Parallels Access vs ScreenConnect comparison

Parallels and ConnectWise are both solutions in the Remote Access category. Parallels is ranked #23, while ConnectWise is ranked #16. Parallels holds a 1.7% mindshare in VUS, compared to ConnectWise’s 3.0% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Parallels users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 93% of ConnectWise users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 29, 2026

Parallels Access and ScreenConnect are in the remote access solution category. ScreenConnect seems to have an upper hand due to its robust features and scalability, making it more appealing for complex business needs.

Features: Parallels Access provides excellent mobile accessibility and application control across various devices, making it ideal for users focused on mobility. ScreenConnect offers extensive customization and integration capabilities, including unattended access, remote management of machines, and the ability to tune video connections, which are beneficial for comprehensive remote support.

Room for Improvement: Parallels Access could enhance scalability for larger businesses and further improve advanced security measures. Some users may also seek more extensive customization options and deeper integration capabilities. ScreenConnect might benefit from simplifying the initial learning curve and offering more competitive pricing. Improved user interface upgrades and streamlined complex deployments could also enhance user experience.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Parallels Access offers straightforward setup, perfect for efficient, quick deployments, especially for smaller teams. ScreenConnect, with its more complex deployment model, compensates with enriched customer service designed for IT professionals needing more intricate support solutions.

Pricing and ROI: Parallels Access provides a cost-effective solution with a competitive initial setup cost, appealing to budget-conscious buyers. ScreenConnect has higher pricing but justifies this with advanced capabilities that can lead to higher ROI for enterprises seeking comprehensive functionalities. Parallels Access is attractive for those watching initial costs closely, while ScreenConnect provides strong long-term investment value.

To learn more, read our detailed Parallels Access vs. ScreenConnect Report (Updated: June 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Parallels Access vs. ScreenConnect

June 2026

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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

Microsoft Intune

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Remote Access category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 5.4%, down from 10.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Parallels Access is 1.7%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ScreenConnect is 3.0%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Remote Access Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Microsoft Intune	5.4%
ScreenConnect	3.0%
Parallels Access	1.7%
Other	89.9%

Remote Access

Featured Reviews

OluwashileAdeniyi

Senior Infrastructure Security Engineer at a outsourcing company with 51-200 employees

Centralized endpoint security has improved and supports hybrid work and BYOD policies

Regarding what I dislike about Microsoft Intune and its downsides, I would say that more Mac controls are needed because we have limited Mac and Linux control. When comparing controls and policies between Windows, Mac, and Linux, Windows has almost everything you can think of, while Mac and Linux have limited types of control. You cannot implement certain things on Mac and Linux that you can on Windows. The limited controls are a major issue. Additionally, if Microsoft could find a way to embed servers into Microsoft Intune, that would be beneficial. Microsoft Intune is not really designed for servers or Windows servers. It is more tailored towards Windows 11 and Windows 10 operating systems. Windows servers are not fully supported. Enterprise organizations usually have both servers and endpoints, which are users' workstations. For servers, most people look for other solutions such as SCCM, which is Configuration Manager. However, SCCM is what Microsoft Intune is trying to replace. Both SCCM and Microsoft Intune belong to Microsoft. Microsoft is trying to transition organizations into Microsoft Intune, the native cloud solution. However, because this update is still in process, servers are not fully compatible with Microsoft Intune and cannot be managed by it. The current policy that has emerged from issues with clients is what they call co-management, which is relatively new, and I do not know if adoption is significant. Many legacy or older customers who have been using these products for decades still have SCCM. When it is time for them to manage their Windows devices, they use what is called cloud attach. Cloud attach is a term whereby your SCCM is connected to your Microsoft Intune. Most people do not know about it, but I have deployed it for several organizations. Cloud attach and co-management work together so that your device is in SCCM, but some policies are pushed from Microsoft Intune. It is like two different solutions working hand in hand. That is what they call co-management. Microsoft Intune does not bring all of your endpoint and security management tools into one place, which is the goal and how it should be. However, as I mentioned, servers are not included. If we talk about end users, Microsoft Intune does bring all your devices together. In a typical enterprise environment, you have end users with workstations, laptops, company-issued phones, and bring your own devices. You can create policies for all of these. However, for the backend, your servers do not have much coverage. Servers are not really covered by Microsoft Intune in that way.

