Up to Date

Optimized for the latest Windows 10 updates and ready for macOS Catalina (10.15).

Ultimate Flexibility

Works with OS X, Windows 10, 8.1, and 7, Google Chrome^™,Linux and Unix, and macOS Server. No more having to choose between PC or Mac.

Touch Bar

Add Windows applications to Touch Bar^™ for instant access and customization.

Connect Devices

USB, USB-C, Thunderbolt and FireWire devices connect with Windows. Pair your Bluetooth^® devices—including Xbox One controller, stylus pen and printer—to work with both Windows and macOS.

Parallels Desktop for Mac 11 from Parallels is virtualization software that allows you to run just about any x86-based operating system, including Windows, OS X. Parallels Desktop 10 for Mac is not compatible with macOS Sierra. You may consider upgrading to Parallels Desktop 11 for Mac. Parallels Desktop 11 for Mac is the fastest, easiest, and most powerful solution for running Windows applications on a Mac –– without rebooting. Easily switch between Mac and Windows apps. Powerful performance lets you run Windows productivity applications, and demanding graphical apps, without compromise.

Retina^® Display Support

Parallels For Mac Free

Smart resizing and independent screen resolutions for separate displays.

One-Click Tuning

Select productivity, games, design, software testing, or development, and Parallels Desktop will optimize your VM settings and performance for you.

Instant Access

Launch and access Windows applications right from the Mac Dock.

Save Disk Space

Get the most out of your Mac with automatic Disk Space optimization.

Office 365 Integration

Allows Word, Excel, or PowerPoint documents in Safari to open in their native Windows Office application.

Works with Boot Camp

Reuse your existing Boot Camp installation. Converting a virtual machine from Boot Camp is easy—just follow our installation assistant at startup.

Volume License Key

Unified volume license key, centralized license management, and advanced security features are available in Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition.

Travel Mode

Extend battery life while away from a power source.

Bonus! Parallels^® Toolbox

Over 30 one-touch tools—clean your drive, take screenshots, download a video, and more, all with just a single click.

Bonus! Remote Access

Remote access to your Mac from any iOS device, Android device, or browser with Parallels Access^®.

24/7 Support

Premium 24/7 phone, email, and social support after activation.

• Share Mac applications with Windows
• Automatic resolution change
• Single cloud storage space between Mac and Windows
• Drag and drop files between Mac and Windows
• Copy and paste files or text between Mac and Windows
• Launch Windows applications right from the Dock
• Move your PC to Mac in a few easy steps
• Assign any USB devices to your Mac or Windows
• Retina display support for Windows
• Volume control synchronization
• Open any site in Microsoft Explorer right from Safari^® browser
• Apply macOS Parental Control to Windows applications
• Windows alerts in Mac Notification Center
• Mac dictation inside Windows applications
• See the number of unread emails in the Dock
• “Reveal in Windows Explorer” in macOS files menu
• Virtual machine encryption
• Linked clones for VMs*
• Vagrant provider*
• 32 vCPUs and 128 GB vRAM*
• Nested virtualization for Linux*
• Drag and drop files in macOS guests
• Real-time virtual disk optimization
• Create VM from VHD and VMDK disks*
• Drag and drop to create VM
• Disk Space Wizard optimizes your disk space
• Shared folders and printers for Linux VMs
• Windows applications in Launchpad
• Power Nap in Windows
• Use Force Touch to look up definitions
• New virtual machine wizard
• Mission Control support
• Presentation Wizard prevents most projector issues
• Drop files onto Outlook to create a new message
• Multi-language keyboard sync
• Picture-in-Picture view

• Share Bluetooth between Mac and Windows
• macOS guest support
• Spaces functionality for Windows applications
• Mission Control exposes your Windows applications
• DirectX support
• Thunderbolt support
• Licensing portal*
• Firewire support
• USB-C and USB 3.0 support
• Work without risk with Snapshots
• Safeguard your VM with encryption
• 2 GB video memory support
• Finder tabs work with Windows applications
• AVX512 instruction set support
• Mojave support
• Disk usage optimizations
• Report disk space left on Mac
• Express installation of Windows 10
• Native Mojave screenshots
• Auto allocation of video memory
• “Free Up Disk Space” wizard
• Free OS downloads
• Coherence for external displays
• Continuity camera support
• Touch Bar support
• Shared smart card reader
• Multi-monitor support
• 4K shared camera support
• CPU usage indicator
• Mojave Quick Look support
• Pressure sensitivity support
• Resource usage monitor
• OpenGL support
• Offer to import Boot Camp
• Auto-detect games keyboard
• And many more…

*Available with Parallels Desktop Pro Edition and Business Edition subscriptions

System & Performance

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• Pros

  Near-effortless installation of Windows in OS X. Lets you open Windows files in Mac apps or Mac files in Windows apps. Deep integration options give Windows apps access to OS X folders. Fastest performance of any virtual-machine software.

• Cons

  Minor stability issues. Unless you turn off many options, the OS X interface gets cluttered with Windows icons.

• Bottom Line

  Parallels Desktop is the first choice for beginners and non-technical users who want to run Windows apps under OS X.

