V Fusion For Mac
- Boot Camp vs VMware Fusion Comparison For years, Mac users found themselves having to circumnavigate the restrictions of the built-in operating system so that they could make the most of the sleek and sophisticated hardware and software but still make use of Windows that, unfortunately, often held the cards when it came to program compatibility.
- « Back to Blog home page Fusion 360 launches on Mac App Store By: Keqing Song Posted 6 years ago Welcome to the family of professional apps. Fusion 360 is the first professional CAD/CAM solution to be launch on the Mac App Store, and has been something we’ve wanted to do for a long time.
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 |
Download VMware Fusion 12 and let your Mac run Windows, Linux or Mac OS X Server. Run the most demanding Mac and Windows applications side-by-side at maximum speeds without rebooting. VMware Desktop Hypervisors: VMware Workstation and VMware Fusion: Local Mac, Windows and Linux Virtualization Desktop Hypervisor products from VMware provide IT pros, developers and businesses alike with a powerful local virtualization sandbox to build, run or support apps of any kind. Fusion Pro takes virtualization on the Mac to the next level with professional features designed to help users save precious time and effort on a variety of tasks. Added cloud support for VMware vCloud Air and VMware vSphere allows you to bring the power of the enterprise hybrid cloud to your Mac.
| Performance |
| Notification Center |
| Resource Optimization |
| TRIM Support |
| Disk Cleanup |
| Resolution |
Parallels Or Fusion For Mac
| 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
Choose Windows Firmware
Enable Shared Folders
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.
For years, Mac users found themselves having to circumnavigate the restrictions of the built-in operating system so that they could make the most of the sleek and sophisticated hardware and software but still make use of Windows that, unfortunately, often held the cards when it came to program compatibility. Because of this, virtual machines began to rise in popularity, tools like VMware Fusion that allowed for the safe running of Windows on a Mac without much issue. Developed by a Dell Technologies subsidiary, VMware Inc., this is virtualization software that lets users run a wide variety of operating systems on the same Mac without the need for rebooting. But then came Boot Camp, Apple’s own answer to the issue, its dual-boot utility that has been built into its desktop computer since OS 10.5 Leopard. And though one is a paid-for product and the other is an in-built Mac utility, it still begs the question: which one is best for your needs?
| Features | VMware Fusion | Boot Camp |
| Logo | ||
| Rating | ||
| Reviews | ||
| Visit | ||
| Free Trial | Free Trial | |
| Coupons | Coupons | |
| Import Boot Camp Partitions | n/a | |
| Windows Download | ||
| Windows Integrated Into macOS | ||
| Guest OS Support | ||
| Virtual Copy of macOS | ||
| Encryption | ||
| Automate Snapshots | ||
| Customize Startup | ||
| Quick Look |
| Integration | |
| Windows Data Transfer | n/a |
| Shared Folders | |
| DirectX 10.1 Support | n/a |
| Microsoft Cortana Integration | |
| iCloud/Dropbox/Google Drive Integration | |
| 'Open With' Option |
| Performance |
| Notification Center |
| Resource Optimization |
| TRIM Support |
| Disk Cleanup |
| Resolution |
| Pricing | ||
| Price | $79.99 | n/a |
| Free Version | 30 days | n/a |
| Free Version | No | n/a |
| Money-Back Guarantee | No | n/a |
| Payment Methods | |
| Visa | n/a |
| PayPal | n/a |
| Mastercard | n/a |
| American Express | n/a |
| Wire Transfer | n/a |
| Liberty Reserve | n/a |
| Bitcoin | n/a |
| Customer Support |
| 24/7 |
| Live Chat |
| On Call |
| Remote Desktop |
| Community |
Boot Camp
Sometimes Mac users need to run industry-specific software that is available only for Windows. Boot Camp serves well in this specific scenario: without the need to buy any third-party software, users can install Windows on their Mac just by following the on-screen instructions of the assistant.
Since it is part of macOS the software is free, but users will need to allocate space on their startup disk for the Windows partition, which isn't dynamic as it is with a virtual machine. As such, users need to keep in mind how much space they will need to run Windows and any accompanying third-party software.
Setup Process
Windows Installed via Boot Camp
Control Panel Overview
A major advantage of Boot Camp is the ultimate Windows experience that they get. Thanks to this dual-boot utility, users can select whether they boot their Mac in macOS or Windows. Opting for the latter will mean that Microsoft's operating system will use the Mac hardware to its maximum potential without sharing its hardware resources simultaneously with another operating system. This means that Windows will fly on the Mac, while images will look much clearer and the text sharper on Macs thanks to the Retina display.
This advantage turns to be a disadvantage when it comes to sharing files, however. With Boot Camp users have access to two completely isolated operating systems, so they have to figure out a way to get access to the same files from both sides of the virtual fence. Annoyingly they will need to reboot every time they want to exit or run a different operating system.
VMware Fusion
VMware Fusion is one of the top paid choices for both consumers and enterprises, offering the convenience of running a wide variety of operating systems without the added cost of a new computer dedicated to that purpose. After installing VMware Fusion on a Mac, users can pick any of the 200 operating systems supported by the hypervisor and run them simultaneously with macOS.
Select Operating System
V Fusion For Mac Pro
Choose Windows Firmware
Windows Integration Options
Having such an application on the Mac greatly expands the capabilities of the computer as it doesn't limit the user to just two operating systems and creates a safe environment that enables the possibility of running more than two operating systems at the same time and even allows for shared folders between different platforms. This is highly convenient for testing purposes but isn't quite as well optimized for gaming, in which case Boot Camp is the better option since it gives you a full-fledged, unhindered Windows experience.
While VMware Fusion includes OpenGL 3.0 and DirectX 10 support and is even able to detect a gaming mouse, the downside of virtual machines is a roughly 10% performance penalty that occurs when running a guest operating system. The per-user-based VMware Fusion lifetime license costs $79.99 but it can be tested for free for 30 days.
Conclusion
Both solutions have their pros and cons and selecting a ‘winner’ is ultimately a subjective choice. When it comes to price, Boot Camp easily comes out on top, but VMware Fusion has many more features for its $79.99 price tag.
Boot Camp solves an issue that users may encounter – namely the need to run a Windows app on a Mac – and it does so Apple way by building it into the operating system to ensure the best possible user experience – even on Windows. Since it isn't a virtual machine, it requires users to reboot into the desired operating system. It is also limited to just Windows as its secondary OS, too, which is very limited compared to VMware Fusion's 200 fully-supported operating systems and the added convenience of running any guest operating system without the need to turn the machine off.