Thin Clients Price Comparison
Compare 210 thin clients from HP, Dell, and more. Find the best price across top UK retailers — from entry-level to enterprise-grade VDI workstations.
Thin Clients price comparison UK
Thin clients occupy a peculiar corner of the computing market: they look like ordinary desktop boxes, but their entire purpose is to do as little as possible locally. The real work happens on a remote server — your thin client is simply the window into it. That distinction matters enormously when you're choosing one, because the specs that dominate laptop and desktop comparisons (CPU clock speed, local storage) become almost secondary to protocol support, network connectivity, and OS compatibility with your existing infrastructure.
HP dominates this catalogue with striking force — 176 of the 210 products listed carry that logo, with an average price hovering around the mid-range. Dell and Dell Wyse together account for most of the remaining competition, and their Wyse ThinOS platform remains a genuine alternative to HP's ThinPro ecosystem. The price spread is unusually wide: from 0 £ for a bare-bones EVGA unit up to 0 £ for enterprise SMART Technologies deployments, with the bulk of sensible business purchases sitting between 0 £ and 0 £.
One thing worth flagging: thin clients are almost exclusively a B2B purchase. You'll rarely find them on the shelves at Currys or Argos. Most units are sourced through specialist IT resellers, and the refurbished market is substantial — a Dell Wyse 5010 or an older HP t530 can be picked up for well under 0 £, which makes sense for smaller deployments where cutting-edge performance isn't the priority. If you're comparing options for a larger rollout, energy consumption is a factor that genuinely adds up: a fleet of 50 thin clients drawing 10W each versus 25W each represents a meaningful difference on an annual electricity bill.
For organisations running servers on-premise or in a private cloud, the choice of thin client OS — Wyse ThinOS, Windows 10 IoT Enterprise, or a Linux variant — will largely be dictated by your VDI stack (Citrix, VMware Horizon, or Microsoft RDS). Don't buy a thin client before confirming protocol support. And if your use case is more specialised — kiosks, digital signage, or point-of-sale — you may find that embedded computers or POS hardware serve you better than a conventional thin client. Compare all options before committing.
How to Choose the Right Thin Client for Your Organisation
Most thin client buying mistakes come down to one error: treating them like small PCs. They're not. The right choice depends almost entirely on your server infrastructure, your VDI protocol, and how many simultaneous sessions each device needs to handle. Here's what actually matters.
OS and VDI Protocol Compatibility
This is the single most important criterion — get it wrong and the hardware is useless regardless of its specs. Wyse ThinOS (Dell) is a locked-down, highly secure OS purpose-built for Citrix, VMware Horizon, and RDS environments. HP ThinPro (Linux-based) offers similar security with broader protocol support. Windows 10 IoT Enterprise gives you the most flexibility but at higher cost and greater management overhead. If your organisation runs Citrix Virtual Apps, confirm ICA/HDX support. For VMware Horizon, check for PCoIP or Blast Extreme. Don't assume — verify against your server's published compatibility list before purchasing.
Processor and RAM for Your Session Load
For basic single-session RDP or Citrix use (email, Office apps, browser), an Intel Atom N5105 or N6005 at 2 GHz with 4 GB RAM is genuinely sufficient. Where people go wrong is underspecifying for multimedia-heavy sessions or multiple simultaneous displays. If users are running video calls, HD streaming, or graphically intensive web apps through their remote session, step up to 8 GB RAM minimum and a more capable CPU. The HP Elite t655 with its AMD Ryzen R2314 is the right call for demanding users; the Dell Wyse 5010 with its G-T48E is fine for light clerical work. Don't over-engineer for a call centre deployment, but don't under-spec for a design studio.
Network Connectivity: Wired vs Wi-Fi
Gigabit Ethernet is non-negotiable for any serious enterprise deployment — Fast Ethernet (100 Mbps) will bottleneck the moment you push HD video or large file transfers through a remote session. Wi-Fi is convenient for flexible workspaces, but Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) is the minimum acceptable standard; Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) is preferable for dense office environments where channel congestion is a real problem. For fixed desks in a structured cabling environment, always wire it. Wireless thin clients are best reserved for retail floors, warehouses, or hot-desking areas where running cable is impractical.
Display Output: How Many Monitors?
