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Parallels Desktop vs Workspace ONE UEM comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 5, 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

Parallels Desktop
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
6th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Workspace ONE UEM
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
7th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
101
Ranking in other categories
Remote Access (5th), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (3rd), Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (11th), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of Parallels Desktop is 13.4%, up from 9.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Workspace ONE UEM is 2.4%, down from 5.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
 

Featured Reviews

Grant-Donald - PeerSpot reviewer
It integrates seamlessly with macOS, but it's not compatible with VMware
Parallels Desktop does the same thing as VMware but for Apple users Parallels Desktop integrates seamlessly with macOS. It works better than VMware on Apple operating systems.  The biggest challenge is compatibility between VMware and Parallels because the two systems are incompatible. It can be…
Ajit Pratap Kundan - PeerSpot reviewer
A tool that needs to improve scalability but is useful to manage user
There is a need for better user lifecycle management within VMware Identity Manager, along with better user governance, including the separation of duties of the users. In my company, we are not able to create a policy for the separation of duties of the users, so it is an area where improvement is required. The official authentication and fingerprint authentication should be part of VMware Identity Manager, and I feel these areas are currently missing. The scalability of the product needs to improve. The product should be tightly integrated with the third-party products because it's not like a customer is going to purchase all the VMware products, as they might have different solutions for different purposes.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"Parallels Desktop integrates seamlessly with macOS. It works better than VMware on Apple operating systems."
"We've configured single sign-on for two or three enterprise customers, and it works very well."
"The antivirus and the ability to push security policies down to the device are key features."
"The solution has proven to be very stable."
"If an end-user has an issue with a device, the administration has the ability to remote access the device after approval from the end-user."
"Its value is when you use it with a Workspace ONE UEM solution as it is part of the ecosystem for VMware Workspace ONE."
"The bigger vendors like VMware, Insight, and MobileIron can assign engineers to customers. You can work with them to develop the right competency to use the product."
"The solution was easy to deploy."
"You can upgrade and migrate the existing group policies that we use for VMware Workspace ONE for the active directory. We can push the policies and group policies. We can migrate it and manage it from VMware Workspace ONE."
 

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."
"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."
"VMware Workspace ONE platform offers support for Mac Books and we see that there is some room for improvement in that area versus all the products out there."
"I'd like to see expanded device support, particularly for IoT things like SCADA devices."
"Its performance is quite good on Apple phones or even mid-range phones. If you install an AirWatch on a phone that is not too powerful, you will have performance issues. That's only because the phone is not too powerful, and there is not enough memory, etc. They could do a lighter version for a less powerful phone. It would also be useful for very small companies that don't want to spend money on expensive phones. Having said that, I don't think that is their target market. If their target market is enterprise, all enterprises perhaps have an agreement with Google or Apple, and they would get a phone that has already been tested, and they know that AirWatch will work on that phone."
"The app installer is something that they should really change. It creates a lot of confusion for the user."
"Integration with Microsoft needs improvement. There are some dependencies with Microsoft that aren't 100% yet, for example: compliance synchronization."
"vIDM could be improved with the multi-tenant capabilities that VMware tends to offer—features like customization branding and the integration of the app catalog based on the branding. Since the integration has been at top-level OGs, you were not able to then do rebranding if you were required to use specific user groups to highlight specific applications. At the time, I was personally opening feature requests for these things. I haven't worked with the latest release, so I don't know if these features were already deployed or not."
"From an identity perspective, there is a lot of room for improvement when it comes to integration with other solutions. I would say it needs more capabilities in terms of direct integrations, including cloud identity solution integrations."
"There are other solutions that might be better for certain use cases. This is not an all-purpose solution."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"Our customers are concerned about the costs. The solution is higher than they want it to be."
"The solution is more expensive than Intune."
"It's an expensive tool."
"The pricing and licensing are affordable. They are not too high."
"In some cases, a customer may feel the solution is expensive."
"I have no opinion about the pricing of the product."
"Licensing fees are paid on a monthly basis."
"We've purchased various licenses for VMware Workspace ONE, including premium and gold tiers. These licenses include security measures and support for managing telecom expenses like data and voice usage."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
14%
University
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Parallels Desktop?
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.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Parallels Desktop?
If you want the standard version, it is more expensive but more advanced. You get what you pay for. These products cost money, and the company has to make a profit.
What needs improvement with Parallels Desktop?
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.
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 it easy to control security and manage the usage of mobile apps when you have a ...
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 setup is easy, and the product is very stable and reliable. I think the fact th...
What do you like most about VMware Workspace ONE?
The platform provides a stable environment for operations and quickly creates new environments. Additionally, it offers efficient flexibility.
 

Also Known As

No data available
VMware Workspace ONE, VMware AirWatch, Workspace ONE Assist, VMware Identity Manager, Workspace ONE Access, VMware Horizon Air
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Lytro, University of Washington, Slalom, Veeva Systems, Oklahoma Christian University
Australian Sports Commission, Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, Lomond School, Merck, United Bank, Medical College of Wisconsin, Latymer Upper School, 2gether NHS Foundation Trust, Dowling Aaron Inc., Trillium Lakelands District School Board, Harrogate Grammar School, Duke University Football, Delta Air Lines, Adventist Health System, Giochi Preziosi, Cramlington Learning Village, Intermountain Healthcare, Safexpress, TAG Aviation
Find out what your peers are saying about Parallels Desktop vs. Workspace ONE UEM and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
862,499 professionals have used our research since 2012.