 vCPU with 32 GB suits up to 8, and 16 vCPU with 32 GB suits up to 12. Beyond 12, or for heavy applications, a second Session Host behind the same gateway.
Not to buy. Raff supplies the RDS user licence monthly through Microsoft SPLA at $8.00 per user, so there are no CAL packs to purchase and no licence server to run. Add or remove users and the count follows on the next statement. Microsoft allows a 120-day grace period on every new Session Host, which covers setup and migration. If you already own RDS CALs with active Software Assurance, ask a Microsoft licensing specialist whether they qualify under the Flexible Virtualization Benefit first.
Open port 3389 on the public internet is. It is one of the most scanned ports there is, and password guessing against it never stops. On Raff the Session Host has no public RDP port at all. Your team signs in through a Remote Desktop Gateway over HTTPS with multi-factor authentication, both firewalls are default-deny, and failed logins are logged with lockout on the host. Used that way, Remote Desktop is a normal, well-understood way to reach a Windows server.
Not a real one. Free RDP offers are shared or short-lived machines with no guarantee, and many ask for a card anyway. A Raff remote desktop VPS starts at $45.99 a month for one person: $37.99 for the server with Windows included, plus $8.00 for that person's Remote Desktop licence. An unattended machine that nobody signs in to, such as a scheduled bot or a trading terminal, is the server cost alone. Both come with a 14-day money-back guarantee and a 99.9% uptime SLA.
The server is priced by plan and users are added at $8.00 each per month. One or two people use the two administrator sessions on any plan, so a 2 vCPU server with 4 GB is $37.99 a month all in. Five people on a 4 vCPU Session Host with 8 GB is $95.99. Twelve people on 8 vCPU with 32 GB is $248.99. Every figure includes the $15.00 Windows Server licence.
Anything that runs on a Windows Server desktop. Microsoft 365 Apps install with shared computer activation, so each user signs in with their own licence. QuickBooks Desktop, Sage 50 and similar accounting packages run in multi-user mode with the company file on the same server. Practice management, ERP clients and the Windows-only line-of-business app install once for everyone. Printers, scanners, the clipboard and local drives redirect through each session. Hardware dongles and heavy 3D graphics are the exceptions, so ask us before you order.
Neither in the strict sense, and that is the point. Raff gives you hosted virtual desktops on a Remote Desktop Services Session Host: one Windows server your team shares, where each person signs in to their own session, profile and documents. True VDI gives every user a separate virtual machine, and DaaS platforms add a broker and a management layer. Those matter for separate operating systems, GPU workstations or thousands of seats. For an office of two to fifteen people, a Session Host does the same job from $45.99 a month for one person and $131.99 for five, which is about $26 per person, against $20 to $53 per seat. If you genuinely need one VM per user, we will size separate VMs instead.
From $45.99 a month for one person, with the Windows licence included and $8.00 per user after that. 14-day money-back guarantee.