Parallels Desktop vs VMware Workstation comparison

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Parallels Logo
4,081 views|3,541 comparisons
100% willing to recommend
VMware Logo
8,287 views|5,704 comparisons
95% willing to recommend
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Parallels Desktop and VMware Workstation based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed Parallels Desktop vs. VMware Workstation Report (Updated: May 2024).
771,157 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"I like how, with Parallels, you can either boot into Mac or Windows to get better control over the resources of the laptops since you're sharing the resources in dual mode.""Parallels Desktop integrates seamlessly with macOS. It works better than VMware on Apple operating systems."

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"The most valuable feature of the VMware Workstation is the ease to create a development environment. When you have different ongoing developments, you often need to create a lot of different development environments. With this workstation solution, you can have a development environment for all the things you develop.""Instead of relying on dual-boot operating systems, I can utilize open-source tools within my infrastructure. This approach allows me to create an in-house cloud platform suitable for testing. VMware Workstation enables me to perform tasks across various operating systems using a single device. It has helped me save time.""The initial setup is simple and takes only five minutes to complete.""The simplicity of the deployment and the implementation, and the footprint for the hardware are some of the solution's valuable features.""We can undo some changes using the snapshot feature.""Because the setup is so easy, this is a solution that can be used at a moment's notice.""It is much more mature compared to Nutanix or SimpliVity when it's cross-platform based.""Technical support is very good."

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Cons
"There may have been some issues with device drivers on my Mac. Similarly, there are some issues with transferring data from Parallels to the Mac.""The biggest challenge is compatibility between VMware and Parallels because the two systems are incompatible. It can be challenging if you are switching between Windows and Mac. I recommend sticking with one product because there isn't good compatibility between the different products."

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"I would want to see features included that make deployment easier.""The interface is a little wonky and needs to be improved.""The product’s virtual machine data backup feature needs upgrading.""Lacks the ability to clone onto another system rather than starting from scratch.""I need to buy a newer version of the tool to support Windows Server.""VMware Workstation’s scalability could be improved.""The product's integration capabilities are an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required.""The price of VMware Workstation is an area of concern where improvements are needed."

More VMware Workstation Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
Information Not Available
  • "The pricing is a bit steep in my opinion for testing and there are other options."
  • "Licensing costs are paid on a yearly basis."
  • "The licensing costs are cheap. I pay approximately $100 per year."
  • "The cost differs depending on the customer's requirement."
  • "VMware Workstation has a high price than competitors in the market."
  • "With a VDI solution, there is always extra cost running a VDI solution but it's not for cost purposes anymore. In the beginning, it was to save money on hardware but at the moment it's other aspects that are more important why you should use a VDI solution."
  • "Licensing fees are paid on an annual basis."
  • "The price of the solution per workstation is approximately 200 Francs annually. We pay a total of 800 francs. Everything is included in the price such as the support."
  • More VMware Workstation Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:I like how, with Parallels, you can either boot into Mac or Windows to get better control over the resources of the laptops since you're sharing the resources in dual mode.
    Top Answer:If you want the standard version, it is more expensive but more advanced. You get what you pay for. These products cost money, and the company has to make a profit.
    Top Answer:There may have been some issues with device drivers on my Mac. Similarly, there are some issues with transferring data from Parallels to the Mac.
    Top Answer:VM Workstation’s setup is so easy, you can use it almost instantly, it works well with Windows and Linux. We like VM Workstation primarily to test environments to determine how well a solution will… more »
    Top Answer:The initial setup is simple and takes only five minutes to complete.
    Top Answer:The solution’s performance is low. Also, support should be enhanced after Huiwei's acquisition. They are migrating all their clients to the new company. It takes too much time to load all the plug-ins… more »
    Ranking
    Views
    4,081
    Comparisons
    3,541
    Reviews
    2
    Average Words per Review
    406
    Rating
    7.5
    Views
    8,287
    Comparisons
    5,704
    Reviews
    28
    Average Words per Review
    346
    Rating
    8.6
    Comparisons
    Learn More
    Parallels
    Video Not Available
    Overview
    Parallels Desktop Business Edition brings Windows and Windows applications to employees on Mac and enables integration of Mac computers into any work environment from education to financial services, technology, consulting, or medical. Optimized for Windows 10 and 7, macOS High Sierra, and Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. It can help employees to run business-critical applications without compromise: Microsoft Office, Visual Studio, Quicken and QuickBooks for Windows, Access, Project, Autodesk Revit and Inventor, CorelDRAW, ArcGIS, Visio, QuickBooks, Internet Explorer and Adobe Photoshop. Parallels Desktop restricts External Device Access that enforces policies on the use of USB devices, smart cards, and any other external devices plugged into a Mac, for use in Windows. It creates an Expiring Virtual Machines, time-bound and encrypted, that will automatically expire and lock at a defined time to ensure additional security when corporate data is shared externally. Also, Parallels Desktop Business Edition can be deployed through standard software deployment tools. Mass deployment is supported with Jamf Pro, Apple Remote Desktop, IBM Endpoint Manager, Parallels Mac Management for Microsoft SCCM, and other solutions.