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Jason Parkinson

CEO at a non-profit with 1-10 employees

Allows users to access and operate their computers remotely

When you want to transfer a file from your iPad or remote device to the computer, the copy-and-paste feature doesn't always work. I'd have to turn on the Bluetooth a lot of times and transfer it that way on both devices, which was troublesome. However, it would sometimes randomly work. I could go on my iPad, find whatever I wanted to do, click copy, then go over to the computer through Parallels Access, click paste, and it would randomly work. I had to call Parallels many times. They would log in and try something, which would temporarily work, but then it wouldn't. When it worked, it made integration between the two things great. That was a very helpful feature that didn't get polished.

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Todd Blake

Senior IT Specialist at a healthcare company with 11-50 employees

Simple to set up, reasonable pricing, and useful remote control capabilities

I'm on the latest version of the solution. I just updated it yesterday. While we have the solution on-premises at this time, we'll likely move to the cloud later this year. They have a trial version that you can try. They have a free version that you can try as well. I use it myself to support my family. I would try the free version or the trial version depending on your business. They can set you up and you can get to see all the features. I would also advocate going to the cloud version. Don't bother with the on-prem. It's just easier to jump to the cloud. I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.

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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

"There are no complaints about the stability. It works one hundred percent of the time."

"It is quite policy-enabled, so you can build pretty much any policy to manage remote endpoints."

"Its protection policies are most valuable. It protects mobile devices as well as individual apps. It is pretty scalable, and its documentation is also pretty good. It is also pretty straightforward to deploy."

"The automatic patching is the most valuable feature of Intune."

"It significantly reduces the overhead associated with providing support."

"Intune device restriction policies enable me to enforce limitations on the device, like blocking the mobile camera or restricting the employees from using and inserting USB devices, including thumb drives and flash drives."

"Once it is well integrated with the rest of the environment, it makes everything easy."

"The biggest thing for us is enforcing logins only from devices that are managed by Intune."

More Microsoft Intune pros

"It's great that the total deployment can happen completely remotely."

"Parallels Access has flexible licensing policies, which is beneficial for customers who have intermittent usage or users who are on and off the system."

"We don't have problems with stability. Everything is good."

"Parallels Access gives me full access and control of the computer, and I can do anything I want remotely."

"It's got a very easy-to-use interface."

"The application used to publish for mobile devices is very good and the desktop publishing is very, very good."

"What seems to be the most valuable from the customer side is the ease of operation, and the overall experience they have."

"I am able to support our remote users; this has been a great help."

"We are more efficient at resolving end-user tickets as a result of implementing this product, with our ticket count lower and our ticket throughput increased because now we just click a button to connect and we're off and running."

"We took a crack at ScreenConnect and we really liked what we saw and how it worked properly."

"Their licensing model is good, their pricing model is good, their service is good, bandwidth is excellent."

"It's very low maintenance."

"My business is connected to supporting computers; of course, it helps me a lot."

"It's much easier to use ProtectWise Control than to use, for instance, TightVNC or VNC Viewer."

"Better than TeamViewer and useful for fixing problems remotely."

More ScreenConnect pros

Cons

"There is room for improvement in integrating additional features such as Purview and SharePoint activities into Intune."

"It would be better if Microsoft can reduce the cost of the license, as we know the Intune device subscription is licensed per device at a cost of $2 a month, but for the best enhanced security and features we must add an add-on license or buy or upgrade to a bundling license such as M365E5."

"If we can not seem to get even half a dozen users working with the product in a way we consider stable, the scalability is in question."

"I rate Microsoft support between six to eight. The support often involves third parties hired by Microsoft who are knowledgeable, but sometimes the help I receive is not adequate."

"The initial setup is a little bit complex."

"For autopilot, there should be more granularity on the settings that they offer at this stage."

"I find the solution quite old school with not many features."

"I also hope the cost of Remote Help will decrease because it's a much-needed Intune function."

More Microsoft Intune cons

"They could improve the reporting."

"The solution may not scale well for enterprises."

"When you want to transfer a file from your iPad or remote device to the computer, the copy-and-paste feature doesn't always work."

"One challenge we do notice is that the application is limited to Windows servers only. If a customer has a Linux server, things get complicated. They should open it up a bit to be more compatible with different types of servers."

"There is room for improvement in the pricing policy. The price point is pretty aggressive."

"The scalability is great for small or medium-sized businesses. However, it may not scale well for enterprise-level entities."

"We have had issues. We have had circumstances, for reasons we don't know, where the service will stop running, and when the service stops running that computer no longer becomes reachable. We haven't really seen that so much on desktops, but we have seen that happen quite frequently on server operating systems, Server 2008, Server 2012. You can install the product and then a week down the road it will just stop."

