- “Why make a choice between Windows and Mac when you can have both?”
- “Windows runs just as good as if it was running on native hardware."
- “Easy installation and flawless performance."
- “Why make a choice between Windows and Mac when you can have both?"
- “Parallels works great on both my Intel and M1 Mac computers!"
- “VM heaven"
- “No Better Windows VM"
- “Excellent Desktop Virtualization Overall, Easy to Use"
- “Parallels made the transition easy from Windows to Mac!"
- “Fully satisfied with Parallels!"
- “Best Software"
- “Easy to use product on both Mac and Windows. Delighted with this software!"
Just Released!
Run Windows on Mac
Parallels Desktop 17 for Mac
- Optimized for Windows 10, 11 and macOS Monterey
- Develop and test across multiple OSs in a virtual machine for Mac
- Play PC games and run demanding graphics software
- Work with Windows-based accounting and trading software
- Run all your favorite Windows software on your Mac, MacBook, or iMac!
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
Fast, Powerful and Easy
Run thousands of Windows apps like Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, Access, Quicken, QuickBooks, Visual Studio, even graphic intensive games and CAD programs without compromising on performance or rebooting.
In this video, you'll find the playback speed has increased. The video shows a typical experience on a Mac powered by the Intel processor. Information on the M1 experience may be found in this article.
Parallels Desktop for Mac Features
Whether you need to run Windows programs that don’t have Mac versions, or you are making the switch from PC to Mac and need to transfer your data, Parallels Desktop has you covered.
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…
There are several ways to install Windows (or any other operating system) in a virtual machine, and Parallels Desktop makes it easy to get started within minutes.
On Intel-powered Mac computers it is simple to install Windows. Just follow our Installation Assistant and click “Install Windows.” On Apple M1 chip-powered Mac computers you can install Windows by following the instructions in this article.
On Intel-powered Mac computers it is simple to install Windows. Just follow our Installation Assistant and click “Install Windows.”
On Mac computers with an Apple M1 chip, you can install Windows 11 on ARM Insider Preview by watching the following video or by following the instructions in this article.
You can provide your own Microsoft Windows license key, purchase Windows directly from within Parallels Desktop, or transfer an existing Boot Camp partition with Windows already installed.
This screenshot illustrates the installation experience on an Intel-powered Mac and there is a separate article with installation information for the Apple M1 chip-powered Mac.
Transfer is only available for Intel-powered Mac and PC
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 your Windows-only game on a Mac using Parallels Desktop. Parallels Desktop even has a virtual machine setting dedicated to gaming to optimize performance. With ongoing support for DirectX and OpenGL, many popular games and game engines are supported within Parallels Desktop. 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.
- 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.
- Open Parallels Desktop.app from the Applications folder and choose File » New.
- Now you can create a new virtual machine for Mac, including a Windows VM on Mac.
- Get Windows from Microsoft or install freely available 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 Monterey 12, macOS Big Sur 11, macOS Catalina 10.15, macOS Mojave 10.14, or macOS High Sierra 10.13
Processor
Apple M1, M1 Pro, and M1 Max chips, Intel 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, and M1 Max chips, Intel, AMD Radeon, or NVIDIA
Memory
4GB of RAM
*Features that are only available on Mac computers with Intel processors are marked with an asterisk (*).