• Home
  • Parallels Desktop vs. VMware Player

Parallels Desktop vs VMware Player comparison

Cancel
You must select at least 2 products to compare!
Parallels Logo

Parallels Desktop

Read 1 Parallels Desktop review
1,577 views|1,262 comparisons
VMware Logo

VMware Player

Read 2 VMware Player reviews
3,013 views|2,864 comparisons
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Download the complete report
Buyer's Guide
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
November 2022
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Parallels Desktop and VMware Player based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, VMware, Citrix and others in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI).
To learn more, read our detailed Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Report (Updated: November 2022).
Download the complete report
653,584 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"Parallels Desktop integrates seamlessly with macOS. It works better than VMware on Apple operating systems."

More Parallels Desktop Pros →

"It's really easy to build testing environments with VMware Player.""VMware Player's best feature is the ability to run different OS's simultaneously."

More VMware Player Pros →

Cons
"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."

More Parallels Desktop Cons →

"VMware Player isn't downgradable, so if you have a later set of VMs, you need to upgrade it or figure out a workaround.""The tool has limited scalability."

More VMware Player Cons →

report
See Which Vendors Are Best For You
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solutions are best for your needs.
See Recommendations
653,584 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Questions from the Community
What do you like most about Parallels Desktop?
Top Answer:Parallels Desktop integrates seamlessly with macOS. It works better than VMware on Apple operating systems.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Parallels Desktop?
Top Answer:Parallels Desktop is too expensive. It's a little more expensive than VMware.
What needs improvement with Parallels Desktop?
Top Answer: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… more »
What do you like most about VMware Player?
Top Answer:VMware Player's best feature is the ability to run different OS's simultaneously.
What needs improvement with VMware Player?
Top Answer:VMware Player isn't downgradable, so if you have a later set of VMs, you need to upgrade it or figure out a workaround. It would be an improvement if there were some kind of mixture between the… more »
What is your primary use case for VMware Player?
Top Answer:I mainly use VMware Player to test things in my home lab.
Ranking
12th
out of 29 in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
Views
1,577
Comparisons
1,262
Reviews
1
Average Words per Review
219
Rating
7.0
10th
out of 29 in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
Views
3,013
Comparisons
2,864
Reviews
2
Average Words per Review
300
Rating
8.0
Comparisons
Learn More
Parallels
VMware
Overview
Parallels Desktop Business Edition brings Windows and Windows applications to employees on Mac and enables integration of Mac computers into any work environment from education to financial services, technology, consulting, or medical. Optimized for Windows 10 and 7, macOS High Sierra, and Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. It can help employees to run business-critical applications without compromise: Microsoft Office, Visual Studio, Quicken and QuickBooks for Windows, Access, Project, Autodesk Revit and Inventor, CorelDRAW, ArcGIS, Visio, QuickBooks, Internet Explorer and Adobe Photoshop. Parallels Desktop restricts External Device Access that enforces policies on the use of USB devices, smart cards, and any other external devices plugged into a Mac, for use in Windows. It creates an Expiring Virtual Machines, time-bound and encrypted, that will automatically expire and lock at a defined time to ensure additional security when corporate data is shared externally. Also, Parallels Desktop Business Edition can be deployed through standard software deployment tools. Mass deployment is supported with Jamf Pro, Apple Remote Desktop, IBM Endpoint Manager, Parallels Mac Management for Microsoft SCCM, and other solutions.

VMware Player, or VMware Player Plus, is described by VMware as the easiest way to run a virtual machine on Windows or Linux PCs in a commercial environment. If you want to deliver a managed desktop to your employees, customers, students, contractors, or partners, then this virtual desktop solution is the way to go.

VMware Player provides the most advanced virtualization platform available, which is capable of supporting even extremely demanding applications. Even though the platform is so advanced, the user interface is simple and easy-to-use.

There is seamless integration with Windows XP and Windows XP applications even if the machine itself is a Windows 7 PC, a Windows 8 PC, or even Linux-based. It also gives your IT person the capability of restricting the virtual machines by requiring runtime passwords, adding an expiration date, blocking USB devices, or encrypting the machines. By using VMware vCenter Converter, VMware Player can even convert old machines into virtual machines without you needing to re-configure or re-install any applications.

Offer
Learn more about Parallels Desktop
Learn More
Learn more about VMware Player
Learn More
Sample Customers
Lytro, University of Washington, Slalom, Veeva Systems, Oklahoma Christian University
Akademiska Hus
Top Industries
VISITORS READING REVIEWS
Computer Software Company19%
Comms Service Provider16%
Educational Organization9%
Financial Services Firm5%
VISITORS READING REVIEWS
Comms Service Provider22%
Computer Software Company19%
Manufacturing Company5%
Government5%
Company Size
VISITORS READING REVIEWS
Small Business26%
Midsize Enterprise17%
Large Enterprise57%
REVIEWERS
Small Business56%
Midsize Enterprise33%
Large Enterprise11%
VISITORS READING REVIEWS
Small Business21%
Midsize Enterprise17%
Large Enterprise62%
Buyer's Guide
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
November 2022
Download Free Report
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, VMware, Citrix and others in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). Updated: November 2022.
DOWNLOAD NOW
653,584 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Parallels Desktop is ranked 12th in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) with 1 review while VMware Player is ranked 10th in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) with 2 reviews. Parallels Desktop is rated 7.0, while VMware Player is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of Parallels Desktop writes "It integrates seamlessly with macOS, but it's not compatible with VMware ". On the other hand, the top reviewer of VMware Player writes "Simple to set up, user-friendly, and makes building test environments easy". Parallels Desktop is most compared with VMware Fusion, VMware Workstation, NComputing vSpace, NVIDIA GRID and Oracle VDI, whereas VMware Player is most compared with VMware Fusion, VMware Workstation, VMware Horizon, VMware Horizon View and Microsoft Remote Desktop Services.

See our list of best Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) vendors.

We monitor all Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.