AppsAnywhere vs. Parallels Desktop for Mac

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
AppsAnywhere
Score 9.8 out of 10
Enterprise companies (1,001+ employees)
AppsAnywhere is a software delivery platform that gives students and staff access to the software they need to get their work done wherever they are, both on and off campus. Boasting more than 2 million students at over 200 universities and colleges worldwide, the vendor states AppsAnywhere improves student outcomes by making software available on any device, including BYOD, thanks to their unique approach to virtualization. Used by higher ed institutions, including University…N/A
Parallels Desktop for Mac
Score 8.6 out of 10
N/A
Parallels® Desktop for Mac is used to run Windows on Intel or Apple silicon. Users can switch between Mac and Windows applications, while retaining the macOS appearance, or use the familiar Windows desktop aesthetic.
$99.99
per year
Pricing
AppsAnywhereParallels Desktop for Mac
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Parallels Desktop Standard Edition
$99.99
per year
Mac App Store
$99.99
per year
Parallels Desktop Pro Edition
$119.99
per year
Parallels Desktop Business Edition
$149.99
per year
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
AppsAnywhereParallels Desktop for Mac
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
AppsAnywhereParallels Desktop for Mac
Considered Both Products
AppsAnywhere
Chose AppsAnywhere
I recently had the opportunity to compare AppsAnywhere with Oracle VM, Amazon Workspaces, and Kasm Workspaces. I found that AppsAnywhere was the most intuitive and easiest to use out of the four, and it also had the best customer support. Its powerful cloud-based technology …
Chose AppsAnywhere
The AppsAnywhere team is very quick in setting up things and also having everything in a single place. The bundle of the apps can be easily configured as the documentation is also very straightforward while setting up things and also having the team to work accordingly …
Chose AppsAnywhere
the only other way of providing students access to specialised software wherever they are that I've used myself is probably VMware Horizon, where students log in to a machine in the cloud that is pre-configured to run the software they need, and they run it there. This is much …
Chose AppsAnywhere
It's much more straight-forward and light-weight.
Chose AppsAnywhere
Both AppsAnywhere and Amazon WorkSpaces are software that allows users to have access to their files and applications from basically and device, such as Mac and Windows, tablets, etc. Both AppsAnywhere and Amazon WorkSpaces make remote work accessible for users in easy to …
Chose AppsAnywhere
AppsAnywhere is more reliable and easy to used, it's value for money. I find a good review about this software online, good match for my organization and businesses. AppsAnywhere is the first choice for my organization and we are happy with the AppsAnywhere support team and …
Parallels Desktop for Mac
Chose Parallels Desktop for Mac
Parallels provides what we need at a reasonable cost. VMware was a bit pricier, and Parallels has more of a "Mac-like" feel for the application itself. UTM and Crossover were a bit too "hacker-ish" for basic end users that just want to pop in and out of windows when …
Chose Parallels Desktop for Mac
I have evaluated other products, there was no need as Parallels works great!
Chose Parallels Desktop for Mac
Runs much smoother, support is better. Price set at the time was much better.
Chose Parallels Desktop for Mac
We have tried VMware Fusion and Boot Camp. However, the level of graphics that we get in Parallels is much better compared to the other two tools. The speed, overall performance, ease of access, and features are a lot better on Parallels. Overall integration with Mac resources …
Chose Parallels Desktop for Mac
Every software development company every software development company has their own solutions works on every software development company has their own solutions works on a multitude of solutions and when it comes to parallels they have fine tuned theirs and critique it to be …
Chose Parallels Desktop for Mac
Parallels Desktop is faster when compared to other solutions, assuming that is for Mac computers only, is the fastest option and easiest to run
Chose Parallels Desktop for Mac
Performance for graphically intensive apps or development tools isn't as smooth as Parallels achieves, at least on M-chip MacBooks.
Chose Parallels Desktop for Mac
Main two features that made the balance decission go to the Parallels Desktop were the possibility to pause the Windows partition easily (allowing to consume less resources in Mac and save battery) and the other one is the user interface feature called "Coherence" with allows …
Chose Parallels Desktop for Mac
Parallels makes running other operating systems on your Mac user friendly and not have the hassle of some of the server use cases. VMware is the closest competitor I use occationally but for the most part Parallels is what I use for the majority of the time.
Chose Parallels Desktop for Mac
Parallels Desktop has better experience for MacOS if we compare to VMware Workstation Pro. It has more extensions and feature that working great on MacOS environment. Support working multi virtual machines on the same time and no limit (if you have a powerful laptop) I am …
Chose Parallels Desktop for Mac
Parallels [Desktop] is more polished and has a friendlier interface than VMware Fusion. While the VMware fusion licensing model is simpler Parallels [Desktop] innovates faster and optimizes their product more often and with more features that customers want. At their core they …
Chose Parallels Desktop for Mac
