Parallels Desktop Reviews

Parallels is excellent for QA teams who need to test on a variety of operating systems, or from Mac users who need to run Windows apps in an integrated way simultaneously with their Mac apps, without a lot of performance overhead. Parallels is especially well-suited for power users who have state-of-the-art hardware running the latest version of both Parallels and Mac OS X. It is less-suited for those who cannot upgrade to the newest version of OS X or Parallels, as certain combinations of host operating system with Parallels will not work at all. It is also less-suited for those without high end hardware, and for game developers, VR developers, and others who are hoping to run PC games on a Mac at a decent frame rate. Finally, Parallels is also not suited for those who wish to run very old versions of Mac OS X like Snow Leopard (released in June 2009) which is only supported in its hard-to-find Server edition, or older than Snow Leopard, which are not supported at all.

The Parallels documentation and support websites are great. I have not had much use for them, but a cursory check shows richly documented features aimed at both the layperson and the power user or software developer. Their website is well-designed and information is easy to find, and their list of known issues as well as bugfixes on point releases is clear and transparent. They aren't trying to hide any of the limitations of their software, and seem to be regularly updating it to fix new bugs that arise with Mac OS X updates.

Parallels is very well suited when your preferred type of computer is a Mac and the software you need is only available in Windows. I was introduced to Parallels when I decided to switch from QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop. I was dismayed to find that there wasn't an updated Mac version and almost gave up until I found out about Parallels.

The price isn't extravagant - it's affordable. It enables me to use Windows X on my Mac seamlessly. I allows me to use the desktop version of my accounting system that is only available in Windows.

Parallels is best suited for users that need to operate in more than one environment at the same time, or when they need to test in multiple environments at once. It has a cost savings, by reducing the number of machines that are needed per user, reducing the need for lab environments, or network VMs that are not as responsive.

I haven't had call to use Parallels support, as our engineering team is usually the one that reaches out if we need support from the manufacturer.

Parallels Desktop is great for when you need to run resource-hungry applications in a guest's operating system. If you’re simply looking to test drive other operating systems, there are certainly free ways to do that. However, I have found that once it came time to actually put the guest operating system to use Parallels Desktop offered a much better, more seamless solution.

We have had rare occasions to contact support about the product. Most questions were easily answered from the knowledge base. When we have had to contact support they were able to provide us with a couple of different solutions and enough resources about how to accomplish said solutions that solving the problem was easy enough.

Parallels is ideal for power users who need access to Windows-only applications. Those users who require more than basic legacy business application support will be very happy with Parallels as it's performance and support justifies its price point. However, if you need simple and basic access to legacy business applications, you'll likely be satisfied with free options (such as Virtual Box).

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.

Parallels Desktop is great if you want to get good performance when running Microsoft Windows within macOS, and it will work much better than something like VirtualBox for this.

Although Parallels Desktop could be used for running local Vagrant virtual machines, VirtualBox works just fine and will save a lot of money.

For easiest possible setup and use with Windows, I would choose Parallels, but if you only need command-line only virtual machines, I would go with VirtualBox.

Suited to any scenario where a user needs two separate Operating Systems. Our marketing department is pretty hard-set on using Macs for Adobe applications, but when it comes to business functions, it seems they prefer Windows. We can accommodate them and Parallels runs very well in the background. Also, using the Coherence mode makes it even more seamless.

My main use is running my Bootcamp partition in Parallels to use Windows-only BIM and 3D applications, while at the same time continuing to work in macOS (Office, Evernote, native-Mac BIM & 3D software). I takes a bit away from the native speed, so at times I reboot into Bootcamp to run them at full speed.

If the models and documents are not too heavy, the ease of integration outweighs the performance loss. However, booting and loading heavy applications takes time, so I avoid running if at all possible.

I do business application development under Parallels. So far, I haven't found a scenario where Parallels hasn't been a good fit for me. I know running a VM can be resource intensive, so I suppose if you were running an extremely "hungry" Mac OS application, that could make using Parallels more difficult. Otherwise, I really can't think of a good scenario where Parallels isn't a fit.

Parallels Desktop for Mac works great in a lab or classroom environment. I can't really think a situation where I wouldn't use it.

Obviously, Parallels Desktop is ideal for any instances where you need to run an operating system other than what you are currently running. For this, it is very well suited. The ease of installation and setup of those operating systems within Parallels has gotten easier and easier over the years and it is now at the point that it is perhaps the easiest VM software to use.

If your organisation relies on multiple platforms where your users are frequently switching between multiple platforms, Parallels Desktop is a life saver. Especially when your user base is not as technical as developers. Having parallels desktop instead of more traditional VM solutions makes it user friendly for the end users and reduces the load of IT teams.

When you have a Windows user who insists on using a Macintosh computer this works wonderfully well. This gets around the hassle of using Boot Camp and offers a better experience. It allows the user to start getting used to the MacOS while still using Windows. The other benefit is the function like SQL or .Net programming. You can run individual programs in Windowed mode and still be in the MacOS.