Sometimes, Mac users need to run Windows software. Maybe there’s a program you need for work that doesn’t offer a Mac version, or maybe you occasionally need to test websites in Internet Explorer. Whatever you need Windows for, Parallels is the best tool for the job.
Why Use Parallels Instead of Boot Camp or VirtualBox?
The closest thing you will get to a free, legitimate copy of Windows is going to be a 90-day evaluation. The Microsoft Evaluation Center currently offers 90-day eval copies of Windows 8 Enterprise, Windows 8.1 Enterprise and Windows 10 Enterprise.
RELATED:How to Install Windows on a Mac With Boot Camp
Sure, you could set up your Mac to run Windows with Boot Camp, but that means restarting your computer every time you need to use Windows. Parallels runs Windows within macOS, using what’s called a Virtual Machine. This allows you to quickly switch between the Mac and Windows desktops. You can even combine the two desktops, if you want, and run Windows software right on your Mac desktop from your Mac’s dock.
Virtual machines are complicated, but Parallels makes it reasonably simple to set one up and use it. There are other virtual machine options available to Mac users, including the open source VirtualBox, but Parallels is different in that it’s designed exclusively with Mac users in mind. Parallels costs more (since VirtualBox is free and Parallels is not), but there are hundreds of little design touches that help make running Windows within macOS as painless as possible, and that make setting everything up quick and easy. it’s well worth the cost.
How Much Does Parallels Cost?
Browsing the Parallels website, it can be a little tricky to find out what the product actually costs. So here’s a quick breakdown:
- Purchasing the latest home version of Parallels Desktop costs $80 as of this writing. This lets you run Parallels on a single Mac.
- Upgrading from one version of Parallels to another generally costs $50, and will probably be necessary every couple of years if you keep installing the latest versions of macOS.
- A $70 annual subscription gives you access to all updates “for free,” according to the Parallels website.
RELATED:How to Make Linux and macOS Virtual Machines for Free with Parallels Lite
If you just want to try out Parallels and see if it works for you, you can: there’s a 14 day trial of the software, which you can access without providing a credit card number. There’s also Parallels Desktop Lite, which is free on the Mac App Store and lets you create both Linux and macOS virtual machines. Parallels Desktop Lite can only run Windows virtual machines if you pay for a subscription, however.
One more note: purchasing Parallels does not give you a Windows license, or a Windows product key. If you have a Windows installation CD or USB key handy with a valid license you can use that, otherwise you will need to purchase Windows 10 from Microsoft to create a Windows 10 virtual machine.
RELATED:You Don’t Need a Product Key to Install and Use Windows 10
We’ll point out that you don’t technically need a product key to install and use Windows 10—Microsoft basically gave up enforcing their license requirements with Windows 10, and you can download Windows 10 right from Microsoft at no cost (you’ll probably want it in the form of an ISO file). Legally speaking, however, you still need a product key to use Windows, even in a virtual machine.
How to Install Windows in Parallels
Got everything you need? Good. The new virtual machine wizard, which launches the first time you open Parallels, makes the process simple.
Assuming you already have a Windows CD or ISO, click the “Install Windows or another OS from a DVD or image file” button.
The ISO or DVD should be found automatically; otherwise, click the “Locate Manually” button. Then click “Continue.”
You’ll be asked whether you want an Express installation, which automates the installation process so that you don’t need to enter the product key or click “Next” during the installation process.
Choose this option if you want, otherwise plan on babysitting the installation a little bit.
Next you’ll be asked what you plan on using this virtual machine for: work-related software or gaming.
If you select Games only, the virtual machine will be set to use a lot more resources, so only click that if you intend to do serious gaming in the virtual machine (which is probably not a great idea). Also make sure your Mac even has enough resources to dedicate—if you spread your computer’s resources too thin, your virtual machine will be very slow. You can change these settings later, but I recommend going with “Productivity” in almost all cases.
Finally, you’ll be asked for a few details: what the machine should be named, where it should be located, and whether you want a shortcut to the machine on your desktop.
