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Apache Guacamole vs Parallels Access comparison

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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

Microsoft Intune
Sponsored
Ranking in Remote Access
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
377
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (1st), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
Apache Guacamole
Ranking in Remote Access
4th
Average Rating
9.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Parallels Access
Ranking in Remote Access
23rd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

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 Apache Guacamole is 2.6%, down from 4.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Parallels Access is 1.7%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Remote Access Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Intune5.4%
Apache Guacamole2.6%
Parallels Access1.7%
Other90.3%
Remote Access
 

Featured Reviews

HA
Senior Business Development Executive at Digitaltrack
Centralized device management has automated onboarding and improves remote security compliance
One thing I feel Microsoft Intune could improve is troubleshooting visibility. In many cases, when a policy or application deployment fails, the error messages are a bit generic. So, admins still spend time checking logs manually or testing on devices one by one. Compared to the simplicity of deployment, troubleshooting sometimes feels less mature. I also think reporting and real-time monitoring could be stronger. The dashboard gives useful information, but in large environments, many teams still depend on additional tools or scripts for deeper reporting and analytics. If I had to focus on one area first, I would probably choose troubleshooting and reporting. Deployment through Microsoft Intune is generally straightforward, but when something fails, identifying the exact root cause can still take more time than expected. Error messages are sometimes too generic, and admins often have to dig through logs, sync status, or multiple portals to understand what actually happened. I think user experience and policy management could also improve further. Microsoft Intune has become much better over the years, but sometimes the admin portal still feels fragmented because certain configurations open in different sections or redirect to older interfaces. For new admins, especially, it can take time to understand where everything is located. Another thing is policy conflict handling. In larger organizations, multiple device policies, compliance rules, and configuration profiles can overlap. When conflicts happen, the visibility is not always very clear, so admins spend time figuring out which policy actually won or caused the issue.
Deepak Shah - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr Backend Engineer at Singhania QuestPlus
Secure web access for guest users has transformed how we protect servers without device agents
Apache Guacamole can be improved as the documentation is really okay. It's written in very good detail. However, there's a problem in that it is written in too much detail and doesn't take you step-by-step. We did have some minor issues, such as there was some gap in mentioning how to install it and how to make and compile the file which they have posted on the repository. We had to figure it out, and once we got that knowledge, we were able to speed up our process. I think that the documentation wasn't that well written. There were gaps in it. It was well written but not written step-by-step. They can improve Apache Guacamole's UI. We didn't use their UI and use our own UI instead, but their UI can be improved. Simple is also good but it can be improved.
JP
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Microsoft Intune is cost-effective, providing ROI through the time saved for support teams and people working with computers."
"The solution has reduced the risk of security breaches by 30%."
"Microsoft Intune has never crashed for me; it always works without fail."
"Microsoft Intune has positively impacted my organization by giving a centralized way to manage and secure devices across the organization, improving consistency in how devices are configured, updated, and monitored, and making it easier to support remote users as many management and troubleshooting tasks can be performed without needing physical access to the device."
"The most valuable aspect of the product is data loss prevention, which is really a benefit of the platform in general."
"Intune's most valuable features are its device management capabilities, particularly its centralized integration with other Microsoft stack components."
"I like how Microsoft Intune lets me lock down the email profile and make it accessible only on certain devices."
"It is quite policy-enabled, so you can build pretty much any policy to manage remote endpoints."
"Apache Guacamole has impacted my organization positively by providing us with a cheap alternative that is very customizable, which we can offer to customers that previously we had to decline because they could not afford Citrix."
"One of the advantages is that it helps to simplify and fasten the processes, so the workflow goes much faster."
"For those considering using Apache Guacamole, I wholeheartedly support its users since it's a free open-source software that is easy to download and use with no significant issues."
"Apache Guacamole helped us cross that boundary, and leveraging that technology, we were able to expand our product surface area and the customers we can access."
"Apache Guacamole thus far has been both open source, simple to use, easy to set up, quick, and it makes it easy for me to provision systems as well."
"I believe Apache Guacamole is the best option on the market at the moment because it is free."
"I'm using Apache Guacamole as a gateway."
"The main impact Apache Guacamole had on my team's efficiency was that they did not need to access any server or anything else, because instead of performing several clicks to access a machine and needing to know where it was located, its full name, or the IP address, we were able to create groups and folders where machines were all properly organized and easy to access."
"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."
"We don't have problems with stability. Everything is good."
"What seems to be the most valuable from the customer side is the ease of operation, and the overall experience they have."
"Parallels Access has flexible licensing policies, which is beneficial for customers who have intermittent usage or users who are on and off the system."
"It's great that the total deployment can happen completely remotely."
"Parallels Access gives me full access and control of the computer, and I can do anything I want remotely."
 

