The company has switched Parallels Desktop to a universal binary, and has optimized its virtualization code.' The feature set of the free VMWare Fusion Player has one important feature. Both Parallels Desktop and VMware Workstation allow users to run applications of different operating systems, but they also have some standout features that set them apart from each other. Parallels Desktop provides a setup wizard that walks users through the process of installing Parallels Desktop on their system and launching apps. Both Fusion, now in Version 2.0.1, and Parallels, in Version 4.0, allow you to run another OS - Windows, Linux, and others - on your Mac as a guest of OS X. They provide what's called a. Fusion Versus Parallels Switch from Parallels and save big on Fusion, the most reliable way to run Windows ® on a Mac ®. Shop Now VMware Academic Program Academic discounts on desktop virtualization. Parallels Desktop gave me a pretty decent experience, and was easy to figure out. With my Parallels trial running out in a few days, I installed VMware Fusion 11.5 and imported my VM file from Parallels into it and gave its “Ubiquity” mode a try, and I’m just going to cut to the chase: It was immediately apparent that Parallels is better.
- Parallels Desktop Vs Vmware Fusion
- Parallels Desktop Vmware Fusion Or Virtualbox
- Parallels Desktop Vmware Fusion Review
Using a Mac in a Windows environment and having an admin role makes it necessary to keep a Windows computer handy to perform many Active Directory tasks since there is no native macOS domain admin tools for Windows Active Directory, or at least none that are reasonably priced. So for the longest time, I’ve kept my old Windows laptop at my desk connected to the network, and I would initiate a Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection session to it and use Active Directory Users & Computers and any other Windows RSAT admin tools that I needed. This gets the job done, as long as I’m either on the work office network either in person or remotely via VPN, and as long as the network is performing well, which is usually is. Not a lot of hoops to jump through; It only requires an extra swipe of my trackpad, but I do have to log in back into the Windows session a lot since we have a group policy that automatically locks your computer screen after 15 minutes of inactivity. It’s only mildly inconvenient, but I wanted to try something new.
I recently got the idea of instead running a Windows virtual machine locally on my Mac, mainly to take advantage of a feature I’ve read about that allows you to have your VM app windows appear as standalone windows that you can move around among your native macOS windows, instead of having to flip over to your full Windows VM. There are 3 virtual machine apps that can do this: Parallels Desktop, VMware Fusion, and VirtualBox.
I actually tried a trial of Parallels Desktop 15 first and began reading reviews of the others. The general consensus I saw was that Parallels was the better choice overall due to it being faster when it came to VM startup and app window performance, and this was both for general VM mode and “Coherence” mode, (which is what Parallels calls the feature I’m looking for.) All of the reviews also cited Virtual Box’s “seamless” mode as being the worst performer, with VMware Fusion falling somewhere in between. I’m probably not going to bother with VirtualBox due to not only the reviews, but that mixed with me being a little jaded when it comes to expectations of open source software doing anything fancy, but I did want to give the other premium option a try.
Parallels Desktop gave me a pretty decent experience, and was easy to figure out. With my Parallels trial running out in a few days, I installed VMware Fusion 11.5 and imported my VM file from Parallels into it and gave its “Ubiquity” mode a try, and I’m just going to cut to the chase: It was immediately apparent that Parallels is better when it comes to the presentation of the seamless window modes. With Parallels, while moving the app windows around isn’t exactly smooth, it’s very comparable to using RDP; just slightly choppy at its best. With VMware Fusion, dragging the Windows ADUC window around results in the window getting really deformed while dragging, leaving all sorts of nasty graphical artifacts in its wake until you’re finished moving the window. As I pointed out, Parallels windows aren’t exactly as graceful and smooth as native macOS windows when dragging them around the screen, but the graphics at least hold together and it doesn’t give you the feeling like you’re using some kind of sketchy, buggy software that might crash at any moment.
One interesting and ironic difference in this, however, is the performance of the actual Windows apps when it comes to the interface. In the ACUC window or even an Explorer window, when leaving them in place and actually using them, scrolling and navigating through the folder trees is incredibly responsive on Fusion to the point where it feels like a native macOS window. With Parallels, much like dragging windows around the screen, scrolling around in an app is just “slightly choppy” and very RDP-like. I can see where this would be more important to some people, especially if they keep the VM window full screen and don’t have a need to be moving it around the screen throughout the day. In these cases, VMware might win out over Parallels when you factor in the licensing costs and options.
But for me, I’m big on look and feel, and the slight choppiness of Parallels wins out over the mess that Fusion makes when moving app windows around. And that leads me to the final nail in the coffin for VMware: access to the Windows Start Menu while using Coherence/Ubiquity modes. In Parallels, the icon in the dock for the VM itself doubles as the Windows Start button, and clicking it brings up the initial Windows Start menu perfectly, allowing you to either start typing to search to launch an app or giving you access to apps you may have pinned to Start. (You can also pin individual Windows apps to your macOS dock in both, which seems to work well enough with the exception of the Windows RSAT tools in both cases.) With VMware, clicking your VM dock icon does bring up a Start menu of sorts, but it’s not the native Windows 10 one, and apps I have pinned do not seem to appear. There were also some odd glitches after launching an app, with some of them seemingly failing to launch until you click the VM icon again, and it then brings up the app window as though it were hidden due to VMware not having focus, even though it did.
