Overview
What is Parallels Desktop for Mac?
Parallels® Desktop for Mac is used to run Windows on Intel or Apple silicon. Users can switch between Mac and Windows applications, while retaining the macOS appearance, or use the familiar Windows desktop aesthetic.
Experience Parallels Desktop
Ultimate Decision Yes or No? YES!
Desktop virtualization with power and ease.
Parallels Desktop saved me from buying another computer
Parallels Desktop - The Best Virtual Machine Software for Mac
To support Internet Explorer 11 …
Parallels - what Apple would build if it did virtualization on Mac!
Parallels Desktop saved me from buying a PC... AWESOME!
Parallels Desktop great tool for Mac users running only Windows softwareq
Parallels Desktop Review on a MacBook Pro M3 Max
Superb software for cross environment compatibility
If you need to run Windows Apps and are Mac User, buy Parallels. Best decision you can make.
Works if you need it. Will make your MacBook an inferno.
Best Application of Virtual Machine for MacOS
Parallels give you power, functionality and a smooth interface for all your desktop virtualization needs
Awards
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Reviewer Pros & Cons
Pricing
Parallels Desktop Standard Edition
$99.99
Mac App Store
$99.99
Parallels Desktop Pro Edition
$119.99
Entry-level set up fee?
- No setup fee
Offerings
- Free Trial
- Free/Freemium Version
- Premium Consulting/Integration Services
Starting price (does not include set up fee)
- $99.99 per year
Product Details
- About
- Integrations
- Competitors
- Tech Details
- Downloadables
- FAQs
What is Parallels Desktop for Mac?
Parallels® Desktop for Mac is used to run Windows on Intel or Apple silicon. Users can switch between Mac and Windows applications, while retaining the macOS appearance, or use the familiar Windows desktop aesthetic.
The application's 3D performance can fuel demanding graphical applications, games, and a wide array of OSes, including Windows and Linux VMs.
As a subscription license bonus, Parallels Toolbox offers 40+ practical tools to simplify everyday tasks like recording the screen, cleaning the drive, taking screenshots, or downloading a video.
Parallels Desktop for Mac Features
Application Virtualization Features
- Supported: Application support
- Supported: Ease of deployment
- Supported: Security
Parallels Desktop for Mac Screenshots
Parallels Desktop for Mac Videos
Parallels Desktop for Mac Integrations
Parallels Desktop for Mac Competitors
Parallels Desktop for Mac Technical Details
Deployment Types | On-premise |
---|---|
Operating Systems | Windows, Linux, Mac |
Mobile Application | No |
Parallels Desktop for Mac Downloadables
Frequently Asked Questions
Comparisons
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Reviews and Ratings
(83)Attribute Ratings
Reviews
(1-21 of 21)- Windows loads and runs even faster than on a PC
- I can access any OS from within my macOS session.
- It does not consume too many resources and I can multitask.
- The use of external storage devices are always seen as local hard disks and this makes it difficult to manage certain mobile information.
- The weight of the Windows load files are very large and it is like having a complete computer with the OS loaded on the hard disk of my local machine.
Desktop virtualization with power and ease.
- Quickly share resources between the host machine and guest. Great for when we process data in MacOS and then need it in a virtual machine.
- Coherence mode is great for a lot of users. They don’t even realize the app isn’t running natively on the host operating system.
- The user interface for managing virtual machines isn’t my favorite.
Parallels Desktop Review on a MacBook Pro M3 Max
- Fast Windows Emulation
- Multiple OS Support
- Parallels Tools with many useful apps
- Ability to unify MacOS and Windows
- The ability to do snapshots, backups, and other types of branching for VMs is a little confusing and takes a bit to get used to
- The Parallels tools frequently pop up windows advertising functionality, while this is helpful at times it can also happen when you are doing a presentation or typing in a password.
- Careful using the VMs on a shared cloud drive such as Dropbox or OneDrive, there are hundreds and sometimes thousands of files which are updated when running a VM and this can clog up your Dropbox or OneDrive sync for minutes to hours even on a 2gb connection.
Parallels does not work well for some legacy and older applications which may require specific hardware or software drivers. There are only a handful of these apps I have found, dating back 10-15 years old. Newer versions are available of most software which run flawlessly.
Superb software for cross environment compatibility
- Windows integration
- Multiple operating systems
- Sandboxing
- Size of update installers
allowing side by side comparisons of software versions across different running virtual machines
If you need to run Windows Apps and are Mac User, buy Parallels. Best decision you can make.
We have a legacy application where only administrative functions can be performed in a Windows App. For some of our customers, all users are Mac users. Parallels and their Coherence Mode provide a near-seamless virtual machine/desktop experience for these users. Coherence Mode means they don't have to deal with a windows environment and can work side by side with our app and their other Mac apps (Adobe Creative Cloud apps, for example).
- Windows (or other OS) virtualization on machines running MacOS
- Using Windows apps side by side your Mac apps
- Coherence Mode allows you to hide the Windows Virtual Machine and only interact with the Windows Apps (no Windows desktop in browser window)
- I think that over time it slows down, but this is really linked to Windows bloating.
