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ConnectWise ScreenConnect vs Parallels Access comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 7, 2024

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
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
296
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (2nd), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
ConnectWise ScreenConnect
Ranking in Remote Access
17th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
37
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Meetings (11th)
Parallels Access
Ranking in Remote Access
11th
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 2025, in the Remote Access category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 9.9%, down from 10.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ConnectWise ScreenConnect is 1.7%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Parallels Access is 2.0%, down from 2.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Remote Access
 

Featured Reviews

AkashKamble - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables management of multiple operating systems with a single license
The best feature is that it's a Microsoft product, so if anything goes wrong, we get quick support for anything required. Remote system functionality allows us to sit anywhere and take control of any device via remote management. We can enhance security for clients' laptops with built-in Microsoft Defender, which is available with the Microsoft Intune license. We use it for reporting purposes through endpoint analytics. When pushing scripting, there are two types available: remediation script and reservation script. Through endpoint analytics, you can push defender policies to clients. It helps with reporting, inventory updates, and monitoring tenant status health.
Todd Blake - PeerSpot reviewer
Simple to set up, reasonable pricing, and useful remote control capabilities
I'm on the latest version of the solution. I just updated it yesterday. While we have the solution on-premises at this time, we'll likely move to the cloud later this year. They have a trial version that you can try. They have a free version that you can try as well. I use it myself to support my family. I would try the free version or the trial version depending on your business. They can set you up and you can get to see all the features. I would also advocate going to the cloud version. Don't bother with the on-prem. It's just easier to jump to the cloud. I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.
Binish Parikh - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy-to-deploy and good for small as well as large setups
There is room for improvement in the pricing policy. The price point is pretty aggressive. Since it is not very resource hungry, it doesn't require dedicated servers like high-end solutions do, so it's easier for customers to integrate it into their own solutions. In future releases, maybe more support for Macs and Unix so that customers with setups on those platforms can also benefit from the solutions.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"When comparing Microsoft Intune to Jamf, Microsoft Intune is superior."
"Microsoft Intune has transformed my organization; we are managing to scale the Intune deployment across all our regions efficiently, and it works perfectly for our needs."
"Within Intune, managing policies and having a consistent way to manage devices is valuable."
"The best features of Microsoft Intune include continuous implementation of new capabilities each year, covering almost everything."
"It is user-friendly, and the performance is also good. It is a convenient product"
"The best part of Intune is device control. If we need to block a user from opening something in their organization's system, we can do it from Intune. If we want to restrict the movement of an organization's data to prevent users from copying the data into Outlook, WhatsApp, or their personal Gmail, we can limit that via Intune. It secures all corporate data."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Intune is that it is more of a one-stop shop, providing an easier experience."
"This product offers an alternative solution to other UEM (Unified Endpoint Management) solutions."
"It's very easy to use, very easy to understand. It gives us remote access to the PC without any issues."
"I've noted an ROI while using the solution."
"It is super easy to use and relatively inexpensive."
"Offers more security than TeamViewer, Google Remote Desktop, and Zoom. It's a stable, feature-rich solution that's easy to set up and easy to scale."
"Valuable features include the responsiveness, ability to tune up and tune down the connection, and video."
"Control lets us do remote management of machines without having to be on the VPN. It's super simple and super easy."
"The ConnectWise ScreenConnect tool is very good for remote access."
"Due to the fact that we can help our clients virtually, the solution has allowed us to reduce our travel costs by about 90%."
"Parallels Access has flexible licensing policies, which is beneficial for customers who have intermittent usage or users who are on and off the system."
"Parallels Access gives me full access and control of the computer, and I can do anything I want remotely."
"It's great that the total deployment can happen completely remotely."
"It's got a very easy-to-use interface."
"We don't have problems with stability. Everything is good."
 