You can also configure the settings before installation—don’t worry, you can tweak any of those later if you’d rather not dive in right now. Click “Continue.”
The Windows installer will run. If you selected the Express installation, you won’t need to do anything: just watch as Windows installs. If not, you’ll have to click “Next” a bunch of times and enter your product key, as is normal for installing Windows.
The installation process can take a while, if mechanical hard drives or a DVD is involved. If everything is running off an SSD, however, you’ll be up and running in a few minutes.
Eventually you’ll see the Windows desktop! We’re almost done.
How to Seamlessly Integrate Your Virtual Machine Into macOS
That’s all well and good, and you can start using Windows now—but if you really want to get the best of what Parallels has to offer, you have a few more steps ahead of you.
At the top-right of your virtual machine you’ll see a caution sign. This is letting you know that Parallels Tools needs to be installed. Installing this lets you move your mouse between macOS and Windows in one swift motion, and also makes it possible to access your Mac files from within Windows. To get started, click that caution sign, then click “Install Parallels Tools.”
Doing this will mount a virtual CD in the Windows virtual machine. You’ll be asked what you want to do by Windows; select “Install Parallels Tools.”
The installer will take a few minutes, and eventually will require you to restart Windows. Do that and you’ll be up and running: your virtual machine will be integrated with macOS.
Once Parallels Tools is installed, Windows integrates very cleanly with macOS. There are all kinds of examples of this:
- Moving your mouse to your Windows virtual machine is seamless.
- Anything you copy to your Windows clipboard can be pasted in Mac apps, and vice-versa.
- The Documents, Downloads, and Desktop folders in Windows are symbolically linked to the same folders in macOS. Change a file in one place and it changes in the other.
- If you have Dropbox or iCloud running in macOS, those folders are available in Windows Explorer.
- If you have OneDrive set up in Windows, that is available to you in macOS.
- Individual Windows programs are shown in your Mac’s dock.
We could go on: the extent of the integrations is staggering. If any of them bother you for any reason, you can change them by shutting the virtual machine down, then clicking the Settings button for it.
Head to the “Sharing” tab to disable the folder sharing.
And head to the “Applications” tab to stop Windows applications from showing up in your Mac dock.
Parallels Install Windows 10
There are all kinds of other settings we could explore, but this article is only a starting point. Dive in and experiment.
More Than Just Windows
Parallels isn’t just for running Windows, either: you can use it to set up Linux, ChromeOS, and even macOS virtual machines.
We outlined how to create Linux and macOS Virtual machines in Parallels Desktop Lite, and the process is identical for the full version of Parallels Desktop, so check out that article if you’re interested.
RELATED:How to Free Up Disk Space in Parallels
If you intend to create a lot of virtual machines, you should also read about freeing up disk space in Parallels, because these machines will eat up a lot of hard drive space.
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Screenshots
Description
Parallels Desktop Lite allows users to easily run Window, Linux, and popular applications on your Mac.
Avoid rebooting your Mac to switch between operating systems or when switching between Mac, Windows, or Linux applications.
Note: Existing Parallels Desktop® for Mac users are not recommended to move to Parallels Desktop Lite.
Run Internet Explorer®, Quicken®, QuickBooks, and hundreds of other Windows and Linux applications side by side with macOS apps like Pages® and Keynote®.
Brought to you by the world-class developers of the #1-rated Mac virtualization software.
### Pricing:
Running virtual machines requires an in-app purchase of an auto-renewable subscription (1 year). You can cancel at any time.
There is a fully functional 14-day trial, so you can test Parallels Desktop Lite (including installation and use of Windows) before you commit.
Note: Microsoft Windows is not included and must be purchased separately.