"On a Linux machine, there are different limitations that are not there on a Windows Server. Much more limitations exist on Linux deployments."

"If it had Chrome capability, that would be great; being able to use it on a Chrome device. Right now, I can't use it on my Chrome device."

"I was not thrilled with their support. I do not have a lot of time to deal with the attention which is needed to fix issues."

"They could provide a toolbox for the plan I'm on."

"However, the main issue I have seen with it is that, if they are having issues with their web browsers or network, there is really no way to connect with it."

"There needs to be a way to run the agent without installing, like GoToAssist."

"Eventually, we're going to be moving to them and shutting off ConnectWise."

More ScreenConnect cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Our enterprise agreement includes Microsoft Intune at no additional cost."

"We don't pay for Intune because it is bundled with the premium subscription to Office 365. It includes Intune and Defender. I don't have to buy two extra products to manage my enterprise."

"The price of Intune is included with the license for Office 365, so we don't have to pay anything extra for it."

"There are licenses required for this solution. We enable licenses on the devices we need to manage."

"Consider the Microsoft Enterprise Mobility Suite rather than choosing specific sub-components, e.g. only Microsoft Intune."

"There is a cost benefit of using Microsoft Intune because of the packaging with other Microsoft products."

"We work in the charity sector, so a lot of our clients get Microsoft Premium licenses or Business Premium for free. They get ten licenses free, and a lot of our clients do not have more than ten staff members. They are getting the tool for free, so its cost is not an issue."

"If you're ever going to buy an Office 365 environment, then pricing is reasonable given all that it does, but if you're not, then you might find the pricing expensive."

More Microsoft Intune pricing and cost advice

"The licensing costs are about $100 per user."

"Make sure you have enough licensing for all the techs that you have."

"We pay $85 per month for each user for a ConnectWise package with multiple solutions."

"I think the product's pricing is a good value. I paid $600 a year and that was fine for me. It was about $50 a month. Licensing is all very straightforward."

"The cloud version is relatively inexpensive, but the on-premise version is expensive if you do not need three technicians, only one or two for concurrent sessions."

"We pay an annual licensing fee."

"I download the product for free with ConnectWise RMM's license."

"We pay $3,000 USD for the service, yearly upfront."

"For the price we pay, we definitely feel it's worth it, but there are some contenders in the market that are coming out now, whose products are as good; they are offering more features and the price is actually less than ConnectWise. All things considered, the biggest thing is the lack of patching in ConnectWise. If they could integrate that into the product, that would be a game changer, if offered at the same price point."

More ScreenConnect pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Outsourcing Company

Construction Company

11%

University

11%

Transportation Company

Comms Service Provider

Construction Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Outsourcing Company

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	192
Midsize Enterprise	62
Large Enterprise	186

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	16
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	7

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Comparisons

IBM MaaS360 vs Microsoft Intune

Compared 11% of the time

Jamf Pro vs Microsoft Intune

Compared 10% of the time

Workspace ONE UEM vs Microsoft Intune

Compared 6% of the time

Microsoft Entra ID vs Microsoft Intune

Compared 3% of the time

ManageEngine Endpoint Central vs Microsoft Intune

Compared 3% of the time

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N-able Take Control vs Parallels Access

Compared 17% of the time

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs Parallels Access

Compared 16% of the time

TeamViewer vs Parallels Access

Compared 14% of the time

Splashtop Remote Support vs Parallels Access

Compared 11% of the time

MSP360 Connect vs Parallels Access

Compared 8% of the time

More Parallels Access Competitors

TeamViewer vs ScreenConnect

Compared 9% of the time

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs ScreenConnect

Compared 6% of the time

N-able Take Control vs ScreenConnect

Compared 6% of the time

LogMeIn Rescue vs ScreenConnect

Compared 6% of the time

Airmeet vs ScreenConnect

Compared 3% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Intune

July 2026

Download Microsoft Intune product report

Buyer's Guide

Remote Access

July 2026

Download Parallels Access product report

Buyer's Guide

ScreenConnect

July 2026

Download ScreenConnect product report

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager

No data available

ConnectWise Control

Overview

Microsoft Intune is a cloud-based service designed for device management, security, and compliance. It supports automation and facilitates endpoint management for Windows, iOS, and Android devices, ensuring data protection and efficient policy enforcement.