Most thin clients support at least one HDMI and one DisplayPort output, enabling dual-monitor setups — which is the standard expectation for office workers. If your users need three or four screens (trading floors, control rooms, video walls), check the spec sheet carefully; not all units support this without additional hardware. Also confirm the maximum resolution supported per output: 4K@60Hz requires DisplayPort 1.2 or HDMI 2.0, and not every thin client in this price range delivers that. The HP Elite t660 and t655 are among the stronger performers for multi-display scenarios.
Security Features for Enterprise Deployment
In a managed enterprise environment, security features matter as much as performance. Look for TPM 2.0 (required for Windows 11 IoT and many compliance frameworks), Secure Boot, and UEFI firmware. HP's ThinPro and Dell's Wyse ThinOS both offer centralised management consoles (HP Device Manager, Wyse Management Suite) that allow zero-touch provisioning and remote policy enforcement — invaluable for deployments of 20+ units. FIPS 140-2 certification matters if you're in a government or financial services context. Don't buy a thin client that lacks a clear management story.
Total Cost of Ownership, Not Just Purchase Price
A thin client priced at 0 £ might look expensive next to a refurbished unit at 0 £, but factor in energy consumption over three years, management software licences, and warranty terms. HP and Dell both offer next-business-day on-site warranty options — worth paying for on large deployments where a failed unit means a worker is idle. The refurbished Dell Wyse 5010 and 5070 are genuinely good value for budget-conscious SMEs, but check the warranty carefully: many refurbished units come with only 90 days' cover, which is inadequate for business-critical infrastructure.
- Entry-level and refurbished (From 0 £ to 0 £) : This bracket covers older refurbished units — Dell Wyse 5010, HP t530 — and bare-bones devices like the EVGA PD05. Suitable for very light workloads (basic RDP, thin kiosk applications) or organisations with tight budgets and in-house IT support to manage older hardware. Warranty cover is often minimal. Not recommended for new deployments at scale.
- The business sweet spot (From 0 £ to 0 £) : Where most sensible SME purchases land. You'll find current-generation Dell OptiPlex 3000 thin clients and mid-range HP units here — modern processors, Windows 10 IoT Enterprise or Wyse ThinOS, Gigabit Ethernet, and dual-display support. Good balance of capability and cost for standard office deployments.
- For demanding users (From 0 £ to 0 £) : HP Pro t550 and similar units sit here — more RAM, faster storage, better GPU support for multimedia sessions. Right for power users, developers accessing remote workstations, or environments where session quality is non-negotiable. HP ThinPro OS with full management suite support is typical at this level.
- Enterprise and specialist (Over 0 £) : HP Elite t655 and t660, Samsung, SMART Technologies units. Built for demanding VDI environments, multi-display setups, high-security deployments, or specialised use cases like digital signage and collaboration rooms. Overkill for standard office use, but the right tool for the right job in enterprise IT.
Top products
- DELL OptiPlex 3000 2 GHz Wyse ThinOS 1.1 kg Black N5105 (DELL) : The most accessible entry point into current-generation Dell thin clients — Wyse ThinOS keeps it lean and secure, and the N5105 handles standard VDI sessions without complaint. A solid choice for SME deployments, though you'll want to step up if users run media-heavy sessions.
- DELL OptiPlex 3000 2 GHz Wyse ThinOS 1.1 kg Black N6005 (DELL) : Marginally more capable than the N5105 variant with the newer N6005 chip, and still running the clean Wyse ThinOS stack. Good for organisations standardising on Dell's management ecosystem. Not the cheapest option in this range, but the dual-offer availability makes price comparison worthwhile.
- HP Elite t655 2.1 GHz ThinPro 1.12 kg Black R2314 (HP) : The premium pick in this catalogue — AMD Ryzen R2314 at 2.1 GHz with HP ThinPro is the right combination for demanding users running multimedia sessions or multi-display setups. Overkill for a call centre, but genuinely justified for power users. Priced accordingly.
- HP Pro t550 2 GHz Windows 10 IoT Enterprise 1.3 kg Black J6412 (HP) : A well-rounded mid-range unit running Windows 10 IoT Enterprise — useful if your environment requires local application support alongside remote sessions. The J6412 processor is a step up from Atom-class chips. Best for organisations that need flexibility rather than the locked-down simplicity of ThinOS.
