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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)
7th
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)
8th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
102
Ranking in other categories
Remote Access (13th), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (4th), Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (16th), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of Parallels Desktop is 3.8%, down from 12.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Workspace ONE UEM is 3.0%, up from 2.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Parallels Desktop3.8%
Workspace ONE UEM3.0%
Other93.2%
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Vishal Bhatia - PeerSpot reviewer
Trainer/Consultant at Koenig Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
Effective product tracking and monitoring enhances daily operations despite needing documentation improvement
The documentation part of Workspace ONE UEM can be confusing. The documentation is not comprehensive compared to other VMware solutions or Microsoft documentation. Most people struggle to connect the dots when looking at the documentation. Even the training material and PowerPoint slide decks that trainers use are sometimes too confusing or overwhelming, with too much content but not enough clarity. The support side has recently become weaker compared to what it used to be with VMware. This is another area that needs improvement. Since working with Workspace ONE UEM from when it was AirWatch, it has improved significantly over the last five years. However, there are still some gray areas and scope for improvement, especially in documentation and workflow between different aspects of the solution.

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."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"If an end-user has an issue with a device, the administration has the ability to remote access the device after approval from the end-user."
"The solution can scale."
"We can do single sign-on and make use of the same user account to log into multiple applications."
"It seems highly stable and scalable."
"VMware Workspace ONE has been stable so far."
"It's perfect for our customers and our company."
"The most valuable feature is policy-driven control of the devices."
 

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."
"Many of the features that exist in Active Directory do not exist in Identity Manager, which means that people depend on Active Directory."
"A room for improvement for this product is its integration with Microsoft. It could be better, though most of it is there."
"I'd like to see expanded device support, particularly for IoT things like SCADA devices."
"The mobile device repository is somewhat difficult to manage with a large user base."
"There is a need for better user lifecycle management within VMware Identity Manager, along with better user governance...The scalability of the product needs to improve."
"Windows 10 management is there, but VMware only recently developed that part, and it's not fully mature. Patch management and other integrations are there as well as the application-pushing part, command line, mandatory commands, etc. Some out-of-the-box solutions should be available to better integrate a broader range of applications and handle application push. That's the roadmap we should look at."
"Integration with Microsoft needs improvement. There are some dependencies with Microsoft that aren't 100% yet, for example: compliance synchronization."
"The main negative issue is the cost of licensing."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"We pay approximately $6.50 per user for the standard version. If you are paying for an enterprise license that includes VDI then it will cost approximately $25 per user on a monthly basis."
"All licenses from VMware are only yearly. They start with a yearly license and look for a three-year commitment and yearly PO."
"For big users, it's around $500."
"VMware Workspace ONE has a yearly license. You have to buy the license for one year at a time."
"We've purchased various licenses for VMware Workspace ONE, including premium and gold tiers. These licenses include security measures and support for managing telecom expenses like data and voice usage."
"The solution is more expensive than Intune."
"There is a separate cost for technical support and extra premium features. The pricing should be simplified."
"My guess is that its licensing was yearly. There was probably no fee in addition to the standard licensing fee."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
15%
Computer Software Company
10%
University
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Construction Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business40
Midsize Enterprise22
Large Enterprise60
 

Questions from the Community

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware Horizon Air?
I don't deal with the pricing side, so I don't have any insight about it. That's what the organization would have already handled in their environment or maybe they are comparing it with products s...
 

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: June 2026.
908,834 professionals have used our research since 2012.