*VMware is not is the list but that is probably the most popular alternative. We went with Parallels because it was generally easier to install and maintain. VMWare is a solid product and we have people on staff who use it but most people who have experience both strongly …
Chose Parallels Desktop for Mac
If you can follow a prompt and click a button, you can install Parallels. We chose Parallels because they make it so simple to buy, install, set up, and add licenses. I work with Creatives and getting them to run a Windows environment is a painful task. With Parallels, we can …
Chose Parallels Desktop for Mac
I'm a longtime user of VMWare Fusion and I still use it in some cases. We use it on RedHat Linux computers to run other Linux environments with specific software development environment configurations. I've also used VMWare Fusion on a MacBook Pro laptop to run Windows and …
Chose Parallels Desktop for Mac
At the end of the day, it seemed like Parallels Desktop has the fastest product with a feature set that was most important to our users. Additionally, it seemed to hit a mark where it was easy enough for our less tech-savvy users, but powerful enough for our users that really …
Chose Parallels Desktop for Mac
I have not used any other program to meet these needs and to be honest I didn't want to. Parallels had great reviews and from my research it would do what I needed, so there was no reason to look elsewhere. On top of that, Parallels is not overly expensive for the capability …
Chose Parallels Desktop for Mac
vmWare Fusion is also a good product, but it tended to be a little more difficult to configure, and the price tag was higher in terms of the volume purchasing that we required.
Chose Parallels Desktop for Mac
Parallels Desktop ends up filling the sweet spot between free, but basic application (VirtualBox), and fully featured enterprise application (VMWare Fusion.). Even at this point, we don't use all of the features of Parallels, but the perceived performance boost over VirtualBox …
Chose Parallels Desktop for Mac
Not recommended for non-technical users but VMWare and Virtual Box are acceptable alternatives to these.
Chose Parallels Desktop for Mac
It's cheaper for one, it also is the company's sole focus so you know it is getting a lot of support on their end. I also feel it is easier to use. It is its own standalone and doesn't have any other flavors or variations like VMware. One stop software solution that works.
Chose Parallels Desktop for Mac
Parallels offers a much more streamlined and easier to navigate VM configuration interface. Once configured, device compatibility and overall system efficiency appears to be better in Parallels Desktop compared to others. Integration between the Mac host OS and the VM is …
Chose Parallels Desktop for Mac
We did not evaluate any other applications.
Chose Parallels Desktop for Mac
Parallels has better performance and easier setup than VirtualBox (and VMWare the last time I tried it). Parallels is fairly expensive, while VirtualBox is free, so going with VirtualBox will save quite a bit of money. The strength of VirtualBox lies in use with Vagrant and …
Chose Parallels Desktop for Mac
I have used VirtualBox on Windows as a free alternative, as I only used it to access an old scanner without recent drivers. So far, I stick with Parallels, but the OpenGL limitations are said to be resolved better with VMware Fusion. But I currently don't want to migrate to …
Features
AppsAnywhereParallels Desktop for Mac
Application Virtualization
Comparison of Application Virtualization features of Product A and Product B
AppsAnywhere
7.1
Ratings
8% below category average
Parallels Desktop for Mac
9.4
Ratings
20% above category average
Application support7.60 Ratings9.40 Ratings
Device support6.60 Ratings00 Ratings
Ease of deployment7.30 Ratings9.50 Ratings
Application packaging6.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Security6.90 Ratings9.50 Ratings
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User Ratings
AppsAnywhereParallels Desktop for Mac
Likelihood to Recommend
8.2
(0 ratings)
9.4
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
9.8
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
AppsAnywhereParallels Desktop for Mac
Likelihood to Recommend
AppsAnywhere is basically suitable for its purpose, despite some usability problems. In our place, applications can in principle be delivered to other machines (not owned by us but by the end-user), who are not even on-site - provided the user can connect to our domain, almost any kind of device is ok. However, I have not tried that myself. The UI could let people work faster, but only by a little, and most people get there in the end. It is basically quite simple to use and appealing to look at
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Parallels works just like a window or application on the Mac. Hence, it is beneficial to keep both OS versions hand in hand. Parallels is very useful when writing code for mobile/iOS applications. File sharing and paste functions are very easy to use. More than one machine can be taken on Parallels. It also integrates with Microsoft Intune. It can run other OS versions other than Windows.
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Pros
  • you can use AppsAnywhere to open and launch windows application on operating system through AppsAnywhere web page.
  • AppsAnywhere system is compatible with my all devices and operating system work perfectly.
  • You need persistent internet connection to used this software from anywhere.
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  • File Transfer - You can easily transfer files between Parallels virtualized desktops and the host desktop either through Copy and Paste functionality, or Drag and Drop. You can also configure shared folders.
