Horizon Cloud Service vs Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) comparison

Horizon Cloud Service vs. Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS)

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Horizon Cloud Service

Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

11th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Desktop as a Service (DaaS) (4th)

Parallels Remote Applicatio...

Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

13th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Virtualization (4th)

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of Horizon Cloud Service is 3.1%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) is 3.1%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Horizon Cloud Service	3.1%
Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS)	3.1%
Other	93.8%

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

Featured Reviews

reviewer1970973

Virtual Desktop and Applications Offerings Global Offering Manager at a comms service provider with 11-50 employees

Cloud-based platform offers flexibility with robust protocol and exceptional user management

The main benefit of Horizon Cloud Service is that it is cloud-based, allowing our organization to leverage the service without having to manage all infrastructure directly. This offers significant flexibility and efficiency. Additionally, Horizon Cloud Service has a robust protocol, making app management straightforward. The scalability of Horizon Cloud Service is also excellent, and its stability is strong for our use cases.

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JohanSkibdahl

CEO at Etcetera Networks

Secure access across devices with cost-effective seamless integration

One valuable feature is the ability to securely use a wide range of devices to access the company's infrastructure. The inclusion of all necessary components, such as load balancer and gateways, in a monthly fee is also beneficial. In terms of Parallels Desktop, the coherence mode that allows Mac and Windows applications to run seamlessly side by side is highly regarded.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The interface is much easier to use compared to Microsoft and other VDI vendors that are well known on the market, and with Horizon Cloud, you don't need to spend a lot of money upfront to buy the infrastructure because you can use it on the cloud, which lowers the barriers to entry and makes it easier to test and get started."

"I honestly liked the application itself because it was just like using a desktop. You could copy and paste, inside and outside, and you could use multiple monitors. You could access it anytime, anywhere, no matter whether you were in the office or out of the office. I could leave the office, go somewhere, go back in, and everything would be there. I could just leave it up and running. I absolutely love this feature in VMware Horizon Cloud."

"The interface is much easier to use compared to Microsoft and other VDI vendors that are well known on the market. I like VMware so much more than the others. With Horizon Cloud, you don't need to spend a lot of money upfront to buy the infrastructure. You can use it the on the cloud, so it lowers the barriers to entry. It's easier to test it and get started. Some clients stay in the cloud, but others prefer to go on-premise. It depends on the nature of the client."

"The most valuable feature of VMware Horizon Cloud is all of its capabilities together."

"VMware Horizon Cloud is easy to use and the full development cloud is very good."

"The product allows a VPN connection, adding extra value to its features."

"From the scalability perspective, that's one of the great things, because even with the basic setup, which has essentially very few components, you can run 10,000 desktops straight off the bat."

"The most valuable feature of VMware Horizon Cloud is the ability to manage a great number of desktops at once and the remote access for users that are working from outside of the office or from different offices in the country."

More Horizon Cloud Service pros

"Without Parallels, we'd either be spending a lot more money or our business would not exist anymore."

"We use Cloudpaging to package and deploy the vast majority of our applications to our standard Windows 10 desktops. With the use of Parallels integration into Software2 AppsAnywhere hub, this means we can use the same packages to deliver Windows applications to almost any device - Windows, mac OS, iOS, Android, Linux, Xbox One, PS4 - just by ticking a box."

"I feel the product's pricing is of good value; we have reviewed pricing on other software products, Citrix and products like that, and we realized that for the same basic functionality, we're paying pennies on the dollar, so we do appreciate that pricing level."

"Maintenance of software versions has been greatly simplified, ensuring that all users are using the same version of applications."

"Its price and ease of use are the most valuable. It is simple and has good performance."

"Ease of use in publishing apps and installing the agent. The Interface is fairly intuitive after some tinkering. Although I inherited the app only two-thirds deployed, I was able to complete the deployment and service it over the last year without referring to any documentation."

"We use RAS to publish cloud desktops to our clients. The ability to easily publish resources to a subset of users is what we find most valuable."

"Thin client management (Windows 10 client) provides an easy way to lock down client connection to the remote infrastructure. Policies are very helpful for preconfiguring client behavior. Finally, client management is easy."

More Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) pros

Cons

"It is very expensive. Its price needs to be improved. They can do a better job with external resources such as a USB or a hard drive. When I tried to connect using these external resources, it failed a lot of times. I had to do a shared connection with a local laptop and then connect from a network standpoint, rather than through VMware Horizon point. They definitely have weaknesses with external connections. A lot of companies probably don't let people use external connections because it defeats the purpose of having a cloud solution and keeping the data in a secure area. You can copy to an external device, and you can lose the data. A lot of companies may not focus on this feature, but if you are providing it, you should make it work."

"The licensing model needs to be adjusted, as a cloud license is currently required even for on-premises devices."

"The application remoting features have some room for improvement."

"There should be more emphasis on the Workspace One access part of the solution. This is essentially identity management provided with Horizon. There needs to be some kind of integration because you are able to have all of these desktops on any device, but you have to have this other component to make it easier from a single sign-on perspective. That's why there should be an emphasis on Workspace One access. It actually comes free with the product, but people don't really know how powerful it can be."

"In the design phase, sometimes the tools for designing Horizon solutions have issues when they're calculating the number of nodes and platforms needed to support the VDI systems."

"It is too expensive as compared to other solutions because of which we don't use it that much."

"The cost of Horizon Cloud Service is high, however, it could be optimized. The licensing model is complex, particularly for hybrid deployments, and simplifying it could help."

More Horizon Cloud Service cons

"When the customer is connected, they use a specific publishing agent and if that agent fails, the customer loses their connection."

"The product does not utilize SQL for reporting purposes. Also, it does not support some hypervisors similar to Citrix. These particular areas need improvement."