    VMware Workstation is part of a suite of robust Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) tools or Desktop Hypervisors that allows users to run Kubernetes clusters, containers, and Virtual Machines (VMs). Users have the option to choose between VMware Workstation Pro or VMware Workstation Player to ensure that they get the most out of their VMware Workstation experience.

    Workstation Player is best used as a command line or single graphical operation. It works very well for running different operating systems using a secure cloistered sandbox on a general consumer PC. Workstation Player is an industry favorite for use in an educational environment to better expand the knowledge concerning computer systems and global information technology. Workstation Pro is created for astute IT developers and professionals. The solution provides an intuitive next-generation interface and gives users the ability to seamlessly run several virtual machines at the same time. Users can easily create clones, configure virtual networks, connect to vSphere, and more, using a crisp, visually enhanced dashboard that provides full transparency to show multiple VMs and more.

    VMware Workstation solutions rely on components in next-generation 64-bit x86 CPUs to develop robust, secure VMs that are able to utilize many different operating systems and all of their applications. VMware Workstation’s modern technology intuitively links the physical hardware devices to the virtual machine's virtual resources enabling each VM to have its own I/O devices, memory, disks, and CPU in addition to the equivalent of a standard x86 actual machine. It easily installs onto the host operating system and is able to offer comprehensive hardware support by utilizing the device support from the original host.

    VMware Workstation Benefits

    VMware Workstation has many desirable benefits. Some of those benefits include:


    • Improved overall IT processes.
    • Better, more efficient deployment outcomes.
    • Enhanced application performance.
    • Better server availability.
    • Less physical hardware and additional devices needed.
    • Cost-effective.
    • Decreased outages or downtime.
    • Faster provisioning of applications and resources.
    • Reduced power consumption.
    • Reduced Environmental Impact.



    Reviews from Real Users

    Walter G., Owner at Secacon Gygli Engineering LLC says, “The most valuable feature of the VMware Workstation is the ease of creating a development environment. When you have different ongoing developments, you often need to create a lot of different development environments. With this workstation solution, you can have a development environment for all the things you develop.” 

    Toni L., CEO at Virtual Consultants Sverige AB says, “The most valuable features of VMware Workstation are the DirectX support; you can run Microsoft Hyper-V in virtual environments, which is good for me to test different installations. Additionally, you can set up different VLANs, and overall it is a complete solution.” 


    “Having a user-friendly interfaceis important for me. I'm not a coder, even though I do a little bit of programming. Also, I don't use the command-line interface when I can avoid it. When I do have to use it, I look up what I'm supposed to type and then type it.” A PeerSpot user who is a Chief Technical Officer at a construction company.

    are Workstation is part of a suite of robust Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) tools or Desktop Hypervisors that allows users to run Kubernetes clusters, containers, and Virtual Machines (VMs). Users have the option to choose between VMware Workstation Pro or VMware Workstation Player to ensure they get the most out of their VMware Workstation experience.