Cons

"It would be interesting to integrate the server side of Intune. Some group policy updates we have on the Windows Server side and possibly some on the client side could also be included."
"The information we receive at the device level needs improvement."
"Intune should improve its software inventory to provide better metering of which software is used throughout the company. This is especially needed for reporting third-party software solutions."
"Microsoft Intune could improve by being more user-friendly and having it geared toward device management. The graphic interface is not very good."
"Since the devices are configured over the Internet, whatever policy we apply from the compliance portal does not reflect immediately on the endpoint."
"There is no catalog for mobile access management (MAM) security."
"To make it a perfect ten, it would be helpful if there was a better way to troubleshoot user issues, as I've had a few users with corrupt files before and had to redeploy it without knowing the root cause."
"Microsoft Intune has potential for improvement; I would like to see a lot more customization in the reporting tools."
"What we need this product to do is to be able to control Windows Updates. LogMeIn Central allowed us remote access but also allowed to push and install Windows Updates, and third-party updates... When we made the switch to ConnectWise we lost the ability to do patching. That forced us, for our larger clients, to move to WSUS. We had to set up a VM on those larger clients to push Windows Updates and patches into the network."
"The solution should add the ability to video chat with the user on the other end."
"I was not thrilled with their support. I do not have a lot of time to deal with the attention which is needed to fix issues."
"There can be some complexities when running patches or when building up all the profiles, making them areas where improvements are required."
"There is one back-end issue that I am running into at some of locations where I login to provide support, and sometimes port 443 is blocked. That is what it uses to connect. So, I am having to do workarounds to get a session started."
"We have had issues. We have had circumstances, for reasons we don't know, where the service will stop running, and when the service stops running that computer no longer becomes reachable. We haven't really seen that so much on desktops, but we have seen that happen quite frequently on server operating systems, Server 2008, Server 2012. You can install the product and then a week down the road it will just stop."
"There is an issue which is pretty rare, but I find it at least when connecting from my mobile device. I am forced to refresh the screen by changing the screen quality to get screen updates. This only happens sometimes."
"Support for PAC files on the guest's side and support for proxy on the host's side. Currently, there is no support for guest-side PAC files or for the host-side proxy (which uses authentication)."
"They could improve the reporting."
"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."
"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 solution may not scale well for enterprises."
"There is room for improvement in the pricing policy. The price point is pretty aggressive."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing for Microsoft Intune is reasonable. Our clients are satisfied."
"Intune is linked with Microsoft. We can deploy the Microsoft E365 license to users by Intune. There are different types of licenses, such as device administrator licenses, E5 licenses for device enrollment manually, and P1 and p2 licenses for device enrollment automatically. These are the licenses required for the administration."
"The pricing is inherently reasonable, as Microsoft leverages market insights to maintain the total cost of ownership at around ninety to ninety-five percent of what would be incurred in an on-premise scenario."
"It's a bit expensive from a licensing perspective, especially as we look to have organizations with tenants across the globe."
"In terms of the product price and licensing costs, my company finds the product to be reasonably priced."
"The price of Intune is included with the license for Office 365, so we don't have to pay anything extra for it."
"Previously the price was $4 per month per user. Now it's $2.25 per user per month."
"Based on the features that it gives, it is cost-efficient. It is not necessarily on the expensive side of the scale. It provides a hefty number of features that any organization would want. It is in a good price range."
"Good price and works well."
"Pricing is fair for Control and the licensing is simple."
"We pay $3,000 USD for the service, yearly upfront."
"Their licensing model is good, their pricing model is good, their service is good; bandwidth is excellent. They're consistent."
"For the price we pay, we definitely feel it's worth it, but there are some contenders in the market that are coming out now, whose products are as good; they are offering more features and the price is actually less than ConnectWise. All things considered, the biggest thing is the lack of patching in ConnectWise. If they could integrate that into the product, that would be a game changer, if offered at the same price point."
"I download the product for free with ConnectWise RMM's license."
"It is priced well and it is still a great value. Although I have been reading a lot about Splashtop. They are getting pretty competitive on their pricing, including a fairly easy to use remote support for mobile applications, like iOS and Android."
"We pay $85 per month for each user for a ConnectWise package with multiple solutions."
"The licensing costs are about $100 per user."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Performing Arts
8%
University
7%
University
14%
Computer Software Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Healthcare Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ConnectWise Control?
I download the product for free with ConnectWise RMM's license.
What needs improvement with ConnectWise Control?
All the features provided by the product in terms of screen connectors have been good. There can be some complexities...
What do you like most about Parallels Access?
Parallels Access gives me full access and control of the computer, and I can do anything I want remotely.
What needs improvement with Parallels Access?
When you want to transfer a file from your iPad or remote device to the computer, the copy-and-paste feature doesn't ...
What is your primary use case for Parallels Access?
Parallels Access is an amazing product and a total game changer. The solution allows me to access and operate my comp...
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
ConnectWise Control, ScreenConnect
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Jon Rosen Systems
Gilt Groupe K.K.
Find out what your peers are saying about ConnectWise ScreenConnect vs. Parallels Access and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.