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vCenter Server vs Parallels Desktop for Mac : Which is a better fit?

Updated on January 12th, 2025
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Summary
Features in Virtualization
18
Best performer
43
  • Access Controls/Permissions
  • Alerts/Escalation
  • API
2
43
  • Virtual Machine Encryption
User satisfaction
4.7
User reviews91
Ease of use
4.4
Functionality
4.7
Value for money
4.2
Customer support
4.4
4.4
User reviews144
Ease of use
4.5
Functionality
4.5
Value for money
4.3
Customer support
4.0
Price starts from
Not provided by vendor
Free version
Free trial
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Not provided by vendor
Free version
Free trial
Best for

Not provided by vendor

Not provided by vendor

User reviews
pros & cons
1 / 4
View Reviews
1 / 4
View Reviews
Video reviews
video-c0a15077-c447-4c11-74f7-08d87f8b69ee
Chris S
Lead System Engineer
5.0

Chris: My name is Chris, I'm a lead system engineer at a higher education institution, and I give vCenter Server a five out of five rating. Before arriving at vCenter Server I have used and evaluated products like Hyper-V, Oracle VM, and KVM, and they do not have the same feature parody that vCenter Server has, so we have moved away from software like those in favor of vCenter Server. We chose vCenter Server over some of the other software titles because of their feature set. They're best in class in virtualization management, things like snapshotting options, V motion, storage V motion, and it gets us into a larger ecosystem with other VMware software titles that allow you to do a lot more management. But vCenter Server is kind of that platform that you got to build on, and it has the features that we need, and does them the best. The integration and onboarding of vCenter Server was I would say one of the most user-friendly. It is not a whole lot to get started, they make the implementation of vCenter and connectivity with your vSphere hosts straightforward, the installation process is pretty straightforward, and to make it so that others can help manage VMs in vCenter Server, not only is the user interface really friendly and easy to use, but it has API integrations where you can then plug in outside third party software to help you manage and do things like backups and replication. You can use their APIs to write your own code, if that's something your group wants to do. And yeah, just the accessibility of the software, programmatically or in a user-friendly way, is a really straightforward process to get started and implemented. If you were thinking about implementing vCenter Server, my recommendation is to look at the features that you get with vCenter Server. You will notice that they simply have best in class features. Look at how the different methods of implementing things like data stores, data store clusters, the features for dynamic resource scheduling, and their networking features that allow you to do a lot of creative things that will fit your environment. And my recommendation is just compare that with other vendors and see how they do it, and I think you'll notice that vCenter just gives you that flexibility, and their product is able to actually do what they say it will do, and they will give you, at least I believe they'll give you a pretty lengthy trial, if you just want to implement it in your environment, see it, use it and work with it, and I think going that route, you'll see right away the benefits of how they do virtualization management over some of the competitors. So that would be my recommendation.

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Joe M
President and Board Member
5.0

Joe: Hi, my name is Joe. I am an independent music producer and I give Parallels Remote Desktop a five out of five. And for more reviews like this, just click below. I used an awful lot of products, including Splashtop, and actually even tried the Windows Remote Desktop and Remote PC. All of them were a bit more wonky than Parallels, and Parallels won me over. I chose Parallels because it worked very seamlessly. In the music industry, there are two conflicting worlds, which are Mac and PC, and it really helps to work together. And it feels to me when I'm working with a colleague, that we're literally working on the same computer together. The setup of Parallels was just really simple. I downloaded it, paid for it, and I was up and running. It was great. If you work in a dual world like Mac and PC, like I do, I can't think of a better software than Parallels. It just makes your life really simple.

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User interface
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1 Video
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3 screenshots
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vCenter Server

Top Features
18/43
  • Active Directory Integration
  • Activity Dashboard
  • Application Access Control
  • Archiving & Retention
  • Capacity Management
  • Data Storage Management
  • Data Visualization
  • Desktop/Application Virtualization
  • Disaster Recovery
  • File Management
  • File Transfer
  • HIPAA Compliant
  • Namespace Management
  • Real-Time Monitoring
  • Real-Time Reporting
  • Remote Access/Control
  • Remote Monitoring & Management
  • Remote Update/Installation
  • Secure Data Storage
  • Two-Factor Authentication
  • Version Control
  • Virtual Machine Encryption
  • Virtual Machine Provisioning
  • Virtual Machine Snapshots
  • Visual Analytics
  • Access Controls/Permissions
  • Alerts/Escalation
  • API
  • Automatic Backup
  • Backup and Recovery
  • Compliance Management
  • Configuration Management
  • Data Migration
  • Event Logs
  • Load Balancing
  • Performance Monitoring
  • Reporting/Analytics
  • Role-Based Permissions
  • Server Monitoring
  • Service Level Agreement (SLA) Management
  • Single Sign On
  • Third-Party Integrations
  • Virtual Machine Monitoring
See All features
Hide Virtualization Software Features -

Parallels Desktop for Mac

2/43
Show Virtualization Software Features +

vCenter Server

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Parallels Desktop for Mac

  • Best Value Virtualization
    Software (2022)
vCenter Server
Deployment
  • Cloud, SaaS, Web-Based
  • Desktop - Mac
  • Desktop - Windows
  • Desktop - Linux
  • Desktop - Chromebook
  • On-Premise - Windows
  • On-Premise - Linux
  • Mobile - Android
  • Mobile - iPhone
  • Mobile - iPad
Support
  • Email/Help Desk
  • FAQs/Forum
  • Knowledge Base
  • Phone Support
  • 24/7 (Live rep)
  • Chat
Training
  • In Person
  • Live Online
  • Webinars
  • Documentation
  • Videos
Parallels Desktop for Mac
Deployment
  • Cloud, SaaS, Web-Based
  • Desktop - Mac
  • Desktop - Windows
  • Desktop - Linux
  • Desktop - Chromebook
  • On-Premise - Windows
  • On-Premise - Linux
  • Mobile - Android
  • Mobile - iPhone
  • Mobile - iPad
Support
  • Email/Help Desk
  • FAQs/Forum
  • Knowledge Base
  • Phone Support
  • 24/7 (Live rep)
  • Chat
Training
  • In Person
  • Live Online
  • Webinars
  • Documentation
  • Videos
vCenter Server
  • By VMware
  • Located in United States
  • Founded in 1989
Parallels Desktop for Mac
  • By Alludo
  • Located in Canada
  • Founded in 1999
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