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

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 4, 2025

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
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Parallels Remote Applicatio...
Ranking in Application Virtualization
4th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (10th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Application Virtualization category, the mindshare of Microsoft App-V is 22.6%, down from 24.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) is 17.4%, up from 14.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Virtualization
 

Featured Reviews

SN
Legacy software is maintained effectively, offering cost savings and integration flexibility
I believe there is no room for improvement in Microsoft App-V since it is officially at the end of life. Microsoft does not negotiate extensions for their end-of-life solutions. It has been a great tool over the years, but the company has managed to write most applications to bring them up to date, many written from scratch or as web-based applications. It's highly likely that we will decommission the Microsoft App-V solutions next year, keeping backups for a period until the new applications stabilize. I'm confident that once they transition to newer versions, they will phase out Microsoft App-V just like they do with operating systems. When Microsoft decides to close a version, such as Windows 10-22H2 or 21-H2, it happens. Paying for extended support is costly and, in the end, not worth it. Organizations must think of alternatives, possibly leaning towards MSIX, although MSIX doesn't support very old software used on Windows XP or 2000, which raises doubts about what can truly be improved. It's clear they won't introduce anything new; they will only provide security patches as they approach the end-of-life timeline.
JohanSkibdahl - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"I appreciate the process of being able to change or review my answers."
"From my experience with Microsoft App-V, the feature I liked the most is the streaming."
"The most interesting and powerful feature for us is the fact that we can upgrade any kind of app instantly."
"Microsoft App-V is a simple, very good working product that just works."
"I would recommend Microsoft App-V for its simplicity and efficiency."
"We can deploy applications incredibly fast."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft App-V that I found is the possibility to bring old software back to life and publish it for users to do their jobs using those applications."
"The solution is powerful, and it has good speed and performance."
"It provides flexible access to Windows applications from many types of devices."
"You have the opportunity to virtualize applications in different locations. Everything is in one pane or one window, which is quite good."
"It is robust. We have some 75 users using it and it doesn't lag. It's very speedy."
"The most valuable feature is the ease with which you can publish applications to different groups of users, by integrating with Windows Active Directory."
"It permits us to control the applications that our users are able to get to, in a seamless manner. We're able to distribute applications to users' desktops, just like those applications are on each user's computer, but they're not."
"Client compatibility with many systems makes it very versatile. The reporting that is included is awesome."
"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."
 

Cons

"Regarding improvements in Microsoft App-V, I would appreciate seeing the successor, MSIX, work better, as nothing is going to be implemented anymore since it is end of life by the end of the year."
"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."
"The process was streamlined but didn't make our work simple. We encountered an issue with the person responsible for designing the website."
"Microsoft App-V has been slow, and users experience delays when launching applications, which presents significant challenges."
"Microsoft App-V is more suited for legacy software usage, and trying to make it work in that context usually feels tricky and unreliable."
"The downside is that Microsoft bought this product and they are going to discontinue it in 2026. This is worrisome for us."
"There is definitely room for improvement with Microsoft App-V, especially in terms of enhancing troubleshooting resources and user guidance."
"It needs Windows scaling on Android/iOS devices. At present, the concept of delivering apps to Android and iOS devices is appealing, but the reality is the screen size on these devices is so small that, unless there is some scaling option, it is not really usable."
"From a seller's point of view, there are a lot of things that they could do better in the sales cycle."
"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."
"The product does not utilize SQL for reporting purposes. Also, it does not support some hypervisors similar to Citrix. These particular areas need improvement."
"If the solution crashes, then all the customers connected through that agent, lose their session."
"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."
"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."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing of this product is competitive."
"Clients do not pay licensing fees."
"Pricing is a little steep."
"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."
"It is very affordable."
"Just compare it to Citrix and you will see the value in it."
"It is inexpensive compared to one of its competitors."
"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."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Government
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft App-V?
Regarding pricing, I believe flexibility would help retain customers. Costs could be more adaptable to meet varying budgets.
What needs improvement with Microsoft App-V?
There is definitely room for improvement with Microsoft App-V, especially in terms of enhancing troubleshooting resources and user guidance.
What is your primary use case for Microsoft App-V?
I have been using Microsoft App-V for quite some time, and I can describe my use cases, which include various applications that enhance productivity.
What do you like most about Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS)?
The solution is powerful, and it has good speed and performance.
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.
 

Also Known As

App-V, MS App-V
Parallels RAS
 

Overview

 

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
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft App-V vs. Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,168 professionals have used our research since 2012.