A 3270 emulator for Citrix and Azure Virtual Desktop
WND Terminal is supported on Citrix and Azure Virtual Desktop, at the same per-user price as a desktop install. Where VDI exists only to run the emulator, the native app or a browser gateway you host usually costs less.
WND Terminal is supported on Citrix and Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD), and it is priced per user, so a seat costs the same in VDI as on a PC, a Mac or in a browser. Keep VDI where people already work in it. Where VDI exists only to deliver the emulator, the native app or the self-hosted browser gateway lets you retire the servers that run it.
Three ways to deliver WND Terminal
In each case it’s the same app under the same policy, and a person uses one seat. What changes is where the emulator runs and what sits between the person and the mainframe.
| Native app (Windows or Mac) | Citrix or Azure Virtual Desktop | Browser, through your gateway | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where the emulator runs | On the person’s PC or Mac | On session hosts in your data center or in Azure | On the WND gateway, one program on your own Linux or Windows server |
| What the person needs | A managed Windows PC, or a Mac with macOS 11 or later | The Citrix or Microsoft client app and a VDI sign-in | Chrome or Edge 105+, Firefox 115+ or Safari 15+, and an organization account |
| How IT installs it | MSI or per-user setup.exe on Windows. Jamf, Intune, Kandji or Mosyle on Mac | The MSI, installed on the session host image | The gateway on Linux (systemd), Windows or Docker |
| How IT sets the rules | Group Policy (ADMX), Intune, a Mac configuration profile or policy.json | Group Policy or policy.json on the session hosts | The same policy.json as the desktop app |
| Sign-in before the first screen | The computer’s own login | VDI sign-in, then the app launch | Entra ID, Okta, Google or any OpenID Connect provider |
| Infrastructure you run for it | None beyond the PC or Mac | Session hosts, images, profile storage and VDI licensing, plus the team that runs them | One gateway server, which serves hundreds of people |
| WND plan | Desktop, $99 per user per year | Desktop, $99 per user per year | Enterprise, $159 per user per year |
| Best fit | Managed PCs and Macs | People who already work all day in a VDI desktop | Contractors, personal devices, Chromebooks and anyone without a managed PC |
Plans and prices from the pricing page. The minimum is 100 users. A person counts as one seat across the browser and the desktop app.
Native app vs. published app
In a published app, the emulator runs on a session host. A keystroke travels from the laptop to the host, and the emulator sends it on to the mainframe. The screen comes back to the laptop as pictures of the emulator’s window.
A native app talks to the mainframe directly. A 24×80 screen is 1,920 characters. The host sends it as a TN3270E data stream and the app draws it on the PC or Mac, with no extra layer for keys and the clipboard to cross.
Both work, but they differ in details people notice every day and in what IT has to run.
- Function keys. On a Mac keyboard in VDI, PF keys depend on the client passing the Fn key through. A native app maps them itself.
- Copy and paste. In VDI the clipboard has to cross into the session. Natively, Copy as table pastes into Excel or Numbers with the columns intact.
- Sleep and reconnect. A laptop that sleeps can drop a VDI session, along with whatever was on the screen. WND Terminal reconnects by itself.
- Time to first screen. The Home Depot measured about 90 seconds through Citrix (sign-in, app launch, connect) and about 5 seconds with the native app.
When to keep VDI, and when to move
Most large estates end up with a mix. Look for the users who are in VDI only because of the emulator.
Keep Citrix or AVD when
- People already work all day in a VDI desktop, and the emulator is one app among many there.
- Devices are thin clients or shared kiosks where you can’t install software.
- Your security rules say host sessions must run in the data center, not on the endpoint.
- You’re mid-migration and want one change at a time.
In these cases, install WND Terminal on the image. The price per user is the same as on a PC.
Move to the native app or the gateway when
- Session hosts exist only to run the terminal emulator.
- Mac users get a Windows emulator through Citrix because the old vendor had no Mac version.
- Contractors need mainframe access for a few weeks, and imaging a laptop takes longer than that.
- Frozen windows, dropped sessions and slow sign-ins are regular service-desk tickets.
Native installs cover managed PCs and Macs. The browser gateway covers everyone else.
What drives the cost of VDI for one app
We don’t publish other vendors’ prices. These are the line items to collect from your own contracts and cloud bill.
VDI licensing
Citrix is licensed separately from the emulator. Ask your Citrix account team what the users who only need the mainframe cost each year.
Azure infrastructure
Microsoft includes AVD access rights with eligible Microsoft 365 and Windows licenses. You still pay for the Azure virtual machines, storage and networking that host the sessions.
