Parallels Desktop for Mac Student and Educator Edition
Save up to 50% on Parallels Desktop. Power up your Mac to run Windows on a virtual desktop, plus get access to more than 200,000 of its apps to work, develop, study, test, and play. Authorized by Microsoft.
20+ powerful new features to boost performance and productivity.
Optimized for Intel, Apple M-series chips, and the latest macOS.
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 | |
| Includes major updates to support new versions of macOS, Windows, Linux, and new Mac models | Subscription only |
| Virtual RAM for each VM | 8 GB vRAM |
| Virtual CPUs for each VM** | 4 vCPUs |
| Experience Windows as if it was designed for Mac: use Mac files, keyboard, trackpad, camera & mic, sound, graphics, Touch ID, and many more | |
| Run thousands of Windows applications such as Microsoft Office 365, accounting software, trading software, SAP, Matlab, and more | |
| Premium 24/7 phone and email support | Subscription only |
| BuyUpgrade | |
| Most Popular | |
| Pro Edition All the Standard Edition features PLUS: |
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| Includes major updates to support new versions of macOS, Windows, Linux, and new Mac models | |
| Virtual RAM for each VM | 128 GB vRAM |
| Virtual CPUs for each VM** | 32 vCPUs |
| Run professional graphics-intensive Windows applications and multiple virtual machines | |
| Develop, automate, test, and debug software in multiple operating systems simultaneously | |
| Deliver Windows on Mac across your organization to run business-critical applications and free developers from the hassle of using multiple computers. Secure and key-free with SSO/SAML integration option | |
| Premium 24/7 phone and email support | |
| Integrations with VS Code, Vagrant, Packer, Docker, Minikube, and more | |
| Advanced tools for virtual networking, debugging, and automation | |
| Automate CI/CD workflows with Command Line Interface (prlctl, prlsrvctl) | |
| Buy nowUpgrade | |
| Business Edition All the Standard and Pro Edition features PLUS: |
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| Enable employees to download a preconfigured Windows installation to their Mac | |
| Per-user licensing option for companies that are ready to use SSO/SAML/SCIM integration | |
| Centralized administration and management and unified volume licensing for mass deployment | |
| Buy now | |
* Windows 11 Pro and Enterprise
** Up to 22 CPU on a Mac with Apple silicon (M2 Ultra)
New Parallels Desktop 19
A Microsoft-authorized solution for seamlessly running Windows 11 on Macs with Intel and Apple silicon.
Play many classic Windows-exclusive games on your Mac, including Roblox, League of Legends, Minecraft, Half-Life 2, Age of Empires series, Fortnite, Fall Guys, Rocket League and many more.*
*Supports up to DirectX 11. Experience hundreds of Windows-only games on a Mac with the same optimal performance as you would on a PC.
System requirements
Run most applications such as Microsoft Office, accounting software, trading software, SAP, Matlab, and more.
Operating system
macOS Sonoma 14.0 or newer
macOS Ventura 13.2 or newer
macOS Monterey 12.6 or newer
macOS Big Sur 11.7 or newer[1]
macOS Catalina 10.15.7 or newer[1]
macOS Mojave 10.14.6 or newer[1]
Processor
Any Apple silicon chip
Intel 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
Additional disk space for the guest operating system (at least 16 GB is required for Windows OS)
Graphics
Apple M3, M3 Pro, M3 Max, M2, M2 Pro, M2 Max, M2 Ultra, M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, and M1 Ultra chips
Intel, AMD Radeon, or NVIDIA graphics cards
[1] — an earlier product version is installed
For graphics-intensive applications, high loads, and running multiple virtual machines.
Operating system
macOS Sonoma 14.0 or newer
macOS Ventura 13.2 or newer
macOS Monterey 12.6 or newer
macOS Big Sur 11.7 or newer[1]
macOS Catalina 10.15.7 or newer[1]
macOS Mojave 10.14.6 or newer[1]
Processor
Apple M3, M3 Pro, M3 Max, M2, M2 Pro, M2 Max, M2 Ultra, M1 Pro, M1 Max, and M1 Ultra chips
Intel Core i5, Core i7, Core i9 or Xeon processor
Memory
16 GB of RAM or more
Storage
600 MB for Parallels Desktop application installation
Additional disk space for the guest operating system (at least 16 GB is required for Windows OS)
Graphics
Apple M3, M3 Pro, M3 Max, M2, M2 Pro, M2 Max, M2 Ultra, M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, and M1 Ultra chips
AMD Radeon Pro graphics card
[1] — an earlier product version is installed
Supported Guest Operating Systems (Mac with Apple silicon):
Only Arm versions of operating systems are supported.
- Windows 11 Pro and Enterprise editions (recommended)
- Ubuntu Linux 23.04, 22.04, 21.10, 21.04, 20.10, 20.04
- Fedora Workstation 38, 37, 36, 35, 34, 33-1.2
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Debian GNU/Linux 12, 11, 10
- Kali Linux 2023.1, 2022.2, 2022.1, 2021.3
- CentOS Stream 9
- macOS Monterey 12 (in-app download)
- macOS Ventura 13 (in-app download)
- macOS Sonoma 14 (in-app download)
Supported guest operating systems (Mac with Intel processors):
Only x86 versions of operating systems are supported.
- Windows 11 (recommended)
- Windows 10[1]
- Windows Server 2022
- Windows Server 2019
- Windows Server 2016
Note: To run legacy Windows OS versions (2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8/8.1), download and use Parallels Tools version 18.3.0. Learn more at https://kb.parallels.com/en/129252.
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.
To learn more about limitations of running Windows 11 in Parallels Desktop, please visit KB 129497.
For information about supported Linux kernel versions, please visit KB 129963.
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
Why buy from Parallels
Frequently Asked Questions
Currently registered academic students, staff, and faculty (worldwide), active military (United States and Canada), and current government, registered nonprofit, and charity employees (United States, Canada, and United Kingdom).
- Select the Standard or Pro version of Parallels Desktop
- Click ‘BUY NOW’
- Verify your academic or institutional email address in the new tab
- A confirmation email will be sent to your academic or institutional email address, with your discount applied in cart
- Your new subscription will be sent to your email address
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.