With Parallels Desktop Lite, you can run the following operating systems in a virtual machine on your Mac:
• Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista®, and XP
• macOS Mojave 1014, macOS High Sierra 10.13, macOS Sierra 10.12, OS X El Capitan 10.11, OS X Yosemite 10.10, OS X Mavericks 10.9, OS X Mountain Lion 10.8, and OS X Lion 10.7.x
• Most Linux distributions
System Requirements:
• Late 2011 or newer Mac
• macOS High Sierra 10.13.2 or later
• 4 GB of memory (8 GB recommended)
• 450 MB of disk space on the boot volume (Macintosh HD) for Parallels Desktop installation
• SSD is recommended for best performance
• Additional disk space for virtual machines (varies on operating system installed)
Seamless integration features between Mac and Windows, including productivity boosters built in. These features include, but are not limited to, the following:
• Copy/paste formatted text between macOS, Windows, and Linux
• Drag and drop files between macOS, Windows, and Linux
• Share Mac folders with Windows—including Desktop, Documents, and Downloads—without duplication and saving precious disk space on your Mac
• Resize window to get desired Windows or Linux resolution
• 3D graphics acceleration up to DirectX® 10.1
• Use Mac printers in Windows
• Mouse synchronization enables the mouse to move seamlessly between the macOS, Windows, and Linux
We want you to be completely satisfied with Parallels Desktop Lite. If you have any feedback, problems or concerns, please contact us at https://www.parallels.com/products/lite/support/
--- LEGAL ---
Duration and price of each subscription are displayed in the Parallels’ storefront, updated at the time of purchase. Payment will be charged to iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off no later than 24 hours before the end of the current period. Subscriptions and auto-renewal can be managed/turned off in the iTunes account settings.
Privacy Policy: https://www.parallels.com/about/legal/privacy/
Terms of Use: https://www.parallels.com/about/legal/terms/
What’s New
This update for Parallels Desktop Lite 1.4.0 addresses overall stability and performance issues, and includes the following fixes and improvements:
Performance
• Up to 80 percent faster application launch.
• Up to 30 percent faster suspend operation on APFS partition.
• Up to 130 percent more frames per second in Shared Camera.
Linux support
• Install Ubuntu 18.04, Fedora 28, and Linux Mint 19 in virtual machines right from Parallels Desktop.
• Support for mmap() in Linux Shared Folders.
• New pre-configured virtual machines with Debian GNU/Linux 9 and CentOS 7.
• Resolves an issue with Parallels Tools not installing in openSUSE Leap 15 and Ubuntu Linux.
• Resolves an issue with Parallels Tools not working in Linux virtual machines with X Server 1.20.
• Resolves an issue with Ubuntu 18.04 virtual machines periodically crashing or locking up.
• Resolves an issue with Ubuntu 18.10 virtual machines not installing.
• Resolves an issue with not being able to mount the same shared folder twice in a Linux virtual machine.
Graphics
• The new “Auto” mode for graphics allows Windows to use more than 2 GB of Mac system memory for graphics, while allowing Windows applications to use it when possible.
• Support for OpenGL 3.x in Windows virtual machines.
• Improved the way a virtual machine is displayed on 4K+ monitors:
• reduced the system and graphics memory consumption;
• increased performance when 3D acceleration is turned off.
• Improved the way a virtual machine is displayed on multiple monitors when the macOS “Displays have separate Spaces” option is turned off.
Ready for macOS 10.14 Mojave
• Parallels Desktop Lite supports Dark Mode.
• Use the virtual machine’s Edit menu to insert pictures from your iPhone or iPad into Windows applications.
• Quick Look in Windows has the same functionality as that in macOS.
• Parallels Desktop Lite uses the Mojave technology to take screenshots.
Integration with Mac
• Use your Mac’s camera that supports up to 4K resolutions in a virtual machine
• Use the Touch Bar to work with more Windows applications.
• The size of the virtual machine hard disk (.hdd file) is optimized by means of native Windows defragmentation.
Security
• Backing up a virtual machine with Time Machine has been simplified. Now if you want to add a virtual machine to the backup list or exclude it from this list, just do what you need in the Time Machine preferences.
• Backing up a virtual machine with Acronis True Image has been improved.