So, for my money and needs, Parallels Desktop wins. I may give Virtual Box’s “Seamless mode” a try someday.
There are two big names in the virtual machine software industry who have both developed high-class, consumer-friendly virtual machine monitor apps and as such are competing directly against one another. These two are Parallels Inc. and Dell’s subsidiary VMware Inc, with the first to launch its software being Parallels in 2006, followed by VMware a year later.
Sold at the same price point in the U.S., both Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion pack in tons of features that make deploying and managing virtual machines a piece of cake – even for rookie computer users. If they’re both on the top of their separate games, then, how can you even choose between the two?
| Features | VMware Fusion | Parallels Desktop |
| Logo | ||
| Rating | ||
| Reviews | ||
| Visit | ||
| Free Trial | Free Trial | Free Trial |
| Coupons | Coupons | Coupons |
| Import Boot Camp Partitions | ||
| Windows Download | ||
| Windows Integrated Into macOS | ||
| Guest OS Support | ||
| Virtual Copy of macOS | ||
| Encryption | ||
| Automate Snapshots | ||
| Customize Startup | ||
| Quick Look |
| Integration |
| Windows Data Transfer |
| Shared Folders |
| DirectX 10.1 Support |
| Microsoft Cortana Integration |
| iCloud/Dropbox/Google Drive Integration |
| 'Open With' Option |
| Performance |
| Notification Center |
| Resource Optimization |
| TRIM Support |
| Disk Cleanup |
| Resolution |
| Pricing | ||
| Price | $6.66/mo | $79.99 |
| Free Version | 14 days | 30 days |
| Free Version | No | No |
| Money-Back Guarantee | 30 days | No |
| Payment Methods |
| Visa |
| PayPal |
| Mastercard |
| American Express |
| Wire Transfer |
| Liberty Reserve |
| Bitcoin |
| Customer Support |
| 24/7 |
| Live Chat |
| On Call |
| Remote Desktop |
| Community |
Parallels Desktop
If the secondary platform you'll be using on the Mac is Windows, then Parallels Desktop will streamline its deployment. Thanks to its convenient one-click install option, users can just instruct the app to download a legitimate copy of Windows from Microsoft.
While both hypervisors do their job well, what makes the difference between Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion are the corresponding feature sets that they each pack. For example, with Parallels the guest operating system integration level goes as deep as having a button in Safari to open a specific website in Internet Explorer and a “Call with iPhone” option when using the Windows browser.
Parallels Desktop Downloading Windows 10
Shared Folders
App Customization Options
Running two operating systems on the same computer will obviously have an impact on system resources, but Parallels Desktop offers the option to optimize energy saving settings for more personally tailored performance. Parallels will also pause the virtual machine if it notices that no apps are running. But it is in the performance where Parallels really shines, with a noticeably speedy boot up time when launching Windows. Downsides include the Windows app appearing in the dock as an app folder and Coherence mode in need of some design tweaking.
VMware Fusion
While it doesn't have the one-click Windows install option of Parallels’ software, VMware Fusion is a trustable hypervisor for a wide number of guest operating systems. Running this VMM will streamline the integration level of the guest operating system at a very early stage. Compared to its main competitor, VMware's isolated or seamless integration of the secondary OS is far more simplified and automated.
When it comes to performance, VMware Fusion feels just as quick; sometimes the reaction time is faster than Parallels' but the boot times matched that of its rival. It lacks the energy saving settings of Parallels Desktop, however, although it does also pause the virtual machine when it detects a period of zero activity.
Select Operating System
Parallels Desktop Vs Vmware Fusion
Choose Windows Firmware
Parallels Desktop Vmware Fusion Or Virtualbox
Enable Shared Folders
Parallels Desktop Vmware Fusion Review
When it comes to virtual machines, though, their ability to take snapshots of the guest operating system is one of the most convenient features, making troubleshooting much easier. Unfortunately, this is where VMware Fusion falters, since it doesn’t support automated snapshots as Parallels Desktop does and, therefore, means users are unable to restore their virtual machines without losing any data.
Conclusion
The heavy load of features makes choosing between these two virtual machine software packages a hard task since both have the same $79.99 price tag in the U.S. What makes the difference, though, is the pricing strategy that the two companies follow.
Parallels Desktop is available as a subscription, which means that users will always get the latest software and features, but the license is on a per computer basis. The lifetime license option is priced higher at $99.99.
VMware Fusion's pricing strategy is a bit different, just like its feature set. The company behind the software charges users for a lifetime license, as well as offering an upgrade at a discounted price. However, it is worth noting that this license is per user, so you can install VMware Fusion on all your personal devices.
Both virtual machines are available with a free trial, the only difference between the two being that Parallels Desktop provides a 14-day trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee, while VMware Fusion can be tested for 30 days before you are prompted to buy a license.