Microsoft Intune offers seamless integration with tools like Windows Autopilot to automate device setup and deployment. Integrated with Azure Active Directory, it enhances policy management while providing robust reporting and analytics tools for compliance tracking. Despite its intuitive interface aimed at simplifying navigation and device security management, there are challenges such as compatibility issues with Linux and Mac, limited policy support for Android, and demands for better third-party integration. It's widely used for both corporate-owned devices and BYOD scenarios in dynamic IT environments.

What are the key features of Microsoft Intune?

Windows Autopilot: Automates device setup for rapid deployment.
Azure Active Directory Integration: Enhances user policy management.
Reporting and Analytics: Improves compliance visibility.
Mobile Application Management: Ensures app security without compromising personal data.
Cloud-Based Management: Allows management from any location.

What benefits and ROI can users expect?

Time Efficiency: Automation reduces time in policy enforcement and configuration updates.
Enhanced Security: Ensures data protection across corporate-owned and BYOD devices.
Improved Compliance: Advanced reporting tools enhance compliance visibility.
Flexible Management: Cloud-based nature supports management from any location.

In industries such as finance and healthcare, Microsoft Intune is implemented to ensure data protection and compliance with regulatory standards. Manufacturing sectors utilize Intune for managing a distributed workforce across global locations, while educational institutions employ it to secure and manage devices in learning environments supporting both students and faculty.

Microsoft

Parallels Access is a fast and reliable remote access software, enabling users to connect to computers from anywhere. It streamlines operations by allowing access to applications, files, and multiple computers seamlessly.

Parallels Access provides a stable, user-friendly platform with superior desktop and mobile capabilities. Designed for both small and large businesses, it emphasizes ease of use and secure remote access, enhancing user independence, particularly for those with physical limitations. However, it faces challenges including scalability issues for enterprises and aggressive pricing. Reporting and compatibility particularly with Linux and Unix servers need enhancement, alongside integration issues like the copy-and-paste function between iPads and computers.

What are the key features of Parallels Access?

Remote Deployment: Facilitates easy setup for businesses.
Scalability: Supports small to large business needs.
User Independence: Assists users with physical limitations through enhanced control.
Mobile Publishing: Offers superior capabilities for mobile users.
Secure Platform: Ensures high-level security for remote operations.

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Operational Efficiency: Offers flexibility by controlling computers via iPads.
Centralized Management: Saves hardware resources.
Application Publishing: Allows independent application deployment.
Use Case Flexibility: Supports CAD and ERP applications.

Entities integrate Parallels Access into their services for remote application access, focusing on efficiency through centralized management. It supports industries such as engineering and education with Virtual Desktop Infrastructure solutions, enabling flexibility and enhancing operational efficiency. Companies work alongside system integrators and channel partners to tailor offerings to customer needs.

Parallels

ScreenConnect enables seamless remote access to desktops and mobile devices with robust security features, minimizing customer downtime and safeguarding interactions.

ScreenConnect stands out with its customization options, allowing users to white-label their software and showcase brand identity in every support interaction. With AES-256 encryption and two-factor authentication, security is integral. The Support Premium edition includes ScreenConnect View, allowing real-time troubleshooting via mobile camera streams. Configurability and granular permissions ensure tailored access for team members, while unattended access and session persistence enhance usability and productivity. Integration capabilities and tool-sharing optimize efficiency, making it ideal for IT service providers.

What features make ScreenConnect unique?

Robust Remote Access: Facilitates seamless connectivity across devices.
Unattended Access: Allows remote management without user presence.
Customization: Offers white-labeling to match brand identity.
Session Persistence: Maintains connections across reboots.
File Transfers: Enables easy exchange of files during sessions.
Integration Capabilities: Enhances software functionality through third-party connections.
Session Groups and Triggers: Organizes sessions efficiently.

What benefits should users look for?

Stable Connectivity: Ensures consistent remote access.
Security: Features robust encryption and authentication measures.
Efficiency: Optimizes IT support processes and resource management.
Customization: Tailors the software to individual brand needs.
Ease of Use: User-friendly interface for straightforward operation.
Scalability: Adapts to the growing demands of organization.

Organizations use ScreenConnect for remote support, providing IT teams with a tool to assist clients efficiently from anywhere. Managed service providers leverage features like unattended access to troubleshoot and manage IT issues across multiple devices. ScreenConnect's adaptability makes it suitable for companies with remote employees, ensuring seamless support and connectivity.

ConnectWise

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway

Gilt Groupe K.K.

Jon Rosen Systems

Buyer's Guide

Parallels Access vs. ScreenConnect

June 2026

Free Report: Parallels Access vs. ScreenConnect

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