Parallels Desktop is the fastest and friendliest way to run Windows apps on a Mac for the majority of users who are likely to want to do so. IT pros may prefer VMware Fusion; expert users who want no-cost apps will prefer the open-source VirtualBox. Hardcore gamers may prefer Apple's Boot Camp, which lets users boot directly into Windows, with the added bonus of native graphics card support. For most ordinary Mac users who prefer Windows versions of apps like Microsoft Office or AutoCAD, however, or who use Windows-only apps like CorelDraw or WordPerfect Office, Parallels Desktop is the clear first choice for virtualization software.

Platforms and Pricing

Parallels Desktop supports all Windows versions since Windows 2000, all Intel-based macOS versions (with some exceptions for licensing reasons), many flavors of Linux, BSD, Solaris, and a few other OSes. VMware Fusion and VirtualBox are even more flexible, and can run historical curiosities like OS/2 and NeXTSTEP. Also, unlike Parallels Desktop, VMware Fusion and VirtualBox have versions that run on Windows and Linux machines, while Parallels Desktop is Mac-only.

There's one other important difference: Parallels Desktop is a subscription-only product, so you'll have to pay $79.99 per year for the home-and-student version or $99.99 for the Pro Edition. VMware Fusion has a one-time cost (a model some consumers may prefer) of $79.99 for its standard version and $159.99 for its Pro version. VirtualBox is free for personal use and $50 for corporate use, but you get far fewer convenience features out of the box with this open-source product.

Get Started With Parallels

Parallels starts up with a menu for creating a new virtual machine or opening an existing one. This is where Parallels' focus on ordinary end users shines best. Unlike all other virtualization apps, Parallels doesn't expect you to have a Windows or Linux installer disk or disk image ready when you start it up, although it can use that image if you have one. Instead, Parallel's user-helpful menu lets you buy a Windows 10 download directly from Microsoft, or simply download a Windows 10 installer if you already have a license key.

Another set of options lets you install a Parallels system-export utility on your Windows PC, and export it to Parallels via a network (slowly) or an external drive. A scrolling list at the foot of the menu lets you download specific versions of Linux or Android, install a virtual copy of macOS from your Mac's hidden recovery partition, or install Windows from a Boot Camp partition if you have one.

Like VMware and VirtualBox, Parallels supports a Snapshot feature that lets you save a guest system in one or more configurations that you know works well, and then restore a saved configuration after making changes in the system that you don't want to preserve. However, Parallels is unique in supplementing this feature with a Rollback option that automatically discards all changes to a system when you shut it down, so it works like a kiosk system, returning to its pristine condition every time you power it up. This feature can be invaluable in testing, or in environments like schools where users are liable to leave systems a lot messier than they found them. If you used Microsoft's long-abandoned VirtualPC app, you'll remember this feature, and will welcome its return in Parallels.

Parallel's Performance

Compared to VMware, Parallels starts up Windows at top speed in testing. On my vintage 2015 MacBook Pro, Parallels boots Windows 10 to the desktop in 35 seconds, compared to 60 seconds for VMware. VirtualBox matches Parallels' boot speed, but it performs far fewer integration tasks while booting up. For example, VirtualBox doesn't provide printer integration and the ability to open Windows files with Mac apps and vice versa.

One reason for Parallels' bootup speed advantage is that Parallels uses an emulated PC BIOS that supports the Fast Startup option, and the others don't. The speed difference isn't nearly as obvious when running Windows apps after the OS starts up, however. Parallels feels slightly faster than its rivals, but not drastically so. Fast as it is, Parallels won't satisfy hard-core gamers because Parallels, like VMware Fusion, only supports DirectX 10, while VirtualBox only supports DirectX 9. There's nothing that Parallels can do about this limitation, which is the result of the Mac's limited support for OpenGL (Open Graphics Library) features.

By default when Parallels runs a Windows system, any files on your Mac desktop will also appear on your Windows desktop. This may sound convenient, but it's a feature that I always to turn off in Parallels' settings dialog. One reason I turn it off is that it leaves the Windows desktop cluttered. Another is that much of what I keep on my Mac desktop—like folders and apps—simply won't work when I click on them in Parallels' Windows desktop. Parallels tends to go overboard with integration features, turning them on by default whether you want them or not.

Another way Parallels goes overboard with its integration is its tendency to clutter up its dialogs and your Mac system with icons and folders that you probably don't want. For example, by default, it adds a folder full of Windows application to your Mac's dock, and a Parallels menu to Mac's menu bar—though you can turn these off by poking around the options and preferences windows. Some of Parallels' menus include links to a set of Mac-related utilities called the Parallels Toolbox; some of these utilities, like a quick disk-cleaning menu, are convenient, but you probably don't want all of them, and they have nothing to do with virtualization. Another link on Parallels' menus invites you to buy Acronis True Image backup software, which you probably don't need if you use your Mac's built-in backup features.

Parallel Computing

Anyone who wants to run a Windows app on the Mac should choose between our two Editors' Choice apps, Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion. For IT managers, developers, and for many tech-savvy users, VMware is the best choice. For most home, school, and SOHO users who don't need VMware's unique cross-platform support and legacy features, Parallels Desktop is the fastest, most hassle-free way to run Windows apps on a Mac.

Parallels Desktop 11 For Mac Download

Bottom Line: Parallels Desktop is an excellent way to run Windows apps on MacOS, especially for ordinary users. It's fast in testing, offers tight integration between Macs and guest systems, and supports many other OSes, too.