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

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) is 15.1%, up from 8.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Parallels Desktop is 5.9%, down from 15.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) is 3.1%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service)15.1%
Parallels Desktop5.9%
Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS)3.1%
Other75.9%
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
 

Featured Reviews

SN
Technical Lead on Virtual Desktop at Orange
Has delivered consistent desktop experiences across remote locations and has supported multimedia workloads efficiently
I have utilized the HDX protocol for compression and audio-video capabilities. When users need to conduct meetings with customers or colleagues, they can use Teams solutions and open a bridge where video and audio are encapsulated within the ICA protocol, which is protected by SSL and certificates for security. This provides secure communication at good quality through the HDX protocol. HDX protocol has improved application performance as it is specifically designed for multimedia applications. If processing audio or video files, such as in telecom where discussions are recorded and then prepared as video or audio, this does not consume excessive bandwidth during the operation compared to a normal remote desktop connection provided by Microsoft. Everything is compressed and provides sufficient bandwidth for multiple people to perform similar tasks without interruption or session disconnection. All multimedia-related activities, such as playing content on YouTube, deliver a better experience with this protocol overall. I use multi-factor authentication for opening sessions to the data center where users access their machines or software. Multi-factor authentication has helped secure applications because users typically have two-way authentication software on their phones. They use a password first and then authenticate themselves through their mobile application to grant access to resources. This approach is effective because if a hacker attacks a user, they need more than just the password and username. They must also possess the device that provides authentication. The device typically has facial recognition, a password, and provides better security overall.
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.
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

"I think it’s a dangerous route Citrix is on and I hope they will return to rollup packs at least."
"The most valuable feature is the watermark because most of the time our employees connect from a remote location. In case they photograph the DDA or some data, the watermark will show which user did so and from which IP they connected. That makes it more secure."
"Having so much flexibility in one solution, especially one that works as well as Citrix, is a huge advantage."
"We are using this to allow our users to access applications over a secured, remote environment, and it has helped to reduce the outages in our IT infrastructure, especially during server maintenance."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to connect to our on-premise applications, through the Workspace app and the Workspace experience. The user experience when using the solution's technology remotely is good. Our users are able to work and it's seamless. The performance is also good."
"Ability to connect remotely."
"Citrix is used by many organizations to make it possible to streamline the way different developers work together from different locations."
"Citrix is one of the companies that is delivering virtual apps and desktops in a big way. They are mature enough to understand the level of stability required and deliver it."
"Parallels Desktop integrates seamlessly with macOS and works better than VMware on Apple operating systems."
"Parallels Desktop integrates seamlessly with macOS. It works better than VMware on Apple operating systems."
"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."
"It does everything we need it to do, it's stable; with the caveat that there is no perfect solution."
"Without Parallels, we'd either be spending a lot more money or our business would not exist anymore."
"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."
"Allows us to publish applications accessible by current-generation HTML5 browser or OS-specific client (Windows, Android, iOS), and it supports popular single sign-on and multi-factor authentication protocols."
"Setup was straightforward. Our particular use case involved an Active Directory forest involving two data centers and three domains. User authentication against Active Directory was the easiest to set up and validate of any application installed in the last three years."
"We can publish apps and desktops on Terminal Servers and seamlessly share printers. We also combine Parallels with Deepnet Security to get two-factor authentication."
"Client compatibility with many systems makes it very versatile. The reporting that is included is awesome."
"The management capability from the RAS portal provides greater control than using pure MS inbuilt into RDS capabilities."
 

Cons

"The Endpoint Management solution needs improvement when it comes to mobile device management. For example, they are still not supporting Windows 10 and this feature is required by many customers."
"The user profiles could use some improvement. They could use more stability and more functionality as well as user profile redirection."
"We encounter compatibility issues related to hardware, scanners, and other devices."
"I had a stability issue with Citrix XenServer. If you experience a problem with XenServer, you must know Linux commands, unlike with VMWare ESX."
"Templating the deployment process could use improvement. When you start, there are a large number of details that are quite client-specific, although they do share common themes. To get somebody up and running in a day is very difficult to do. They should streamline by use case."
"Pricing and technical support needs improvement."
"The cost of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops is high and has room for improvement."
"This solution is resource-intensive, it takes a lot of Bandwidth and a lot of the resources of the server."
"The biggest challenge is compatibility between VMware and Parallels because the two systems are incompatible."
"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."
"Sometimes you need to understand how to use load balancing and the gateway in order to scale, which means the team may need some additional technical knowledge."
"I don't like the subscription model because it feels like I have to pay every month."
"Since I've been here less than a year, I have had to upgrade the system three times."
"We have been working with the Parallels team on some printing issues and are hopeful they will be resolved in the next patch release."
"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."
"Since I've been here less than a year, I have had to upgrade the system three times. The first time was the major upgrade but they have upgraded twice since, and I think that's too many times in that time span."
"It would be great if there were more sophisticated GPO templates/options."
"A potential improvement could be reducing the dependency on Microsoft solutions for Parallels RAS."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing is $125 USD per user."
"If you look at cost, then you must look at the number of users that you are covering. If you are only using it for some users, then it is very expensive. However, if you have a massive amount of users, then it begins to be interesting to use Citrix. Because once you are managing thousands of servers with one guy, your maintenance costs decrease per user."
"The licensing, in general, is expensive. A lot of customers battle to pay the amount. It's very difficult to ensure that your solution provides the business value that the customer is after."
"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."
"The solution is expensive and I give the cost a four out of ten."
"Citrix is a mid-range cost solution compared to some others out there."
"We are seeing a return on investment with Citrix Workspace."
"I think it is a little high priced."
Information not available
"Just compare it to Citrix and you will see the value in it."
"Work with the vendor, as this is a fairly new product and they want use cases. Deals can be made."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"Pricing is a little steep."
"The pricing has always been competitive, and the new SPLA licensing model works great for our business and clients."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Performing Arts
6%
Comms Service Provider
15%
Computer Software Company
11%
University
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
University
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business44
Midsize Enterprise21
Large Enterprise69
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business14
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise10
 

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. ...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
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...
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 ...
 

Also Known As

XenDesktop, XenApp (Citrix Virtual Apps), Citrix Workspace
No data available
Parallels RAS
 

Interactive Demo

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Demo not available
 

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
Lytro, University of Washington, Slalom, Veeva Systems, Oklahoma Christian University
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 Citrix, Broadcom, Omnissa and others in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). Updated: March 2026.
885,667 professionals have used our research since 2012.