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Anbox Cloud vs Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Anbox Cloud
Ranking in Application Virtualization
5th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
4.9
Number of Reviews
4
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) (14th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Application Virtualization category, the mindshare of Anbox Cloud is 1.4%. The mindshare of Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) is 15.3%, down from 16.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Virtualization Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS)15.3%
Anbox Cloud1.4%
Other83.3%
Application Virtualization
 

Featured Reviews

IsaacHernandez - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Technical Lead QA at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
Cloud-based Android testing has transformed how our teams reproduce issues and run remote QA sessions
Anbox Cloud can be improved mainly in ease of setup and operational simplicity. The platform is very powerful, but the initial configuration can feel complex, especially around infrastructure, networking, images, GPU support, and scaling. Better guided setup, clearer troubleshooting messages, and more production-ready templates would help a lot. I would also improve the monitoring and reporting experience, especially around session performance, resource usage, latency, and failures. For QA and operation teams, having clearer dashboards and logs would make it easier to detect problems quickly. Overall, it works well, but it could be more user-friendly for teams that do not have Linux, LXC, or cloud infrastructure experience. I would add that the documentation could be more scenario-based. The official docs cover the components, but real production examples would help more, specifically for scaling, GPU configuration, networking, image lifecycle, and troubleshooting failed sessions. Also, integrations could be stronger. Better out-of-the-box examples for CI/CD pipelines, monitoring tools, observability dashboards, and automated QA workflows would make adoption easier. I also would appreciate clearer guidance around cost optimization because when you scale Android instances in the cloud, resource planning becomes very important.
JohanSkibdahl - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We have an excellent experience with support from Canonical, as they provide great support and our experience with the support team has been excellent."
"Anbox Cloud positively impacts my organization by enabling us to run over 100 Android instances on a single server and maximizing infrastructure efficiencies."
"It helps run Android and system containers using Ubuntu Pro."
"Anbox Cloud has helped us deliver faster to the market, automating testing and significantly improving testing cycles and time by 60 to 70%, resulting in faster time to market and increased customer satisfaction, which is up by at least 70 to 80%."
"Overall, Anbox Cloud is a strong platform when you need scalable Android environments in the cloud, creating a more controlled, repeatable, and scalable Android workflow for QA, demos, and remote validation."
"We use Cloudpaging to package and deploy the vast majority of our applications to our standard Windows 10 desktops, and with the use of Parallels integration into the Software2 AppsAnywhere hub, this means we can use the same packages to deliver Windows applications to almost any device - Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux, Xbox One, PS4 - just by ticking a box."
"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."
"With Parallels, I just install it once into one location and the client does the work for me, providing ease of use and minimizing the man-hours that go into installation and the maintenance of IT."
"Parallels Desktop allows me to run both Mac and Windows operating systems on a single machine, eliminating the need for separate Windows hardware."
"We can provision the servers without the need for another third-party solution."
"It is a stable solution."
"We use RAS to publish cloud desktops to our clients. The ability to easily publish resources to a subset of users is what we find most valuable."
"The most valuable feature is the ease with which you can publish applications to different groups of users, by integrating with Windows Active Directory."
 

Cons

"In Brazil, it is difficult to find technical professionals with OpenStack or this technology skills."
"To improve Anbox Cloud, we can enhance the speed and flexibility of the platform."
"Anbox Cloud can be improved mainly in ease of setup and operational simplicity."
"HALB is not stable in our environment."
"It would be great if there were more sophisticated GPO templates/options."
"Opening a ticket should be available from the actual RAS console. It is cumbersome to go to a portal, hunt around for five minutes for a link to open a ticket, answer questions meant to direct you towards FAQs instead of live support, then fill out information (license #, version #, etc.) which could more easily be supplied by sending a ticket straight from the console with all of that information automatically specified."
"A web-based management interface for administration and reporting would be nice, instead of needing to log into a remote server."
"Too much Active Directory dependent"
"We have been working with the Parallels team on some printing issues and are hopeful they will be resolved in the next patch release."
"I think tech support needs to be improved because whatever support I get is through email, so it takes a very long time for them to reply."
"The main thing that I would improve is their presence here in Mexico. They don't have strong local support here in Mexico."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The pricing has always been competitive, and the new SPLA licensing model works great for our business and clients."
"It is not that high. It is in the medium range. Of course, it could be lower, but the price is not the issue."
"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."
"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."
"Parallels is a cost effective alternative to Citrix."
"It is inexpensive compared to one of its competitors."
"The product is not expensive. I rate its pricing a three or four out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Insurance Company
61%
Construction Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Computer Software Company
6%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise10
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Anbox Cloud?
Our experience with pricing was that it was reasonable for the value, but it requires careful planning. The main cost came from AWS compute resources, storage, networking, and scaling Android sessi...
What needs improvement with Anbox Cloud?
To improve Anbox Cloud, we can enhance the speed and flexibility of the platform. We can focus on optimizing allocations and CPU scheduling, as we are experiencing load distribution issues and expe...
What is your primary use case for Anbox Cloud?
My main use case for Anbox Cloud is for developments and critical enterprise development requirements. I use Anbox Cloud for Android automation on demand across the public cloud, which includes clo...
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 ...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Parallels RAS
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
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 Anbox Cloud vs. Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
915,341 professionals have used our research since 2012.