Parallels Reviews 1,776

Absolute hell.
I just wasted the past 2 hours of my life installing Paralells, because they promised a 14-day free period.
But after the installation went through, the only option I could choose was to pay 199$ and not a 14-day period free of charge.
After a lot of clicking back and forth I found the “14 days free” link, but after clicking it, it would simply load and load and never direct me to the next step.

2 hours of my life I will never get back. Don’t waste your time.

I had Parallel 10 years ago, and it worked OK. But, the company now wants to rip people off. How long will the company last...not long. Go somewhere else to use an emulator.

Always trying to sell you what you already have paid for!! Reinstalling the permanent license is a nightmare and can never be done without emailing and fighting with the support team. The 24/7 online support is a lie. I don't mind spending £100s for this, but I need peace of mind. I have the license number, the links, everything needed, but then I get messages like the following despite mine i *Permanent License* 'To activate Parallels Desktop 20, this license key must be upgraded.' Really annoying, I must find an alternative.

The software didn't work for one specific app on my M1 Mac, which appears to be unsupported at the moment. However, Parallels worked well. I also appreciated that they promptly issued a full refund upon request.

The CS sucks. Train your reps to read the entire emails sent to them before sending out an email that states they can not help you. I just had to go back and forth with a rep because they did not read the email. This went on for 3 days and 8 emails just to get a refund on an account that has been cancled for a year.

Free trial worked ok with a few games laggy but manageable.But once i purchased the full version it has caused nothing but issues. I raised a few tickets for issues with advice given, but they didn't working, and but because i kept trying their advice it wasnt till 5 weeks in that i asked for a refund, and because its a 30 day refund policy im stuck with useless app now and no refund. Unhappy customer

Criminal Organisation who will steal your money!!!!!
I bought Parallels Desktop for 1 year (it says so twice in the invoice). Now parallels continues to bill me. I can't login to my account since I registered on my previous company's email address which is now deactivated. When I try submit a Refund Request (for "Unwanted Auto Renewal") on Customer support it keeps telling connection lost when I try submit.

I had been a loyal customer since 2013, and aside from the company switching to a subscription model that seemed designed to lock in customers, I was generally satisfied paying £35 a year for my single VM.

The problems began when I got a new machine and temporarily needed a second license. I contacted support, naively hoping they might offer a couple of months free for an additional license. That didn’t happen, which was fine, so I paid for the second license for the rest of the year. However, I didn’t sort things out quickly enough, so that "year" turned into two more years at a cost of £98.57 per year.

I then decided I no longer needed the extra license, so I tried to remove it. Unsurprisingly, there's no option on the website to cancel a license—presumably for 'reasons'. When I contacted support, I received the absurd response that licenses cannot be removed. Instead, they told me to turn off auto-renewal and let the license expire, then buy a new one if needed. It’s a laughable process and an insight into how this company operates.

I followed their instructions, letting the extra license expire, but when I tried to renew, I was quoted £109.98. I assumed this was for both licenses, so I went to buy a new one instead, which was priced at £99.99, with a £25 discount for the first year.

It turns out that I was on an old pricing model, and by following their advice, I had lost it. Now, I have to buy licenses on their new, ridiculously overpriced model.

To summarize:
1. Their refusal to let customers remove licenses is incredibly unprofessional.
2. Their support team didn’t bother to inform me that I would lose my old pricing model if my license expired, which feels dishonest.
3. Without a subscription, you can’t even use the software anymore, which feels like theft.

Over the years, I've paid these crooks £542.97 for software I now can't use. The purpose of subscription models is to deliver continuous updates to paying customers, not to lock them into an endless payment cycle. They don’t even release updates throughout the year—just a single new version, which barely differs from the last. The software itself has hardly evolved since 2013, aside from being compatible with newer operating systems.

I even reached out to the CEO to express my concerns, but unsurprisingly received no response.

My advice: stay away from this company and look at professional alternatives like VMware. They’re more reputable, well-known, and even offer VMware Fusion for free.

