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Parallels Desktop vs Workspace ONE UEM 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

Parallels Desktop
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
6th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Workspace ONE UEM
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
7th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
101
Ranking in other categories
Remote Access (5th), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (2nd), Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (10th), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of Parallels Desktop is 12.3%, up from 9.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Workspace ONE UEM is 2.4%, down from 4.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
 

Featured Reviews

Grant-Donald - PeerSpot reviewer
It integrates seamlessly with macOS, but it's not compatible with VMware
Parallels Desktop does the same thing as VMware but for Apple users Parallels Desktop integrates seamlessly with macOS. It works better than VMware on Apple operating systems.  The biggest challenge is compatibility between VMware and Parallels because the two systems are incompatible. It can be…
Ajit Pratap Kundan - PeerSpot reviewer
A tool that needs to improve scalability but is useful to manage user
There is a need for better user lifecycle management within VMware Identity Manager, along with better user governance, including the separation of duties of the users. In my company, we are not able to create a policy for the separation of duties of the users, so it is an area where improvement is required. The official authentication and fingerprint authentication should be part of VMware Identity Manager, and I feel these areas are currently missing. The scalability of the product needs to improve. The product should be tightly integrated with the third-party products because it's not like a customer is going to purchase all the VMware products, as they might have different solutions for different purposes.

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."
"The single sign-on feature, which integrates with the Identity Manager is one of the most vital features."
"The platform provides a stable environment for operations and quickly creates new environments. Additionally, it offers efficient flexibility."
"We've found the solution to be easy to use."
"The Identity component of this solution is its most valuable feature."
"The feature that we find most valuable is the corporate email pushing."
"Good device management and good integration with third parties."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the multi-platform support."
"The most valuable features are the ones that control the leaking."
 

Cons

"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."
"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."
"vIDM could be improved with the multi-tenant capabilities that VMware tends to offer—features like customization branding and the integration of the app catalog based on the branding. Since the integration has been at top-level OGs, you were not able to then do rebranding if you were required to use specific user groups to highlight specific applications. At the time, I was personally opening feature requests for these things. I haven't worked with the latest release, so I don't know if these features were already deployed or not."
"We'd like more useful support."
"In terms of the inventory management side, as in the invoice management, the stock management and the entire inventory of an organization is lagging a bit in comparison to Blackberry or other EMM solutions."
"We'd like the customization to be better."
"When we had some issues, the support did not respond quickly, and they did not provide a solution."
"I would like to see improvements made to both the support, and the pricing."
"We'd like to see a better connection to Microsoft Azure and a better connection with Check Point."
"The database gets corrupted when used in the cluster. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"We are paying about $145,000 a year on a three-year subscription with no ability to scale up or scale down within that class model."
"The pricing currently is higher than the competition."
"VMware Workspace ONE licensing price is good with their supportability. The price of VMware Workspace ONE is reasonable. We are using an enterprise license."
"For big users, it's around $500."
"The tool is expensive."
"For the moment, we have a multi-year contract, meaning that we cannot go with a different solution at this time even if the price should prove more favorable."
"It's an expensive tool."
"Currently, the product is priced at around 50 USD."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
13%
University
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Parallels Desktop?
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.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Parallels Desktop?
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.
What needs improvement with Parallels Desktop?
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.
How does Microsoft Intune compare with VMware Workspace One?
Microsoft Intune is a great tool for managing a mobile device fleet while keeping access control. The solution makes it easy to control security and manage the usage of mobile apps when you have a ...
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 do you like most about VMware Workspace ONE?
The platform provides a stable environment for operations and quickly creates new environments. Additionally, it offers efficient flexibility.
 

Also Known As

No data available
VMware Workspace ONE, VMware AirWatch, Workspace ONE Assist, VMware Identity Manager, Workspace ONE Access, VMware Horizon Air
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Lytro, University of Washington, Slalom, Veeva Systems, Oklahoma Christian University
Australian Sports Commission, Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, Lomond School, Merck, United Bank, Medical College of Wisconsin, Latymer Upper School, 2gether NHS Foundation Trust, Dowling Aaron Inc., Trillium Lakelands District School Board, Harrogate Grammar School, Duke University Football, Delta Air Lines, Adventist Health System, Giochi Preziosi, Cramlington Learning Village, Intermountain Healthcare, Safexpress, TAG Aviation
Find out what your peers are saying about Parallels Desktop vs. Workspace ONE UEM and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.