Parallels Desktop for Mac Student and Educator Edition
Students save up to 50% on the Standard or Pro version of Parallels Desktop for Mac. Run Windows on your Intel or Apple M-series Mac without rebooting. Includes 40+ one-touch tools to simplify everyday tasks.
20+ powerful new features to boost performance and productivity.
Optimized for Intel, Apple M-series chips, and MacOS Ventura.
Run more than 200,000 Windows apps on your Mac, without rebooting.
Convert your existing PC to a virtual machine.
How to get your student discount
1. Choose your version
Review the compare chart and select Standard or Pro based on your needs. Click 'BUY NOW'.
2. Verify you’re a student
Find and select your school’s name. Login with your credentials.
3. Checkout
Your discount will be applied in the cart.
4. Download and get started
Your Parallels subscription will be sent to your email address.
Compare 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 | 8 GB vRAM |
| Virtual CPUs for each VM* | 4 vCPUs |
| Premium 24/7 phone and email support | Subscription only |
| Buy Upgrade | |
| 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 | 128 GB vRAM |
| Virtual CPUs for each VM* | 32 vCPUs |
| Premium 24/7 phone and email support | |
| Buy Upgrade | |
| 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 | |
New! Parallels Desktop 18
Get up to a 50% discount on Parallels, packed with more than 20 powerful, must-have features to boost performance and optimized for macOS Ventura, Intel, and Apple M-series chips.
Parallels Desktop 18 for Mac
System Requirements
Run most applications such as Microsoft Office, accounting software, trading software, SAP, Matlab, and more.
Internet connection is required for product activation, updates, and select features.
Processor
Apple M2, M1 Ultra, M1 Pro, M1 Max, and M1 chips, Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, Core i9, Intel Core M or Xeon processor
Memory
4 GB of RAM
Storage
600 MB for Parallels Desktop application installation*
Graphics
Apple M2, M1 Ultra, M1 Pro, M1 Max, and M1 chips Intel, AMD Radeon, or NVIDIA graphics cards
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
*Additional disk space for the guest operating system (at least 16 GB is required for Windows OS)
For graphics-intensive applications, high loads, and running multiple, virtual machines.
Internet connection is required for product activation, updates, and select features.
Processor
Apple M2, M1 Ultra, M1 Pro, M1 Max, and M1 chips, Intel Core i5, Core i7, Core i9 or Xeon processor
Memory
16 GB of RAM or more
Storage
SSD drive
Graphics
Apple M2, M1 Ultra, M1 Pro, M1 Max, and M1 chips AMD Radeon Pro graphics card
Operating System
macOS Ventura 13.0
macOS Monterey 12.4 or newer
macOS Big Sur 11.6.7 or newer
Supported Guest Operating Systems (Mac with Apple M chip):
Only ARM versions of operating systems are supported.
- Windows 11 (recommended)
- Ubuntu Linux 22.04, 21.10, 21.04, 20.10, 20.04
- Fedora Workstation 36, 35, 34, 33-1.2
- Debian GNU/Linux 11, 10
- Kali Linux 2022.2, 2022.1, 2021.3
- macOS Monterey 12 (in-app download)
- macOS Ventura 13
Supported Guest Operating Systems (Mac with Intel processors):
Only x86 versions of operating systems are supported.
- Windows 11 (recommended)
- Windows 10
- Windows 8.1
- Windows 8
- Windows Server 2022
- Windows Server 2019
Note: Parallels Desktop for Mac emulates PC hardware, so operating systems that are not present in this list can work as well.
You can download the Parallels Desktop trial and install an operating system of your choice. If it doesn’t work and you believe it should be supported, let us know at Parallels Forum.
Parallels Tools for Linux require X Window System version 1.15-1.20 and Linux Kernel version 2.6.29-5.18 RC1.
How to switch from PC to Mac?
You can move your files from Windows PC using Apple Migration Assistant. To move your Windows apps, you can use the Parallels Transporter feature.
Learn More
Frequently Asked Questions
Currently enrolled students who would like to run Windows on Mac.
Verify your educational email to receive the student discount. You’ll receive an automated email with your product key to get started in minutes.
No, Microsoft Windows is not included with your purchase of Parallels Desktop. You can purchase Microsoft Windows directly from Parallels or in the product itself.
Microsoft Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, and Windows 11 are the most popular OSs run within Parallels Desktop. Additionally, Linux, Google Chrome OS, and other OSs are also supported. You can find a full list of guest operating systems that are supported on our Resources page.
Parallels has millions of users worldwide that run hundreds of Windows programs on Mac without rebooting. Popular Windows programs include Microsoft Office, 2D and 3D computer-aided design (CAD) programs, Microsoft Visual Studio, and Steam. Don’t see the program you need to run listed above? Download a free 14-day trial and test it out before you buy.
Why buy from Parallels
Run Windows on your Intel or Apple M-series Mac without rebooting. Plus, gain access to enjoy 40+ free productivity tools designed to simplify everyday tasks.
