VMware Fusion vs. Parallels Desktop
How is Parallels Desktop different than VMware Fusion?
- Trusted desktop virtualization software for more than 15 years!
- Windows 11 automatic download and installation on your Intel or Apple M-series Mac
- Works natively on M1 and M2 Mac chips: Coherence View mode, shared folders, copy-paste, drag-drop, camera, etc.
- Superior graphics in Windows 11 on ARM, including DirectX 11 + vertical sync for playing games, smooth Windows desktop, and ProMotion display support
- Premium 24/7 support is included in the price
Existing VMware Fusion Customer?
Exclusive Offer: 50% OFF Parallels Desktop for Mac Pro when you validate your license key
Trusted by More Than 7 Million Users and Praised by Experts
“It’s always been astonishing that it’s faster to start up a Parallels PC than a real one. On my MacBook Air, I’m up and running in Windows six seconds after I double-click the Parallels icon.”David Pogue, The New York Times
“Of all the ways to run Windows on a Mac, Parallels Desktop is my favorite because it just works. It's fast, it's reliable, and there's no need to futz about with confusing setting or convoluted setup processes.”Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, ZDNet
“Unlike Apple’s Boot Camp, Parallels lets you run both operating systems at the same time.”Larry Magid, Forbes
”Parallels Desktop is the easiest, fastest, and most tightly integrated app for running Windows apps or the Windows desktop in Apple OS X.”Edward Mendelson, PCMag.com
“The latest version of Parallels, the popular Windows virtualization tool for Mac OS X, almost feels like its trolling Apple.”Engadget
Work Smarter
Run classic Intel-based (x86) Windows apps on your M-series Mac. With more than 200,000 Windows-only apps supported, we have you covered.
Support for macOS Ventura
Parallels Desktop supports mac OS Ventura (when released), macOS Monterey, macOS Big Sur 11, macOS Catalina 10.15, and macOS Mojave 10.14.
Compare Parallels Desktop Editions
| Standard Edition | |
| Optimized for macOS Ventura | |
| Download and Install Windows 11 in one click | |
| Seamless Mac integration | |
| New! Use game controller in Windows with no setup | |
| Disk Space Optimization | |
| Free upgrade to the latest version | Subscription only |
| Virtual RAM for each VM | 8GB vRAM |
| Virtual CPUs for each VM* | 4 vCPUs |
| Premium 24/7 phone and email support | Subscription only |
| Buy From € 99.99Upgrade €69.99 | |
| Most Popular | |
| Pro Edition All the Standard Edition features PLUS: |
|
| New! Manage macOS VM via CLI (on Apple M-series Mac) | |
| Visual Studio plug-In for remote debugging and profiling | |
| Advanced virtual networking tools | |
| Free upgrades to newer versions | |
| Automate with CLI tools | |
| New! Automate with CLI tools + CLI for macOS VM on Apple M-series Mac | |
| Integrations With Vagrant/Docker/Packer/Minikube | |
| Debug, dump VM or start an SSH session from menu | |
| Manage more VMs: templates, colors, sorting | |
| Virtual RAM for each VM | 128GB vRAM |
| Virtual CPUs for each VM* | 32 vCPUs |
| Premium 24/7 phone and email support | |
| Buy €119.99/yrUpgrade €69.99 | |
| Business Edition All the Standard and Pro Edition features PLUS: |
|
| Enable employees to download a preconfigured Windows to their Mac | |
| New! Per user licensing option for companies that are ready to use SSO/SAML/SCIM integration | |
| Centralized administration and management | |
| Unified Volume License Key for mass deployment | |
| Buy €149.99 /yr | |
* Up to 18 CPU on Apple with M-series chips
Are you a student? Save with Student Edition (Valid student verification required)
BONUS!
Included with your Parallels Desktop subscription:
Parallels® Toolbox + Parallels® Access
Bonus with Subscription!
Parallels Toolbox
More than 40 one-touch tools—clean your drive, take screenshots, download a video, and more—all with one click.
Bonus with Subscription!
Parallels Access
Remote access to your Mac from any iOS device, Android device, or browser with Parallels Access.