  • Switch Between Virtual and Host Desktop - You can configure swipe gestures on a MacBook Pro to be able to switch between the virtualized and host desktop. You can also launch apps from the OS X Taskbar.
  • Performance - Apps in Parallels run quite smoothly on my 2015 MacBook Pro, as of 2020. Considering they are running on a 5-year-old computer, I give Parallels top marks for performance.
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Cons
  • The search function could be more intuitive.
  • I feel like there could be more options for customizing the look and feel of the app.
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  • The ability to do snapshots, backups, and other types of branching for VMs is a little confusing and takes a bit to get used to
  • The Parallels tools frequently pop up windows advertising functionality, while this is helpful at times it can also happen when you are doing a presentation or typing in a password.
  • Careful using the VMs on a shared cloud drive such as Dropbox or OneDrive, there are hundreds and sometimes thousands of files which are updated when running a VM and this can clog up your Dropbox or OneDrive sync for minutes to hours even on a 2gb connection.
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Likelihood to Renew
No answers on this topic
We are completely pleased with the ease of deployment and use with Parallels. It has proven to be reliable, and Parallels technical support is there when we need them. There is a large user audience online for peer consultations and discussions. In general, it is a functional and easily maintained utility which serves our needs.
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Usability
Almost everyone you tell to use it to access a specialist application can find the software they need and install it. However, surprisingly many have difficulties finding AppsAnywhere under the start menu or on the task bar - it is not a icon or name they recognise, and they really want to lunch the target specialist software (Zbrush or whatever). Once you find it, many people ignore the search function which is probably the fastest method, and browse the long list alphabetically, because the standard filters do not help much. Favouriting is rarely used as it is too burdensome and not an issue for users when they are looking for the applicationt hey need.
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It has a good integration, including the connection of peripherals. Taking files back and forth works well and I can attach my Home drive as a network drive in Windows. There is even integration with iCloud and other macOS services. There are also a few different display modes which are useful and fleixible (coherence, windowed, full-screen with multiple screens)
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Support Rating
No answers on this topic
So, this rating is a little skewed toward older behavior from Parallels, as I haven't had to contact them recently. However, in an older version of Parallels, an "update" included pop-ups urging users to upgrade to the latest version, implying that their current version wouldn't work for the latest MacOS. I found it very frustrating to be getting ads for a new version of the software in a version I had already paid for. I contacted support about this and got a generic, uncaring response. It was pretty disappointing.
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Implementation Rating
No answers on this topic
The only advice I can provide is think about who is using the product and build the image based on the true needs of the user.
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Alternatives Considered
I recently had the opportunity to compare AppsAnywhere with Oracle VM, Amazon Workspaces, and Kasm Workspaces. I found that AppsAnywhere was the most intuitive and easiest to use out of the four, and it also had the best customer support. Its powerful cloud-based technology made it easy to access applications from any device without having to worry about compatibility issues. The user experience was also great and I found that I could easily customize my workspace according to my needs.
Read full review
Parallels provides what we need at a reasonable cost. VMware was a bit pricier, and Parallels has more of a "Mac-like" feel for the application itself. UTM and Crossover were a bit too "hacker-ish" for basic end users that just want to pop in and out of windows when necessary. Parallels is well supported and easy to use. It is also heavily used in Higher Education, which gives us a peer audience to work with.
Read full review
Return on Investment
  • It has increase new courses usage by 40%
  • The engagement of the user is increasing 15%
  • increase of user by 10%
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  • The cost versus benefit is definitely in the users' favor - the licensing terms for simple desktop usage are very generous, and the business impact is enormous, being able to seamlessly jump from one OS to the other without dealing with multiple physical VMs or cloud remote sessions.
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ScreenShots

AppsAnywhere Screenshots

Screenshot of AppsAnywhere brings together all university or college software apps into a single app store platform, on any device.

Parallels Desktop for Mac Screenshots

Screenshot of Parallels Desktop running Windows applications, on a Mac.Screenshot of the ability to switch between operating systems without rebooting.Screenshot of Coherence Mode, which minimizes distraction.Screenshot of file sharing between Mac and Windows.Screenshot of application development and testing in Windows, Linux, and virtual macOS (Pro & Business Edition).Screenshot of license management in Parallels Desktop (Business Edition).