Microsoft App-V vs Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) comparison

Microsoft and Parallels are both solutions in the Application Virtualization category. Microsoft is ranked #2 with an average rating of 9.5, while Parallels is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.3. Microsoft holds a 21.4% mindshare in AV, compared to Parallels’s 16.9% mindshare. Additionally, 80% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Parallels users who would recommend it.

Microsoft App-V

Read 4 Microsoft App-V reviews

1,889 Views
816 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

Parallels Remote Applicatio...

Read 25 Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) reviews

738 Views
503 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Microsoft App-V

Parallels Remote Applicatio...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Microsoft App-V and Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Application Virtualization solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft App-V vs. Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft App-V vs. Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS)

January 2025

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Helped 838,713 peers since 2012

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

Microsoft App-V

Ranking in Application Virtualization

2nd

Average Rating

9.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Parallels Remote Applicatio...

Ranking in Application Virtualization

4th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (9th)

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Application Virtualization category, the mindshare of Microsoft App-V is 21.4%, down from 24.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) is 16.9%, up from 13.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Virtualization

Featured Reviews

Dan Patriche

Application Integrator at Lombard Odier Group

Enables organizations to deploy applications incredibly fast and reduces delivery time

We can deploy applications incredibly fast. The implementation time is really fast. I like the way the Sequencer works. The publication and management console are really helpful. We switch from the classic MSI through SCCM deployment to App-V with an in-house publication server. The delivery time has decreased by 40% to 45%.

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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.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We can deploy applications incredibly fast."

"It is very easy to use from an administration point of view."

"The most interesting and powerful feature for us is the fact that we can upgrade any kind of app instantly."

"It is easy to scale. You can quickly deploy additional instances. Rollbacks are easy because there is an automatic backup every hour. Deploying the application is straightforward and efficient."

"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."

"Parallels Desktop allows me to run both Mac and Windows operating systems on a single machine, eliminating the need for separate Windows hardware."

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

"We can publish apps and desktops on Terminal Servers and seamlessly share printers. We also combine Parallels with Deepnet Security to get two-factor authentication."

"The most valuable feature is the ease with which you can publish applications to different groups of users, by integrating with Windows Active Directory."

"Client compatibility with many systems makes it very versatile. The reporting that is included is awesome."

"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."

"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."

More Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) pros

Cons

"The process was streamlined but didn't make our work simple. We encountered an issue with the person responsible for designing the website."

"The downside is that Microsoft bought this product and they are going to discontinue it in 2026. This is worrisome for us."

"The reporting features could be improved."

"If it were possible to integrate App-V with a cybersecurity solution then we could implement a documentation registry, which would be useful."

"Generally, it is a very good solution. The main thing that I would improve is their presence here in Mexico. They don't have strong local support here in Mexico. They should have a worldwide presence so that we don't have to do everything through the people in the US. The initial setup was a little bit complex because we were migrating from Citrix. For customers who are migrating from another platform like VMware or Citrix, it would be great if they can provide an automated migration solution."

"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."

"If the solution crashes, then all the customers connected through that agent, lose their session."

"Since I've been here less than a year, I have had to upgrade the system three times. The first time was the major upgrade but they have upgraded twice since, and I think that's too many times in that time span."

"Currently in the RD Session Hosts – Sessions section, I can see what server a user is logged into but not what app he is using. Being able to do so would be immensely helpful when a non-technical user is complaining of issues, but I can’t tell which app he is using, and he is actually logged into multiple servers since they serve multiple apps."

"We would like to be able to re-label the OTP (One Time Password) popup so our users can easily recognize that they are to put in their DUO code on that line. Most users see OTP and ask what that is."

"Opening a ticket should be available from the actual RAS console. It is cumbersome to go to a portal, hunt around for five minutes for a link to open a ticket, answer questions meant to direct you towards FAQs instead of live support, then fill out information (license #, version #, etc.) which could more easily be supplied by sending a ticket straight from the console with all of that information automatically specified."

"We use several gateways because access to our secret zone requires two-factor user authentication. It is a lot of hassle differentiating among users with or without two-factor. Of course, we could use two farms, but that would mean more management too."

More Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Clients do not pay licensing fees."

"The pricing of this product is competitive."

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

"We currently use Parallels side-by-side with an Azure cloud-hosted solution. This may be from a lack of product knowledge on my part, but we still need to work out the most effective way to shut down servers outside of hours, thereby reduce hosting costs. I am not entirely convinced Parallels does this well yet."

"I recommend testing Parallels and comparing it to your needs. Compare the prices against what you are able to do with the product and its alternatives. Parallels is not a cheap product."

"Just compare it to Citrix and you will see the value in it."

"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."

"Pricing is a little steep."

"I think the new pricing is a little bit high. If the price was lower, we could use it for many more customers. If there was one improvement to be made to this product, it would be a small-business version, at a much lower price point."

"Parallels is a cost effective alternative to Citrix."

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

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

19%

Government

Computer Software Company

Healthcare Company

Computer Software Company

16%

Government

12%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft App-V?

It is way more expensive than other platforms. It is almost twice the price of other platforms. I rate the product’s pricing an eight or nine out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive.

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What needs improvement with Microsoft App-V?

The process was streamlined but didn't make our work simple. We encountered an issue with the person responsible for designing the website. They installed a plugin that disrupted the services and m...

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What is your primary use case for Microsoft App-V?

We use the solution for the Docker container.

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What do you like most about Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS)?

The solution is powerful, and it has good speed and performance.

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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...

See all answers

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.

See all answers

Comparisons

Numecent vs Microsoft App-V

Compared 61% of the time

Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) vs Microsoft App-V

Compared 25% of the time

Systancia Workplace vs Microsoft App-V

Compared 7% of the time

More Microsoft App-V Competitors

Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) vs Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS)

Compared 40% of the time

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS)

Compared 24% of the time

Horizon 8 vs Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS)

Compared 10% of the time

Parallels Desktop vs Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS)

Compared 9% of the time

More Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Application Virtualization

February 2025

Download Microsoft App-V product report

Buyer's Guide

Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS)

February 2025

Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) report

Download Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) product report

Also Known As

App-V, MS App-V

Parallels RAS

Overview

Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) enables you to make applications available to end users without installing the applications directly on end user computers. App-V transforms applications into centrally managed services that are never installed and don't conflict with other applications.

Microsoft

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

The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), GDDKiA, P&V, Etisalat Lanka, Hellenic Petroleum

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

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft App-V vs. Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS)

January 2025

Free Report: Microsoft App-V vs. Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS)

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft App-V vs. Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.

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