Usability
• Easier way to get help from Parallels - click Help > Support Center to access the webpage where you can find the most popular knowledgeable articles, links to the Parallels forums, social media and technical documentation, get personalized support and much more.
• The “Free Up Disk Space” dialog has been redesigned and simplified. Now you can use it to reduce the amount of disk space occupied by all your virtual machines.
• A paused virtual machine resumes automatically when you drag a file to its window.
• As most of Windows customers have switched from Windows 8 to Windows 10, the “Enable swipe from edges” option is disabled by default in order not to confuse users.
• Windows Maintenance feature has been improved.
• For new virtual machines, the SmartGuard backup functionality now keeps 3 snapshots by default (not to occupy additional disk space).
• The Resource Monitor has been redesigned. Use it to check how much CPU and memory is consumed by your Mac and all virtual machines.
• Monitor the virtual machine CPU usage in the virtual machine status bar.
• When you click a macOS notification that a technical data report has been sent, the report ID is automatically copied to the clipboard.
Support for keyboard layouts
• Improved support for the German keyboard layout.
• Improved support for the Japanese keyboard layout.
• Added support for the Brazilian Portuguese keyboard layout.
Why is windows vm usage a paid service ?
Why should I choose to pay for Parallels Desktop Lite to use Windows VMs when I can do it for free using VirtualBox developed by Oracle ? Before downloading your app from App Store, I missed the line in the description which said Windows VMs need a paid subscription. If I didn't, I would never download it. and when I realized the payment requirement after the trial period, I quit your app immediately without trying. I had checked the differences between Lite and Standart Version before downloading the Lite from App Store. And it had made sense why Lite is free and Standart is not. Standart has great features that I might consider paying for but Lite has no advantage over VirtualBox. If I remember correctly, you didn't have a Lite version at the beginning. and seeing this Lite version made me think that you wanted to gain popularity among the users who choose to use free Virtualbox and don't try the Standart version. I am a developer and I can use Vagrant free version with VirtualBox but Vagrant is not free for Parallels. This also adds to the cost of Parallels Lite. As a summary, I may consider paying for Parallels Standart because of great features but will never pay for the Lite when its equivalent software is free.
Support Fantastic! Works wonderfully now in High Sierra 13.4!
Download Parallels
I am now at peace with Parallels! Michael the Support person from Parallels fixed my Windows 10 and Parallels so that all of my RAM problems have been solved. Now with Parallels, Windows 10 Pro and High Sierra 13.4 running at the same tme I have over 8 GIGs available out of the 16GIGs installed. When Windows is suspended with Parallels still open I have nearly 11 GIGs free. Boot Camp no longer necessary.
The drive problems were solved after the drive was reformatted. Please ignore my previous carping about Parallels, the app works great now and I will say it one last time I fouind the support team to excellent! Very savvy, patient, listens attentively, solves problems quickly.
3 Cheers for my Parallels!
Developer Response,
Hello TheBear, Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. Could you please drop us an email at dg@parallels.com so our Tier 2 support could follow up with you directly to look into the issue with 10.13.4? Sincerely, Parallels
Unexpected change in capabilities
The free version used to support Linux. Parallels has opted to change this to a subscription based feature in an update. I would be okay with this if the new version was a separate app (i.e. existing users could keep using the old version, without any new features). Instead, auto-update kicked in, I find myself in front of a screen demanding a login (not previously required) when I'm trying to get unversity work done on a time crunch, and I find out that the software wants to charge me going forward after a trial period. Again, my biggest issue with this is the update to an existing app--most other apps that have gone to a subscription model have a separate app store listing for their new version to avoid this problem, or permanently grandfather in old users to certain feature sets. If parallels communicated this change at some point, they did not do so in the app any time I've been using it the last few months, and I must say I'm very disappointed.
Information
macOS 10.13.2 or later, 64-bit processor
English, Czech, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Traditional Chinese
Supports
Windows Parallel For Mac Free
Family Sharing
With Family Sharing set up, up to six family members can use this app.