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Azure Virtual Desktop vs Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) comparison

 

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

Azure Virtual Desktop
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
8th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
5.4
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Parallels Remote Applicatio...
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
11th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
Application Virtualization (4th)
 

Featured Reviews

Makarand-Shrikhande - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables flexible remote application access with auto-scaling and hybrid work support
The use cases include providing application access to users through Azure Virtual Desktop using MSIX App Attach or remote app, enabling remote users like BPO or contact center resources to connect and work on applications, and allowing vendors to access specific applications securely without a…
JohanSkibdahl - PeerSpot reviewer
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

"Scalability is very straightforward with Azure Virtual Desktop."
"The auto-scaling option allows provisioning additional virtual desktops based on user demand, making it scalable and flexible."
"Azure pricing is quite cheap due to licensing benefits with Microsoft."
"Azure Virtual Desktop enables anyone connecting to Microsoft to use MFA (multi-factor authentication), totally secured to connect and has end-to-end encryption through tunnel encryption."
"The scalability is probably the most valuable feature since I can quickly add or remove machines or increase or decrease the size depending on resources to manage the cost better."
"Absolutely, this solution is probably the leader in its field."
"The integration of Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams within Azure Virtual Desktop helps customers enhance collaboration because it works seamlessly."
"The ability to spin up virtual machines quickly and speedily in Azure has been really valuable."
"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."
"Ease of use in publishing apps and installing the agent. The Interface is fairly intuitive after some tinkering. Although I inherited the app only two-thirds deployed, I was able to complete the deployment and service it over the last year without referring to any documentation."
"You have the opportunity to virtualize applications in different locations. Everything is in one pane or one window, which is quite good."
"Its price and ease of use are the most valuable. It is simple and has good performance."
"Client compatibility with many systems makes it very versatile. The reporting that is included is awesome."
"One valuable feature is the ability to securely use a wide range of devices to access the company's infrastructure."
"It provides flexible access to Windows applications from many types of devices."
"The solution is powerful, and it has good speed and performance."
 

Cons

"Access from Entra ID should be implemented to provide only tenant access to users connecting to the Azure Virtual Desktop environment, eliminating the need for on-premises requirements."
"The costs are a bit difficult to predict upfront. When I am trying to sell it to a customer as a consultant, it is hard to give them a fixed price."
"The initial setup of Azure Virtual Desktop overall is complex. The complexities I've noticed are with application optimizations, and it can get complex by meeting customers' security requirements."
"It takes too long to get a return call."
"The main issue is the response time, which needs improvement to be faster."
"The primary area for improvement is around the scalability of Azure, specifically on the desktop side."
"There are challenges when upgrading the OS from Windows 10 to Windows 11, such as facing a black screen during testing. It is essential for Microsoft to ensure better testing and smoother transitions when decommissioning previous versions."
"One of the issues I had was the ability to add an internet proxy. I would like to see built-in proxy and internet filtering."
"A potential improvement could be reducing the dependency on Microsoft solutions for Parallels RAS."
"Generally, it is a very good solution. The main thing that I would improve is their presence here in Mexico. They don't have strong local support here in Mexico. They should have a worldwide presence so that we don't have to do everything through the people in the US. The initial setup was a little bit complex because we were migrating from Citrix. For customers who are migrating from another platform like VMware or Citrix, it would be great if they can provide an automated migration solution."
"From a seller's point of view, there are a lot of things that they could do better in the sales cycle."
"Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) is an expensive solution, and its pricing could be improved."
"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."
"We have had significant, ongoing issues with printing. It would be great to have a best practice for dealing with printing that we can offer to our customers."
"We use several gateways because access to our secret zone requires two-factor user authentication. It is a lot of hassle differentiating among users with or without two-factor. Of course, we could use two farms, but that would mean more management too."
"HALB is not stable in our environment. When running two HALBs we have stability problems, so we use an active one and a passive for backup. Also, it would be nice to implement an upgrade of the environment without having to stop the servers. As it is, this must be done during off-hours."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"It is not that high. It is in the medium range. Of course, it could be lower, but the price is not the issue."
"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 don't like the subscription model because it feels like I have to pay every month. If Parallels could go back to the professional license, it would be much better."
"Work with the vendor, as this is a fairly new product and they want use cases. Deals can be made."
"The product is not expensive. I rate its pricing a three or four out of ten."
"The pricing has always been competitive, and the new SPLA licensing model works great for our business and clients."
"It is very affordable."
"I think the new pricing is a little bit high. If the price was lower, we could use it for many more customers. If there was one improvement to be made to this product, it would be a small-business version, at a much lower price point."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
50%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
5%
Computer Software Company
16%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Virtual Desktop?
The cost depends on user numbers. For Azure Virtual Desktop with 100 VMs with vCPU for four, supporting 800 machines simultaneously, the cost is approximately $30,000. Costs vary based on user requ...
What needs improvement with Azure Virtual Desktop?
We can integrate anything with Azure Virtual Desktop from an application perspective. The App-V has evolved into MSIX. To deliver an application to Azure Virtual Desktop, MSIX can be used by expand...
What is your primary use case for Azure Virtual Desktop?
In Azure Virtual Desktop, we are designing infrastructure for the team. With my previous experience, I was managing Azure Virtual Desktop where I was handling all operations such as working on host...
What do you like most about Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS)?
The solution is powerful, and it has good speed and performance.
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.
 

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 Azure Virtual Desktop vs. Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
864,574 professionals have used our research since 2012.