- I think Coherence Mode could improve slightly...how the windows search window populates and moves around sometimes is weird. (this could be changed in settings, but I'm not sure)
- Memory Usage optimization (again, they do a great job, so I'm nitpicking here)
Works if you need it. Will make your MacBook an inferno.
- It allows easy back and forth between operating systems. Can access all my Mac documents within my Parallels [Desktop] instance.
- [It] is a fully functioning Windows operating system on my MacBook.
- My MacBook gets incredibly hot when I run Parallels [Desktop]. Like scorching hot.
- My MacBook's battery only lasts 1 hour when running Parallels [Desktop}. Normally will last over 4 hours.
Best Application of Virtual Machine for MacOS
- Virtualization
- Customisable
- Safe place for external files
- Security
- Expensive
- Need an stable version for Windows
Parallels give you power, functionality and a smooth interface for all your desktop virtualization needs
- Takes good advantage of hardware
- Virtualizes very efficiently
- Is fast and responsive
- Allows virtually seamless integration of overlapping OS'
- It could launch faster
- the licensing model forces upgrades often
- Has a relatively high resource footprint
- File Transfer - You can easily transfer files between Parallels virtualized desktops and the host desktop either through Copy and Paste functionality, or Drag and Drop. You can also configure shared folders.
- Switch Between Virtual and Host Desktop - You can configure swipe gestures on a MacBook Pro to be able to switch between the virtualized and host desktop. You can also launch apps from the OS X Taskbar.
- Performance - Apps in Parallels run quite smoothly on my 2015 MacBook Pro, as of 2020. Considering they are running on a 5-year-old computer, I give Parallels top marks for performance.
- Support for more versions of OS X. For instance, I would like to install Snow Leopard, but it is not supported. Parallels supports Snow Leopard Server but it is prohibitively expensive now, having gone up in price due to rarity and also likely because of people needing it due to the lack of support for normal Snow Leopard.
- Compatibility issues with certain versions of OS X, meaning you have to continually upgrade Parallels for it to work with the current version of OS X. It would be better if older versions of Parallels continued to work bug-free with updated versions of OS X.
- Lack of support for gaming and multimedia - The newest version of DirectX is not supported at the time of this writing, and some games that run at 90-110 FPS on host architecture or BootCamp run at only 20 FPS in Parallels.
Life Saver
- I like how it is a separate entity from the workings of my Mac. I can access the programs on Windows in a separate section on my desktop.
- Parallels allows Windows to run seamlessly.
- Parallels uses a lot of RAM, so unless your machine has 16 GB of RAM, it will probably run slowly.
Parallels for Windows Browser Testing
- Easy to use
- Easy to setup
- Support for all major guest operating systems
- Good integration within macOS
- Good performance
- Expensive
- Pricing and release model forces yearly upgrades
- Some default settings can be undesirable if wanting to reduce integration with macOS
Although Parallels Desktop could be used for running local Vagrant virtual machines, VirtualBox works just fine and will save a lot of money.
For easiest possible setup and use with Windows, I would choose Parallels, but if you only need command-line only virtual machines, I would go with VirtualBox.
Parallels is an excellent choice for local Virtual Machines
- Ease of setup
- Responsive
- Easily configurable
- Needs better error messages
- Better handling of network loss
- Better handling of USB
Parallels Lets Your Users Dump Windows with Coherence Mode
- Simple, intuitive Windows virtualization: Parallels makes it easy to create a guest operating system on your Mac. From there, users can easily access legacy business applications that work only on Windows.
- Coherence Mode: Allows Windows applications to run side by side with Mac applications in MacOS—this gives users a more cohesive environment to work in, enabling them to be productive and not requiring them to switch contexts constantly.
- Performance: Parallels continues to focus on enhanced performance with every new release.
- Price: While Parallels offers great functionality and support for their price, there are free options available that satisfy my needs, namely, VirtualBox.
- 3D Performance: This is less of a knock against Parallels, and rather a shortcoming of virtualization in general - it's hard to get "bare metal" performance from a virtual machine when using 3D applications.
- Upgrade Justification: For some time, Parallels has struggled to justify an upgrade to its users, other than "compatibility" with the latest MacOS. This continues to be the case.
- You don't need to switch between host and guest system like other virtual systems.
- Apps from the guest system shows in menu which makes them seamless to use.
- Even the most resource intensive software run smoothly such as visual studio.
- The overall requirement to run this on older laptops is bit too high. If you are running with less than 8 GB ram, it slows down the system quite badly.
- Installation is quite tricky.
Virtual Software Solution That really Exists
- Snapshots, being able to create images of your Windows VM daily
- Share folders across machines
- Disk IO, never seems to be a hog
- Size, it seems bloated
- We have had issues with users trying to reclaim disk space. Not sure if it is just us or a known hassle
- Updates seem few and far between
Parallels Desktop - The best choice for virtual machines on Mac
When it comes to the virtual environment configuration customization and USB compatibility with non-standard devices, Parallels consistently stands at the top of the list.
