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Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) vs Horizon 8 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:
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) is 10.0%, down from 14.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Horizon 8 is 7.6%, down from 15.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) is 2.1%, down from 2.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
 

Featured Reviews

Mohd Abdul Aziz Shah Sulaiman - PeerSpot reviewer
Delivers secure and unified access to apps, desktops, and content for enhanced productivity
Citrix Workforce is good, but it needs improvement in diagnosing network issues. When errors occur, it is difficult to determine if they're due to network issues, Workspace issues, or environment issues. The error messages are too vague, just stating "connection error" without specifying if it's an IP address issue, connectivity problem, or something else related to the network. This lack of detail makes troubleshooting difficult. We often have to reinstall everything in Workspace, without knowing the root cause. Even after engaging with Citrix and sending logs, the feedback is often unsatisfactory, not meeting my expectations. This trial-and-error approach isn't effective problem-solving. While these issues aren't everyday occurrences, when they do happen, they can be catastrophic for our operations team.
Tim  Abboud - PeerSpot reviewer
User-friendly, reasonably priced, and simple to install
It can be challenging to assess the stability of Horizon because it relies heavily on the underlying infrastructure, including vCenter, network, and storage performance. It is important to pay attention to these factors when evaluating the stability of the system. We rely on vCenter, network, and storage performance, and any weakness in these areas will affect the performance of Horizon. When discussing this with customers, I always emphasize the importance of these factors. If the foundation is solid, Horizon should not experience any performance issues. If the fundamentals are weak, we will encounter issues with Horizon on a regular basis. However, the product itself, VMware Horizon, is highly stable. While the Horizon product itself is very stable, it is important to be well-informed about any potential side effects from using other related products.
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

"Stable product with straightforward setup."
"The most valuable feature of Citrix Workspace is the virtual desktop that we can use anywhere, at any time, and without taking our laptop."
"The product is simple to set up, and its deep integration with Microsoft is also a valuable feature."
"It is a very scalable solution."
"Relative to other solutions, Citrix has fewer conditions and fewer parameters. Citrix also provides some flexibility because it can be used on any device."
"The shadow feature is extraordinary and helps a lot when supporting remote users."
"I recommend Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) for companies distributed across the world because it facilitates easy configuration and deployment without extensive infrastructure."
"Troubleshooting Citrix is pretty straightforward."
"It offers great flexibility, allowing us to access it as a complete virtual machine or even just as individual applications."
"The most valuable features are Instant Clones and AppStacks."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is secure remote access to resources."
"Great sorting feature to create UI on demand."
"Horizon 7's most valuable feature is the unified endpoint management."
"The initial setup is very simple and straightforward."
"VMware offers a friendly environment, and it's easy to provide the user with the package. It is a bundled solution that is readily deployable. The advantage lies in its simplicity, it requires minimal expertise."
"I appreciate the ability to have a more centralized environment."
"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."
"Simplicity of the interface is a valuable feature."
"The management capability from the RAS portal provides greater control than using pure MS inbuilt into RDS capabilities."
"Parallels Desktop allows me to run both Mac and Windows operating systems on a single machine, eliminating the need for separate Windows hardware."
"Client compatibility with many systems makes it very versatile. The reporting that is included is awesome."
"The connection is compressed so we don't need a lot of resources to run it."
"Its price and ease of use are the most valuable. It is simple and has good performance."
"The stability is ok - once I finished the setup, the system was quite stable."
 

