A VPN establishes an encrypted connection from your user's device to your network. After your user makes a VPN connection, the VPN encrypts and funnels all internet traffic from their device through your company network. The network sees it as if the user is sitting at their desk in the office.

Typical use cases for VPN include accessing network resources or encrypting traffic when on public wifi or browsing the web in general. Not all VPNs are the same, however. See our consumer VPNs and their security implications post for more details.

VPN advantages

• Encrypts all network traffic, protecting data in transit.

• Provides access to multiple network resources simultaneously.

• Scales efficiently for large, distributed teams.

• Works across different operating systems and device types.

VPN considerations

• Provides broad network access, increasing the attack surface if a device is compromised.

• Security depends on endpoint protection—a compromised laptop with VPN access creates risk.

• It can introduce latency, especially through distant VPN servers.

Not fun fact: According to the Huntress 2025 Managed ITDR report, VPN abuse/misuse accounts for 43% of all identity-related security incidents.

RDP allows users to have unmediated access to a specific computer or server. The remote computer presents its desktop to the user, who can then control the computer as if physically in front of it, with all computing activity on the remote device.

Remote desktop access has its own unique risks, though. Ransomware operators have favored and continue to favor open RDP ports as an attack vector. In fact, RDP credentials are consistently among the top three initial access vectors for ransomware.

Remote desktop advantages

• Centralizes data and processing on secure servers.

• Provides consistent computing environments regardless of the user's device.

• Enables access to resource-intensive applications from lightweight devices.

• Ideal for compliance scenarios requiring data to remain within specific infrastructure.

Remote desktop considerations

• Creates a high-value target—compromising RDP gives attackers initial access into an environment.

• Requires significant server infrastructure and capacity planning.

• Performance is heavily dependent on bandwidth.

• Attackers constantly target exposed RDP endpoints with brute-force attacks.

When comparing remote desktop versus VPN, several key factors come into play.

Security

VPNs encrypt your network traffic, but this doesn’t mean your endpoints are secure. Remote desktop centralizes processing, but creates a single point of attack. There’s no clear answer as to which is more secure when it comes to VPN vs remote desktop. It’s more a case of which is easier to implement and layer with other security controls.

Performance

When it comes to VPN vs RDP speed, VPNs are slightly favored, adding 20–50 milliseconds of latency on average. Meanwhile, RDP requires 100–500 kilobits per second of sustained bandwidth. RDP works well for typical office applications, but graphics-intensive workloads won’t perform as well.

Scalability

VPNs are easy to scale to support large numbers of users, as they don’t require a dedicated remote machine per user. With proper bandwidth and authentication management, organizations can add users quickly without major infrastructure changes.

Remote desktop, on the other hand, scales less efficiently. Each user session consumes server resources, which means adding more users often requires additional hardware, licensing, and infrastructure planning. It’s best suited for smaller teams or controlled environments where consistent performance and security can be maintained.

Cost

VPN infrastructure costs include gateways, licensing, and the cost of bandwidth. Remote desktop access incurs the cost of server hardware and Windows licensing. RDP will likely be cheaper for a small group of users, but VPNs are usually the more cost-effective solution at scale.

VPN and remote desktop don’t compete. They are layered on top of each other. The most secure configuration is to use remote desktop over a VPN connection: 

• The VPN creates an encrypted tunnel.

• Multi-factor authentication (MFA) happens at the VPN gateway.

• A remote desktop accesses individual systems within that secure network.

Can remote desktop be used without a VPN? Yes, but opening RDP to the internet is one of the most insecure configurations in all of IT.

VPN is best when your team requires access to many network resources at once, employees use multiple devices, or users require local apps and want to access company data. 

Choose remote desktop when users need specific applications on locked-down systems, you have compliance requirements to keep data in certain locations, or employees require resource-intensive software on lightweight devices.

Both VPN and RDP share similar weaknesses—stolen credentials, lateral movement once inside the network, and a lack of visibility into endpoint activity. Without layered protection, attackers can exploit either method to gain persistent access to your systems. But this is where Huntress comes in with our EDR and ITDR solutions.

The truth is that most organizations use VPNs and remote desktop for different use cases. The most important thing is not the type of access, but the controls layered around it.

Huntress Managed EDR and ITDR deliver the visibility and protection needed for endpoints, no matter how users access them. We built our Managed ITDR solution to stop identity-based threats that leverage stolen remote access credentials. We protect against brute-force RDP attacks, identify credential theft on VPN connections, and alert you to lateral movement, delivering the visibility that traditional remote access technologies were missing.

It’s not about VPN versus remote desktop access. It’s about using the right tool for each job while securing your entire remote access infrastructure.

Want to learn more? Get in touch for a free demo.