Hosts sized for the peak
Session hosts are sized for the busiest hour of the busiest season and run all year. The Home Depot’s 38 emulator servers were sized for peak merchandising season.
Images and patching
Every emulator update goes into a new image, which has to be tested before it reaches anyone.
Service-desk tickets
Frozen windows and dropped sessions land at the help desk. The Home Depot logged about 640 such tickets a month before the move and fewer than 40 after.
Time to the first screen
Slow logins cost time, because people sign in to the mainframe several times a day. The Home Depot estimates its merchants got 15 to 20 minutes a day back from faster logins and automatic reconnects.
To put numbers on your own estate, try the savings calculator. During a proof of value, the license usage dashboard shows who actually uses the emulator, and the Migration readiness report shows which sessions move as they are.
AVD cost components from Microsoft’s Azure Virtual Desktop pricing page, checked October 2026. Citrix prices depend on your edition and contract, so they aren’t shown here. Citrix is a trademark of Cloud Software Group. Azure Virtual Desktop is a trademark of Microsoft. WND Software is not affiliated with or endorsed by these companies.
How The Home Depot took the emulator off Citrix
Its Mac users reached the mainframe through a Windows emulator published in Citrix. WND Terminal’s native Mac app replaced it.
| Before | After WND Terminal | |
|---|---|---|
| How Mac users reached the mainframe | Citrix-published Windows emulator | Native Mac app, deployed through Jamf |
| Login to the first mainframe screen | About 90 seconds | About 5 seconds |
| “Citrix froze” and dropped-session tickets | About 640 a month | Fewer than 40 a month |
| Citrix capacity for the emulator | 38 servers, plus Citrix licensing for 2,800 users | None |
“It worked the way Citrix always works, which is mostly,” says Jason Whitaker, Senior Director, Workplace Technology. The Citrix delivery group for the emulator stayed up for a month as a fallback. Fewer than a dozen people used it, and then it was turned off.
Read The Home Depot story →Running WND Terminal on Citrix or AVD
Where VDI stays, WND Terminal installs and is managed like any other Windows app on the image.
- Install the Windows MSI silently on the session host image.
- Set the rules with Group Policy (ADMX and ADML templates) or policy.json. Locked settings hold however a session starts.
- The license is checked on the computer from your license file, so session hosts don’t need internet access for it.
- The audit log goes to a folder, to Splunk, or as CEF over syslog to Sentinel, QRadar or ArcSight, the same as from a PC.
- Imported sessions and keyboard maps behave the same in VDI as on a PC.
- The price is per user. A seat in Citrix or AVD is the same $99 Desktop seat as on a PC or Mac.
Related
WND Terminal for Mac
A native app for Apple Silicon and Intel, deployed through Jamf, Intune, Kandji or Mosyle.
See the Mac app →WND Terminal in a browser
A gateway on your own server, with Entra ID, Okta or Google sign-in.
See the browser version →Savings calculator
Estimate what changes for your seat count and renewal.
Open the calculator →3270 terminal emulators, explained
What TN3270E adds, and a buyer’s checklist for any emulator.
Read the guide →Pricing
$99 or $159 per user per year, on every platform.
See pricing →The Home Depot
2,800 Mac users off Citrix and 38 servers retired.
Read the story →Questions
Is WND Terminal supported on Citrix and Azure Virtual Desktop?
Yes. Install the Windows MSI on the session host image and set the rules with Group Policy or policy.json. Citrix and AVD are included in the Desktop plan.
Does a seat cost more in Citrix or AVD?
No. The price is per user, $99 a year for Desktop or $159 for Enterprise, whether the person uses WND Terminal on a PC, on a Mac, in Citrix or AVD, or in a browser.
Do we have to remove Citrix to use WND Terminal?
No. You can keep VDI for people who already work in it and move only the users who were there just for the emulator.
What replaces Citrix for contractors and personal devices?
WND Terminal in a browser, through a gateway you host on Linux, Windows or Docker. People sign in with Entra ID, Okta, Google or another OpenID Connect provider. It is in the Enterprise plan.
Do session hosts need internet access for licensing?
No. The license is checked on the computer from your license file, with no phone-home.
How did The Home Depot get off Citrix?
It moved 2,800 Mac users from a Windows emulator published through Citrix to WND Terminal's native Mac app, deployed with Jamf. It retired 38 Citrix servers, and login to the first mainframe screen went from 90 seconds to 5.
Find out which users need VDI at all.
Run WND Terminal natively for one team that reaches the mainframe through Citrix or AVD today, and compare. The proof of value is free and takes two to four weeks.