I have been using Parallels for many years, and have found it incredibly slow. I prefer the Mac environment, but as I need to use certain Windows compatible programs, I am obliged to use it. I recently upgraded from an M1 MacBook Pro to an M3 MacBook Pro hoping that the newest Mac will be able to handle Parallels without all the lags I was experiencing with the M1 Mac (which was very fast for everything else). Conclusion, nothing changed. Using Windows 11 and Parallels 19 (which they more-or-less force you to buy an annual licenses), I still get so much lag using simple programs like Outlook/Windows and Excel or Powerpoint. Forget even using Autocad or Revit on Parallels, as there zero chance it would operate. I have to shut down all other processes and it still lags. I used to blame my Mac, but now I know it is Parallels and the windows environment. Cant wait to leave that whole windows eco-system.

On May 23rd I spoke with a rep by the name of Vashish. He was absolutely very helpful. He went above and beyond to make sure my issue was resolved and even gave some HUGE pointers. He even taught make about wire eating sharks (lol). He assured me that my issue would be resolved before our call ended. He even stayed on the phone once his shift was over. I could not believe we were basically on the phone for over 4 hrs. And I don't even speak with friends or family that long over the phone. His customers Service was just phenomenal. I work in customer service and totally understand how it can be trying satisfying everyone's needs. Thank you

My product key cannot be used on a different computer under the same account. I never had this problem before. I am assuming these guys are just greedy.

Avinash Bundhoo has rectified a number of issues and restored my faith in the parallels desktop environment I hope to deal with him in future if I have any issues very nice man and very helpful

Impossible to get support. I wanted to cancel subscription but could not log in to the account. Tried to follow the steps given in their website but that didn't work. There is no way you could find the email address or someone to talk directly. Could not recommend and would say avoid this company. After looking at their forums, I can see many people have issues and some get the answers only in the forums. That looks like this company is still ages back.

Parallel 5 star review
I have never wanted to write a 5 star review more than I do so now. Let me explain, I have had an issue with my external monitor where it would keep flickering on and off for the past year. I contacted Parallel today and was so so fortunate to get advice from Vashish. He was amazing. He went above and beyond to solve my problem. Normally I hate contacting support helplines because they rarely help you but Vashish was different. He made sure he tested everything out with me and was on hand to answer all my burning questions. I genuinely can't thank him enough. If you are lucky to get on a call with him, just know any problem you have he will fix. Thank you so much again Vashish. You are the best!

Almost impossible to find your way through their refund service, impenetrable they try to sell you Skype on route. Crashed many times when I used parallels Horrible

Upgraded to Parallels 19.2.1 and this wiped my windows 11 virtual machine. I am now required to buy a new windows licence!

Despite several emails, no reply has been received.

Come on guys give me a solution that doesn't cost me money.

Totally unacceptable from an alleged professional company that 'wants us to enjoy the best experience'

I bought Parallels Desktop 16, and after 3 years it stopped working completely (Windows crashes). Not just with Windows 11, any Windows version. I asked Parallels tech support if there's any Windows version I can use, and they said the only way is to upgrade by paying $69.99. I don't think is fair. I understand that you have to pay if you want to use newer Windows version, but it's not fair that you have to pay to use the same Windows version that I was using 3 years ago. I'm very disappointed with their unfair business practices. It's a shame because the product seems quite good otherwise.

It is with a sense of profound disappointment and a touch of bewilderment that I reflect upon my experience with this esteemed German company, known for its "Parallels" software. Despite placing my order on the 22nd of December, I find myself in the rather perplexing situation of still awaiting the activation code. My attempts to reach out have been numerous, akin to diligently dispatching letters in the age of Goethe, yet, alas, they seem to have vanished into the ether, unacknowledged. It's almost as if, in a whimsical nod to tradition, I should have inscribed my request upon a stone tablet, in the hope that it might, through some arcane process, expedite the arrival of the much-anticipated code.

I have been trying for months to get Parallels to resolve an issue with my subscription including with calls and emails and all I get is form replies that are not whatsoever responsive.

Automatic payment taken from Paypal account without notification and warning of it taking place until after it happened. Contacted Parallels Support straight away got a reply a day later from their Customer Support Engineer requesting further details and documentary proof which has now been sent twice. still waiting a week later on a reply and the refund being paid back to my account. At same time contacted Paypal to raise an objection Paypal has refused to refund escalated to an appeal and waiting on a reply. Further email sent to same Customer Support Engineer this morning also awaiting reply.

Update: email requests to Parallels ignored no response from the company and Paypal refused refund found in favour of the business despite no notification being about to be taken until after it happened if I could would rate this as zero stars. advise others to be careful of this business and their practices.