- USB device compatibility. This is ESSENTIAL when using some of the USB-connected testing hardware I often have to work with.
- Parallels also makes it seamless to share data between the host OS and the virtual environment.
- I spend most of my time in Parallels running Windows, but at times I do load up a Linux or Android VM for testing. I am able to switch back and forth between them or run multiples with little to no effort.
- I honestly cannot think of anything I would want Parallels to add or do differently. After 10 years of use, since Parallels 4, I have stuck with Parallels because they just do it right from the beginning.
Multi-OS Engineers - here's your one-stop-shop solution
- Being able to use two OSs at the same time allows me to use OS-specific applications at the same time on the same machine.
- Parallels works like a browser window or any other "program" window on your native machine, you can minimize parallels like any other program which means you're essentially able to minimize and hide an entire computer screen.
- File sharing. Being able to access, say, a Microsoft Office document on windows and then can save it and open it on my native Mac system means that it's immensely more efficient than having to use to computers.
- You can use virtual desktops as your OS rather than having to share hard drive space between two OSs and having to partition the processor locally to run both OSs at the same time.
- Adjusting settings in Parallels is difficult and confusing. There are a few different menus that only open depending on whether Parallels is running or not.
- Setting up an "are you sure you want to close" modal when closing out of the program via the mac side. It can get confusing switching between Mac and PC windows and clicking the correct "exit" button since Mac and PC are on opposite sides.
- Parallels uses a ton of local processor data. Making Parallels more CPU friendly for users that aren't running i7 processors would greatly improve their attraction to non-commercial developer users.
- Local development is made extremely simple
- Accessing OS specific files and programs at the same time makes development much more efficient
- You can run virtual machines via Parallels which uses less CPU power
- Parallels uses a lot of CPU and battery
- Parallels isn't always the most user-friendly from the standpoint of adjusting settings
When you need to run Windows on a Mac to look good.
- Emulates the entire Windows OS on a Macintosh computer. You can launch the entire Windows OS from your Mac desktop and work entirely in a Windows desktop environment.
- Emulates specific programs if you want to run in Windows mode. With this option you don't have to be in a separate OS but launch single applications with Parallels.
- There were occasions where the system would crash. Typically there would be no reason and a reboot would resolve the issue.
I've used BootCamp to have a separate Windows partition. Parallels allows me to access this also in a running macOS session, which is my primary use (even though performance does suffer a bit).
- Run the Bootcamp partition in a running macOS session.
- Integrate in both directions: copy/paste text, open files in both directions, integrate the file system, to read and write files in either direction.
- Using the same hardware and network connection.
- Run Clickshare in a Windows session, when the Mac-version fails due to non-updated system firmware updates.
- No update for OpenGL 3, which prevents some 3D applications from launching. The Windows-version of SketchUp is but one example.
- Frequent (yearly) updates which don't always bring benefits (I always skip at least one version).
If the models and documents are not too heavy, the ease of integration outweighs the performance loss. However, booting and loading heavy applications takes time, so I avoid running if at all possible.
Parallels: unparalleled simplicity
- Range of application support. When I first started using Parallels, one of the applications I run for development seemed to have issues running in the VM. I discovered that I had actually failed to install a needed Windows component during the installation process. To date, I haven't found any applications that don't play nice in the Parallels environment.
- Ease of Use. This one deserves honorable mention. The setup was a snap; their setup wizard is excellent and asked me difficult technical questions in plain English so I was able to set up Parallels in just a few minutes. The user interface is pretty much what you see is what you get, with a caveat I'll explain later.
- Coherence Mode. I've mentioned this already in the review, but the Coherence mode is just cool. Parallels runs in a sort of full-screen mode but sits behind the Mac OS. Programs appear in the dock with two vertical bars so you know they're actually running under Parallels. Otherwise, the transition between Mac and Windows under Parallels is almost transparent.
- Keyboard shortcuts. This is the only thing I've really struggled with in using Parallels. When moving from Mac to Windows and back, the keyboard shortcut keys change. For example, to copy+paste under Windows is Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V. Under the Mac it is Command + C and Command + V. Small thing, but when you're hurrying, it can cause trouble. Some of the keyboard shortcuts for moving to the beginning or end of a line also don't work quite right in Parallels. Now, this could all be user error. I've still got some searching to do.
Parallels Desktop for Mac bridging the GAP
- Parallels Desktop is very stable and over the year has improved tremendously. I particularly love the migration, this feature allows a user to convert a desktop image to virtual image.
- Parallels Desktop is very user friendly and users actually believe they are working on a real Windows Desktop. I use Parallels Desktop to constantly test applications that need to run in both a Windows and Mac environment.
- I love the snapshot feature I recovered several users VM with this feature it's one of best backup options I have ever used.
- I am quite satisfied with features and I have no complaints. I have no problem with functionality.
- It would be nice if it was a little bit cheaper for home users.