    Workstation Player is best used as a command line or single graphical operation. It works very well for running different operating systems using a secure cloistered sandbox on a general consumer PC. Workstation Player is an industry favorite for use in an educational environment to better expand the knowledge concerning computer systems and global information technology. Workstation Pro is created for astute IT developers and professionals. The solution provides an intuitive next generation interface and gives users the ability to run seamlessly several virtual machines at the same time. Users can easily create clones, configure virtual networks, connect to vSphere, and more using a crisp, visually enhanced dashboard that provides full transparency to show multiple VMs and more.

    VMware Workstation solutions rely on components in next-generation 64-bit x86 CPUs to develop robust, secure VMs that are able to utilize many different operating systems and all of their applications. Vmware Workstation’s modern technology intuitively links the physical hardware devices to the virtual machine's virtual resources enabling each VM to have its own I/O devices, memory, disks, and CPU in addition to the equivalent to a standard x86 actual machine.VMware easily installs onto the host operating system and is able to offer comprehensive hardware support by utilizing the device support from the original host.

    VMware Workstation Benefits

    Vmware Workstation has many desirable benefits. Some of those benefits include:


    • Improved overall IT processes.
    • Better, more efficient deployment outcomes.
    • Enhanced application performance.
    • Better server availability.
    • Less physical hardware and additional devices needed.
    • Cost-effective.
    • Decreased outages or downtime.
    • Faster provisioning of applications and resources.
    • Reduced power consumption.
    • Reduced Environmental Impact.



    Reviews from Real Users

    “The most valuable feature of the VMware Workstation is the ease of creating a development environment. When you have different ongoing developments, you often need to create a lot of different development environments. With this workstation solution, you can have a development environment for all the things you develop.” Walter G., Owner at Secacon Gygli Engineering LLC

    “The most valuable features of VMware Workstation are the DirectX support; you can run Microsoft Hyper-V in virtual environments, which is good for me to test different installations. Additionally, you can set up different VLANs, and overall it is a complete solution.” Toni L., CEO at Virtual Consultants Sverige AB

    A Chief Technical Officer at a construction company says,“Having a user-friendly interfaceis important for me. I'm not a coder, even though I do a little bit of programming. Also, I don't use the command-line interface when I can avoid it. When I do have to use it, I look up what I'm supposed to type and then type it.” 

    Sample Customers
    Lytro, University of Washington, Slalom, Veeva Systems, Oklahoma Christian University
    Akademiska Hus
    Top Industries
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company14%
    Educational Organization10%
    Comms Service Provider9%
    University8%
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company23%
    Manufacturing Company19%
    University8%
    Construction Company8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company15%
    Comms Service Provider9%
    Government9%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    Company Size
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business31%
    Midsize Enterprise17%
    Large Enterprise51%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business47%
    Midsize Enterprise22%
    Large Enterprise31%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business27%
    Midsize Enterprise16%
    Large Enterprise56%
    Buyer's Guide
    Parallels Desktop vs. VMware Workstation
    May 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Parallels Desktop vs. VMware Workstation and other solutions. Updated: May 2024.
    771,157 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Parallels Desktop is ranked 9th in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) with 2 reviews while VMware Workstation is ranked 2nd in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) with 42 reviews. Parallels Desktop is rated 7.6, while VMware Workstation is rated 8.8. The top reviewer of Parallels Desktop writes "A great platform to develop interoperable code on". On the other hand, the top reviewer of VMware Workstation writes "An easy-to-manage solution that has really good customer support compared to other market players". Parallels Desktop is most compared with VMware Fusion, NComputing vSpace, NVIDIA GRID, VMware Horizon View and Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS), whereas VMware Workstation is most compared with Hyper-V, VMware vSphere, KVM, VMware Fusion and Oracle VM. See our Parallels Desktop vs. VMware Workstation report.

    See our list of best Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) vendors.

    We monitor all Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.