parallels-desktop-vs-vmware-fusion

Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion are both remote desktop software designed to help users run windows software on computers running the Mac OS operating system.  Both software options are most popular with mid-sized businesses, but VMware fusion is slightly more popular with larger enterprises, perhaps due to its integrations with other VMware software.

Features

Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion both offer essential remote desktop features such as screen capture and viewing, but they also have a few standout features that set them apart from each other. 

Parallels Desktop offers simple installation of multiple operating systems such as Windows and Ubuntu with a single click.  Additionally, Parallels Desktop offers fast boots, with Windows boots generally finishing in under 5 seconds.  Lastly, Parallels Desktop allows for optimized virtual machine resource usage by allowing for virtual machine pauses, and disk optimization.

VMware Fusion provides high performance virtual machines, especially in terms of graphics.  In benchmarking tests, Vmware Fusion performs better graphically than most remote desktop software including Parallels. VMware Fusion also offers support for high performance monitors, including 5k iMacs.

Limitations

Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion can both run Windows Software on Mac devices, but they have some limitations that are important to consider.

Parallels Desktop performs well in CPU tests, but does not perform as well as VMware Fusion when it comes to graphics. Businesses looking for high performance graphics should consider other options.  Compounding this issue, Parallels doesn’t include native support for 5k monitors, so businesses that need highest quality aesthetics may prefer VMware Fusion.

VMware Fusion is more difficult to implement compared to Parallels.  Multiple operating systems can be installed using VMware Fusion, but not with a single click. Additionally, while VMware Fusion performs well graphically, it doesn’t perform as well in CPU tests and takes longer to boot up virtual machines.

Pricing

Parallels offers a single price point for businesses, $99.99 per year for each license. VMware Fusion similarly offers a single rate for businesses, $79.99 per year per license.