"Improvement is needed in performance monitoring of the client's endpoint, and automatic re-connection of the client in the event of circuit disruptions (this works well generally but can present challenges)."

"Since I've been here less than a year, I have had to upgrade the system three times."

"Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) is an expensive solution, and its pricing could be improved."

"The solution's application virtualization feature needs improvement."

"Sometimes you need to understand how to use load balancing and the gateway in order to scale, which means the team may need some additional technical knowledge."

"I would rate my experience with tech support as "middling" - difficult to open a ticket, and support is located on the opposite side of the world, so schedules don't mesh."

More Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"For what you get, it is very compelling. You've got to look at the total cost of ownership of this type of piece of software in terms of being able to utilize it as a cloud service. I don't have to run everything on-premises. When you look at the total cost of just being able to use it and then being able to point it to any public or private cloud, it is very compelling. You have one less thing to manage."

"It is too expensive as compared to other solutions because of which we don't use it that much. We tend to go more for Hyper-V or Azure just because VMware licensing is quite up there. We sway people away from VMware Horizon Cloud. We have some clients who already have it. They stay on it for a little while, and then most of them end up moving off when we provide them a better solution that isn't as license heavy cost-wise."

"Initially, the product is cheap, but it starts to get expensive when users try to scale out."

"I rate VMware Horizon Cloud pricing a ten out of ten."

"VMware Horizon Cloud is an expensive solution. This solution is approximately 30 percent more than Microsoft Azure Cloud. There can be extra costs."

"There is a license required for the use of this solution and there are different tier levels available."

"VMware Horizon Cloud is a low-cost solution. The model that they have is consumption-based. However, some features are expensive."

"It justifies the price. In terms of licensing, initially when we got the product it was an unlimited licensing strategy. We knew would grow in the coming years. So initially, we took a plan which had no limit. After a year or so the strategy changed and we were being limited to 105 licenses, that was the minimum... If there was flexibility for increasing the number of licenses that would be great because you never know how much you are going to grow in the next year."

"Pricing is a little steep."

"The pricing has always been competitive, and the new SPLA licensing model works great for our business and clients."

"I don't like the subscription model because it feels like I have to pay every month. If Parallels could go back to the professional license, it would be much better."

"Work with the vendor, as this is a fairly new product and they want use cases. Deals can be made."

"The product is not expensive. I rate its pricing a three or four out of ten."

"Comparable performance to Citrix for our use case at a significantly lower cost. Pricing is clear and there are relatively few options or other pricing considerations when compared to similar products. Just be sure not to forget the Microsoft licensing that goes along with a Parallels deployment."

"It is very affordable."

More Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Performing Arts

11%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Media Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

Government

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	6

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	14
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	10

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware Horizon Cloud?

The cost is considered normal, not remarkable but not outrageous. In terms of expense, compared to other virtualization products, I would rate it as a six.

What needs improvement with VMware Horizon Cloud?

The licensing model needs to be adjusted, as a cloud license is currently required even for on-premises devices. Horizon Cloud Service should continue improving their protocol and work with other h...

What is your primary use case for VMware Horizon Cloud?

Our primary use case focuses on virtual desktop and application hosting. This is spread across different industries. We have a large number of employees, and we are one of the largest GSIs globally...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS)?

The pricing for Parallels RAS is straightforward with a monthly fee for a minimum of 15 licenses. For Parallels Desktop, it is a yearly cost of a couple of hundred euros. No additional fees for mai...

What needs improvement with Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS)?

A potential improvement could be reducing the dependency on Microsoft solutions for Parallels RAS. As for Parallels Desktop, there is nothing specific that needs improvement.

What is your primary use case for Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS)?

The primary use case of Parallels is to offer it to customers as a hosted service. I help them to migrate from other solutions like VMware to Parallels RAS. I recommend it to companies that prefer ...

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Product Reports

Horizon Cloud Service

Download Horizon Cloud Service product report

Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS)

Download Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) product report

Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) report

Also Known As

VMware Horizon Cloud, VMware Horizon DaaS

Parallels RAS

Overview

The VMware Horizon Cloud Service delivers feature-rich virtual desktops and applications using a purpose-built cloud platform that is scalable across multiple deployment options, including fully managed infrastructure from VMware, public cloud infrastructure from Microsoft Azure, or on-premises hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI). The service supports a cloud-scale architecture that makes it easy to deliver virtualized Windows desktops and applications to any device, anytime. And, with a flexible subscription model and turnkey solutions, organizations can easily get up and running and scale quickly.

Omnissa

ApplicationServer delivers applications, data and virtual desktops from a central location, providing continuous availability, resource-based load-balancing and complete network transparency.

Parallels

Sample Customers

Marriott, Sprint

Arsari Group _ PT Netmarks Indonesia, Izhevsk Elektromekhanicheskiy Zavod (IEMZ) _ Kupol, Abilene Diagnostic Clinic, Fylde Borough Council, YARSTROYREZE LLC, VSK Insurance House, Melenkovsky District of Vladimirskaya Oblast, Sofrigam SA, Antenna International, KingsGate Community Church, Norwegian American Hospital, Island Hotels Group, Medway Council, Medway Council, Voices of September 11th, MacDonald Training Center, Kansas Childrenês Service League, Scope,Next Generation Clubs, WTC Communications, Opera Australia, HSE Integrated, Danier, Bridgwater College, Kern County Mental Health, Tony Tiendas, Spears Manufacturing, Managed Insurance Services Inc., Intuitive Medical Software, M.J. Soffe, Mazda Motors, Israel Military Industries (IMI), Telfair, Upic Solutions, Teleflora, Fisher & Company

Horizon Cloud Service vs. Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS)