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Horizon 8 vs Parallels Desktop comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 5, 2024

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 8
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
117
Ranking in other categories
User Virtualization (1st)
Parallels Desktop
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
8th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of Horizon 8 is 6.8%, down from 7.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Parallels Desktop is 4.5%, down from 14.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Horizon 86.8%
Parallels Desktop4.5%
Other88.7%
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
 

Featured Reviews

SF
Architect at Softcat plc
Architects have improved desktop environments and now optimize operations for diverse clients
From my perspective, there is significant room for improvement in Horizon 8. Many customers are actively seeking alternatives to VMware due to recent licensing changes after Broadcom's acquisition, necessitating upgrades or bundles that they often do not require. Given that Omniser builds on VMware technologies, this creates a negative perception, pushing customers to consider different brands or solutions.
MH
Payments Architect at Self Employed
A great platform to develop interoperable code on
The decision to transition away from Intel chips to their silicon. They are processing, and there are many examples. Instead of not having a product to use for a while, they have just released it now. However, if you're seeking a product that is industry-ready regularly or has plans to make it so, considering the upcoming changes, I recommend trying out Parallels Desktop in beta. When you're only dealing with Windows, we do much in the Windows version, but it is not improving the Windows operating system. If you're hosting a Windows platform or another version of the machine, the code will have limitations. Windows is not a walled garden, with no significant volatility or instability. Windows is quite versatile. I never encountered intrusive ads or unused features, which is quite good. Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like that it updates quickly and allows users to have virtual desktops."
"The benefits of this solution are that it is modern and it works perfectly well with the rest of the VMware environments we have. Having this vertical integration is what matters to us as an organization and this solution excels in this area. You deploy it and it works without much hassle."
"VMware offers a friendly environment, and it's easy to provide the user with the package. It is a bundled solution that is readily deployable. The advantage lies in its simplicity, it requires minimal expertise."
"The solution is stable and highly reliable, we haven't had any issues with bugs, users are able to plug in properly, and the VMs are working fine."
"Otherwise, I would say it is quite a handy solution most of the time."
"We can stop the end user from taking data out of the desktops."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the clone variant. We have been using the linked clone for the past five years, but I am willing to support and take on the function of the instant cloud."
"It stands as a robust setup with considerable capabilities."
"Parallels Desktop integrates seamlessly with macOS. It works better than VMware on Apple operating systems."
"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."
 

Cons

"There are some issues with RAM in the system."
"There is room for a more cost-effective pricing structure, as it could be more affordable."
"The standard license does not include certain features."
"There is room for improvement in security features."
"The solution is quite expensive. They should work to lower the costs if possible."
"VMware Horizon View needs to improve orchestration and integrate additional images. I would also like to see its statistics."
"The system integration also needs some improvement."
"It would be beneficial if VMware invested in developing a robust reporting engine, providing insights into user activities, locations, and more."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"VMware Horizon View's licensing cost is not expensive."
"Pricing for Horizon is relatively high, earning a rating of one out of ten."
"The license could be cheaper."
"The solution can be costly for customers who do not run mission-critical applications or who have less than 50 users."
"This solution is expensive. A lot of companies in Mexico find that the price is too high."
"The VMware Horizon 7 license is for three months. We are in the testing stage, we are still evaluating the product. We are sure now that we need to buy a license for the production environment."
"There are different editions available at different cost points."
"VMware Horizon is expensive and I would rate it an eight out of ten."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Construction Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
15%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
University
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business62
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise45
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

How does VMware Workspace One compare with VMware Horizon 7?
VMware Workspace One has a powerful set of helpful features. The solution offers very good documentation, the initial setup is easy, and the product is very stable and reliable. I think the fact th...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware Horizon 7?
We paid a lot of money for software that is not really fully operational out of the box. We had to have patches from VMware to get it into production. Hence, we lost a lot of time implementing the ...
What needs improvement with VMware Horizon 7?
The solution should provide easy configuration.
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

VMware Horizon, VMware Horizon View, Mware Dynamic Environment Manager
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

LCMC Health
Lytro, University of Washington, Slalom, Veeva Systems, Oklahoma Christian University
Find out what your peers are saying about Horizon 8 vs. Parallels Desktop and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,644 professionals have used our research since 2012.