Cons

"The application is now very complex. We started with Citrix on PCs. Now, to access the same application, we need to have a StoreFront Server, the Delivery Controller, and Citrix License Server. It's now very complex."
"The visibility the solution provides across SaaS, hybrid, and multi-cloud environments, for user and application traffic, is also limited if you do not enable all the services and is based on which services you are utilising. Citrix provides end-to-end visibility based on their services you are utilising."
"The initial setup is very complex."
"Tech support can be slow if you do not receive help from the US representatives."
"The initial setup is complex."
"The Citrix Workspace interface could improve. Additionally, if they are able to provide a mobile application"
"Using the app layering feature can be quite difficult and cumbersome."
"There are many latency and slowness issues, which are things looked after by Citrix."
"The majority of things in VMware Horizon can be done only in Windows and not in Linux. There are Linux customers who would like to use VMware Horizon's features."
"The product fails to support Mac or Apple workstations."
"The remote application features have some room for improvement."
"Considering the tool's weaknesses, the product probably has scope for some improvement in the context of how the applications or Linux operating systems are delivered using VMware Horizon View."
"The solution’s stability and initial setup could be improved."
"There should be a function where one can connect and work; whenever not required, one can deprovision it."
"The storage expansion in the product is a bit difficult to manage, especially when I have to modify a storage requirement of a particular area since it comes across as a complex job."
"There is room for a more cost-effective pricing structure, as it could be more affordable."
"Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) is an expensive solution, and its pricing could be improved."
"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."
"The solution's application virtualization feature needs improvement."
"A web-based management interface for administration and reporting would be nice, instead of needing to log into a remote server."
"We would like the ability to provide a popup message, such as a maintenance notification. That same notification on the Parallels client would be awesome."
"The main issue we have with all of our users is printing. Randomly, a printer will disconnect or someone won't connect to it and I will have to reset the print service and then nobody can print. That's the big headache we've had over the course of the five years."
"It needs Windows scaling on Android/iOS devices. At present, the concept of delivering apps to Android and iOS devices is appealing, but the reality is the screen size on these devices is so small that, unless there is some scaling option, it is not really usable."
"The customization of the web interface could possibly use some improvement. Little things, like being able to place a background image instead of just choosing from a palette of colors, would be nice."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We recouped 60 to 70 percent of the hardware costs."
"The licensing of Citrix Workspace is worth it. However, it is expensive. Citrix is probably more competitive now than VMware, but it is still a costly solution."
"The solution is affordable."
"In terms of pricing with the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, I think it has gotten better over the years. Citrix has found more dynamic ways to be able to revive licensing models that fit many different scenarios that organizations have. We have been able to evolve our own licensing over the years to accommodate our situations between concurrent versus user device licenses. Now, when we move into the Citrix Workspace realm, we definitely have some awesome options there."
"It's my understanding that the solution license fee for each user is around $300 US. If we buy a personal laptop for each employee every five years, then the total cost is five times $300 US, or $1,500 USD. So we could buy 100 personal laptops instead of the Citrix solution."
"You can buy an on-cloud or on-prem license. You can switch between on-cloud users and on-prem users. Its licensing is cheap. It is from $8 to $15 per user. It is not that expensive when you compare the cost of buying new hardware with the cost of the license. For example, at $15 per user, it costs around $180 for a year, which is cheaper than buying a $600 PC that at a certain stage, you will again have to change because its hardware is not supported. It may also get damaged or stolen. So, you can compare the cost of the actual hardware that you have to buy and the time spent in supporting the clients with the cost of its license."
"In the past, the prices of the product were great. With the acquisition of Citrix by your company, the prices have drastically increased. For my company, it has become a bit of a problem to sell products from Citrix."
"The price of the solution could be less expensive. There are different versions to their solution and the price keeps increasing."
"The pricing depends on the use cases. It depends on the company's needs and budget. For us, it was okay, not too expensive."
"VMware Horizon is expensive. It should provide a special price for more user licenses."
"At present, they provide decent pricing in terms of bundled licenses."
"VMware Horizon only has one license, which is a license to run desktops."
"VMware Horizon View pricing is high compared to other solutions. I rate it two out of ten. Its licensing costs are monthly."
"I rate the solution's pricing a five out of ten."
"The price of VMware Horizon 7 is more than some other solutions."
"Its cost is fair. You can go for a free trial, but for initializing a project, you need to purchase a license. There are different types of licenses."
"It is inexpensive compared to one of its competitors."
"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."
"The pricing has always been competitive, and the new SPLA licensing model works great for our business and clients."
"Just compare it to Citrix and you will see the value in it."
"Parallels is a cost effective alternative to Citrix."
"The product is not expensive. I rate its pricing a three or four out of ten."
"It is not that high. It is in the medium range. Of course, it could be lower, but the price is not the issue."
"It justifies the price. In terms of licensing, initially when we got the product it was an unlimited licensing strategy. We knew would grow in the coming years. So initially, we took a plan which had no limit. After a year or so the strategy changed and we were being limited to 105 licenses, that was the minimum... If there was flexibility for increasing the number of licenses that would be great because you never know how much you are going to grow in the next year."
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Comparison Review

it_user8922 - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 23, 2013
Comparison of VMware View 5.2 VS Citrix XenDesktop 5.6
Recently I attended the VMware Partner Exchange 2013 and there was a session called “Technical Battleground – View VS XenDesktop”. In this post I will try and cover the differences that VMware showcased during their session and I am going to add an additional column for my comments and thoughts on…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
16%
Government
13%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops?
My focus has primarily been on publishing virtual applications.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops?
I rate the product’s pricing a seven out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive.
What needs improvement with Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops?
I have found that Citrix DaaS is still a complex product, especially on the desktop side, which affects scalability. ...
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...
What do you like most about VMware Horizon 7?
VMware offers a friendly environment, and it's easy to provide the user with the package. It is a bundled solution th...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware Horizon 7?
We paid a lot of money for software that is not really fully operational out of the box. We had to have patches from ...
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 Deskt...
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 D...
 

Also Known As

XenDesktop, XenApp (Citrix Virtual Apps), Citrix Workspace
VMware Horizon, VMware Horizon View, Mware Dynamic Environment Manager
Parallels RAS
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Exelon, Aeronamic, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Alameda County Medical Center, Alaska Department of Fish & Game, Aloysius Stichting, Amarchand Mangaldas, AmBev, Amnet Technology Solutions, Arval
LCMC Health
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 VMware, Omnissa, Citrix and others in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). Updated: April 2025.
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