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.

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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

"Its advanced management features are the most valuable, especially power management. One of the really important things was to be able to have power management in a consumption world. This means that unlike a Microsoft environment, you could actually turn off virtual desktops or have them start up and shut down. If you're consuming resources in the public cloud, you want to be able to do that because when you're not using those, such as at the weekend, you want to be able to turn them off. So, the advanced options for managing the BDIs are very important."

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

"The product’s on-premise version has the ability to create an image of any updates or changes in the system."

"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."

"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."

"Horizon Cloud Service provides deployment flexibility across multiple clouds with a scalable architecture that easily scales virtual desktops and applications up or down based on demand."

"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 tool remains pretty stable."

More Horizon Cloud Service pros

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

"The connection is compressed so we don't need a lot of resources to run it."

"Setup was straightforward. Our particular use case involved an Active Directory forest involving two data centers and three domains. User authentication against Active Directory was the easiest to set up and validate of any application installed in the last three years."

"Valuable features include the ability to set up security groups for accessing certain apps, and the ability to add apps easily and centrally without touching the servers they’re hosted on."

"We can provision the servers without the need for another third-party solution."

"One valuable feature is the ability to securely use a wide range of devices to access the company's infrastructure."

"The management capability from the RAS portal provides greater control than using pure MS inbuilt into RDS capabilities."

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

More Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) pros

Cons

"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."

"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."

"The product has a lot of bugs."

"It can be very expensive to scale up because each part of scaling up requires you to have new components of the infrastructure."

"The licensing model is complex, particularly for hybrid deployments, and simplifying it could help."

"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."

"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."

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

More Horizon Cloud Service cons

"A potential improvement could be reducing the dependency on Microsoft solutions for Parallels RAS."

"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."

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

"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."

"We would like the ability to provide a popup message, such as a maintenance notification. That same notification on the Parallels client would be awesome."

"The main issue we have with all of our users is printing. Randomly, a printer will disconnect or someone won't connect to it and I will have to reset the print service and then nobody can print. That's the big headache we've had over the course of the five years."

"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 have had significant, ongoing issues with printing. It would be great to have a best practice for dealing with printing that we can offer to our customers."

More Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

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

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

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

"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."

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

"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."

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

"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."

"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."

"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."

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

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)