Frequently Asked Questions
To add Windows, Linux, or another operating system to your Mac, Parallels Desktop creates a virtual machine (VM)—a virtual PC inside your Mac. You can then install Windows on the virtual machine, just as you would install any operating system on a regular computer. Run multiple OSs at the same time, all on your Mac. It’s like two computers in one!
- Open Windows applications side by side with your macOS applications, without having to restart your Mac
- Copy and paste text or drag and drop objects between Mac and Windows.
- Run Windows games and other 3D applications.
- Transfer all your data from a PC and use it on your Mac.*
- Easily share files, devices, and other resources between Windows and Mac.
- Install other operating systems, such as versions of Windows, Linux, another copy of macOS* and free virtual appliances—and use them together.
- And much more…
Parallels Desktop makes it easy to get started within minutes. Just follow our Installation Assistant and click “Install Windows.” – Parallels Desktop will download and install Windows 11 automatically.
You can provide your own Microsoft Windows license key, purchase a new Windows license from within Windows in Microsoft Store, or transfer an existing Boot Camp partition with Windows already installed.
This screenshot illustrates the installation experience on a Mac.
With Parallels Desktop, you can switch between Mac and Windows without ever needing to reboot your computer.
If you have already installed Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, or Windows 7 on your Mac using Boot Camp, you can set Parallels Desktop to run Windows from the Boot Camp Partition or import Windows and your data from Boot Camp into Parallels Desktop as a new virtual machine.
To use Windows from Boot Camp, install Parallels Desktop and follow the Installation Assistant.
Play hundreds of Windows-only games on a Mac using Parallels Desktop. Enable the Gaming profile to give more RAM and CPU power to Windows for optimal performance and experience. Download a free 14-day trial of Parallels Desktop and see if your desired game is supported.
System Requirements are available at https://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/resources/
Need Parallels Desktop for your team? Check out Parallels Desktop Business Edition.
Parallels offers exclusive discounts for educational students currently enrolled in a qualified educational institution or professional educators who are currently employed. Educational discounts can save users up to 50% off by verifying their eligibility.
Parallels Desktop Pro Edition is packed with extra features, including:
- More Power: Parallels Desktop Pro Edition gives your virtual machines more processing power, up to 128 GB vRAM and 32 vCPUs per virtual machine on Intel-based Mac, and up to 62 GB vRAM and 18 vCPUs per virtual machine on Apple M-series Mac.
- VM Upload and Deployment - upload and deploy large VM files by converting a VM bundle into a single file.
- Command Line Interface – Use Command Line Interface tools to control Parallels Desktop and manage VMs, including their settings and configuration. Command Line interface also enables additional integrations like Vagrant.
- Visual Studio Plug-In – Develop software in one virtual machine and test in others—with just one click.
- Nested Virtualization Support* – Support is available for the following:
- VMware ESXi virtual machines
- Xen and kernel-based virtual machines in versions of Linux that support Xen and KV
- Android emulator for Visual Studio in Windows
- iPhone emulator for Visual Studio in Windows
- Xamarin.Android in Windows
- Android Studio in Windows
- Embarcadero RAD Studio in Windows
- Docker for Windows
- (experimental) Microsoft Visual Studio + TwinCat 3
- Download Parallels Desktop for Mac.
- Open the downloaded file and double click “Install”.
- Follow the installation process.
- Download and install Windows 11 via Installation Assistant, or skip to install other operating systems, such as Ubuntu, Fedora, or other Linux systems supported by Parallels Desktop. See all Guest Operating Systems »
Parallels offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on all purchases made on parallels.com. If you purchased this from another retailer, please check their return policy.
User guides and resources can be found on our Technical Documentation and Resources page. Or go to Support.
System Requirements
Operating System
macOS Ventura 13.0
macOS Monterey 12.4 or newer
macOS Big Sur 11.6.7 or newer
macOS Catalina 10.15.7 or newer
macOS Mojave 10.14.6 or newer
Processor
Apple M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, M1 Ultra, and M2 chips, Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, Core i9, Intel Core M or Xeon processor
Storage
600 MB for Parallels Desktop application installation
Graphics
Apple M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, M1 Ultra, and M2 chips, Intel, AMD Radeon, or NVIDIA graphics cards
Memory
4GB of RAM
*Features that are only available on Mac computers with Intel processors are marked with an asterisk (*).