- Dell Wyse 5070 1.5 GHz Wyse ThinOS 1.13 kg Black J5005 (Dell Wyse) : The outsider pick for budget-conscious buyers who still want a capable, manageable unit. The Wyse 5070 is a proven workhorse — older generation but well-supported, and the J5005 handles standard VDI comfortably. Check warranty terms carefully if buying refurbished; new stock at this price is the better bet.
Related categories
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Wyse ThinOS and Windows 10 IoT Enterprise on a thin client?
Wyse ThinOS is a purpose-built, locked-down operating system designed exclusively for remote desktop sessions — it boots in seconds, has a minimal attack surface, and requires almost no local management. Windows 10 IoT Enterprise, by contrast, behaves much like a standard Windows installation, offering greater application flexibility but also more complexity, higher resource requirements, and a larger security footprint. For organisations running a pure Citrix or VMware Horizon environment, Wyse ThinOS is generally the cleaner choice. If you need to run local applications alongside remote sessions, Windows 10 IoT Enterprise gives you that option — at the cost of more IT overhead.
Can I use a thin client for video conferencing (Teams, Zoom)?
Yes, but with important caveats. Running Teams or Zoom through a standard remote desktop session is notoriously problematic — video and audio are processed on the server and streamed back, which introduces latency and degrades quality. The proper solution is media redirection: Citrix HDX RealTime Media Engine or Microsoft Teams optimisation for AVD, which offloads media processing to the thin client itself. This requires both the thin client hardware (sufficient CPU/RAM) and the correct client software to support it. Check compatibility explicitly — not all thin clients in this catalogue support Teams optimisation out of the box.
Are refurbished thin clients worth buying?
For small deployments with competent in-house IT, refurbished thin clients can be excellent value — a Dell Wyse 5070 or HP t630 at a fraction of the new price will handle basic RDP sessions perfectly well. The risks are warranty (often 90 days on refurbished units versus 3 years on new), firmware support (older units may not receive security updates), and compatibility with newer VDI platforms. Avoid refurbished units for large rollouts or regulated environments where warranty and compliance documentation are required. Always buy from a reputable UK IT reseller rather than a marketplace listing with no provenance.
How many monitors can a typical thin client support?
Most modern thin clients support two monitors simultaneously via a combination of HDMI and DisplayPort outputs — this covers the vast majority of office use cases. Units like the HP Elite t655 and t660 can support up to three or four displays, depending on configuration. If you need more than two screens, check the specific model's datasheet rather than relying on the product listing, as multi-display support often depends on which GPU option is fitted. Also confirm maximum resolution per output: 4K support is not universal across this price range.
What should I watch out for when buying thin clients for a large deployment?
The biggest pitfall is buying hardware before confirming compatibility with your VDI platform — a thin client that doesn't support your organisation's Citrix or VMware version is worthless. Beyond that, watch for: management software costs (HP Device Manager and Wyse Management Suite have licensing implications at scale), warranty terms on bulk orders, and whether the OS version is still receiving security updates. Also factor in that thin clients from different generations may not be manageable from the same console, which creates administrative fragmentation. Standardise on one vendor and one OS generation wherever possible.
Is a thin client better than a mini PC for remote working?
For a corporate VDI environment, a thin client is almost always the better choice — lower power consumption, centralised management, reduced local security risk, and purpose-built protocol support. For a home worker who needs to occasionally connect to a corporate remote desktop but also runs local applications, a mini PC or laptop is more practical. Thin clients make little sense outside of a managed server infrastructure; without a VDI backend, you're paying for a device that can't do much on its own.
Does the processor clock speed matter much on a thin client?
Less than you'd think — and far less than on a conventional PC. Since processing happens on the server, the thin client's CPU mainly handles display rendering, protocol decoding, and local USB/audio management. A 2 GHz Intel Atom (N5105 or N6005) is adequate for most standard sessions. Clock speed becomes relevant when running media-redirected video conferencing, local browser tabs, or multiple simultaneous sessions on a single device. For those use cases, the AMD Ryzen R2314 in the HP Elite t655 is a meaningful step up. For basic office VDI, don't let CPU specs drive your decision.