Cons

"I would like the ability to install the agent on devices from suppliers, which would enable us to implement a zero-trust strategy for guest devices."
"Some enrollment features could be improved."
"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."
"During the onboarding of Microsoft Intune, we faced the problem that the policies were not getting synced."
"Microsoft documentation is a bit hard to get around, so having more control over devices would be good."
"There should be more focus on mobile device security and integration."
"However, Autopilot enrollment is not available for Mac devices yet, which would be a great addition if implemented."
"The configuration and pricing can be improved."
"I think that in the visual interface it would be interesting to make it easier to change the background."
"I gave it a nine because some very advanced features such as session recording and clipboard functionality are still not available on Apache Guacamole, though they are available on Citrix."
"I have faced some difficulties when copying and pasting data at points, but apart from that, the stability is great and cursor movements are in real-time with very low latency."
"I would give Apache Guacamole an eight out of ten because there have been moments where I faced some networking issues with it, where connections were a problem, and sometimes the login and logout processes were issues as well."
"In my opinion, Apache Guacamole can be improved with USB access, a native client, and enhanced browser access, which would be beneficial."
"The solution's USB redirection could be improved."
"There should be good documentation regarding GUI customization. Even though I can try customizing the GUI, the documentation is not comprehensive."
"There is no customer support for Apache Guacamole."
"There is room for improvement in the pricing policy. The price point is pretty aggressive."
"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."
"The solution may not scale well for enterprises."
"They could improve the reporting."
"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."
"The scalability is great for small or medium-sized businesses. However, it may not scale well for enterprise-level entities."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"For organizations that are a Microsoft shop, the pricing is compelling."
"The price for Intune is fair."
"It's affordable. It's cheaper if you have an Office 365, E5, or E3 subscription because everything is there."
"Microsoft Intune has a user-based subscription model. You can go for a monthly or a yearly payment."
"The pricing needs improvement."
"We work with the subscription rather than a server license. I think it's economical this way because we don't have to have a server license for that, and I think that works in our favor."
"Microsoft Intune is a cost effective choice. It is less expensive than other products on the market."
"Microsoft licenses are costly."
Information not available
"The licensing costs are about $100 per user."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Educational Organization
15%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
11%
University
6%
Construction Company
11%
University
11%
Transportation Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business192
Midsize Enterprise62
Large Enterprise186
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise4
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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 ...
What are the pros and cons of Microsoft Intune?
Microsoft Intune is a great configuration management tool and has a lot of good things going for it. Here are some of...
How does Google Cloud Identity compare with Microsoft Intune?
Microsoft Intune offers not only an easy-to-deploy data protection and productivity management solution, but also ...
What needs improvement with Apache Guacamole?
Currently, I do not have anything to say regarding improvements for Apache Guacamole. The data sharing part could be ...
What advice do you have for others considering Apache Guacamole?
My advice for others looking into using Apache Guacamole is that it is a good tool. You need to have a bit of a learn...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Apache Guacamole?
I am using the open-source version of Apache Guacamole and did not purchase it through the AWS Marketplace.
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Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
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No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Information Not Available
Gilt Groupe K.K.
Find out what your peers are saying about Apache Guacamole vs. Parallels Access and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.