How To Run Windows Apps On Mac

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.

Seamless Use Windows side-by-side with macOS (no restarting required) on your MacBook, MacBook Pro, iMac, iMac Pro, Mac mini or Mac Pro. Share files and folders, copy and paste images and text and drag and drop files and content between Mac and Windows applications.
Easy Set-Up Parallels Desktop automatically detects what you need to get started so you are up and running within minutes! If you need Windows, you'll be prompted to download and install Windows 10 or use your Boot Camp installation if you have an Intel-based Mac. You may also migrate your Windows PC* or Linux, like Ubuntu (Intel-based Mac computers only).
Lightning Fast Graphic and resource-hungry Windows applications run effortlessly without slowing down your Mac. Run applications such as Microsoft Office, Visual Studio, SQL Server, PowerBI, AutoCAD, MetaTrader, and thousands more. Play your favorite classic Windows-only games on a Mac.
Choose your View Make Windows invisible while still using its applications in Coherence™ Mode, or if you're new to Mac, you can set Windows to occupy your entire screen, so it looks just like it would if you were using a Windows PC.

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

Office 365 Integration
Enables Word, Excel, or PowerPoint documents in Safari to open in their native Windows Office app.
Save Disk Space
Get the most out of your Mac with automatic Disk Space optimization and Free Up Disk Space assistant.
Parallels Toolbox Bonus with Subscription!
More than 30 one-touch tools—clean your drive, take screenshots, download a video and more—all with just a single click.

Retina Display Support
Smart resizing and independent screen resolutions for separate displays.
Volume License Key
Unified volume license key, centralized license management and advanced security features are available in Parallels Desktop Business Edition.
Remote Access Bonus with Subscription!
Remote access to your Mac from any iOS device, Android device or browser with Parallels Access^®.

Instant Access
Launch and access Windows applications right from the Mac Dock.
Travel Mode
Extend battery life while away from a power source.
24/7 Support
Premium 24/7 phone, email and social support after activation.

"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!"

View All Reviews

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Parallels Desktop work?

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!

What can I do with Parallels Desktop?

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…

How do I get Windows?

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

What if I'm already using Boot Camp?

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.

How do I play Windows games on Mac?

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.

Do you have educational pricing for students or faculty?

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.

What is Parallels Desktop Pro Edition?

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

Learn more about Parallels Desktop Pro Edition.

How do I create a new virtual machine?

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 »

What is your return policy?

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.

System Requirements

Operating System

macOS Monterey 12 (when released), 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 (*).