Parallels Desktop
The virtual machine you buy when you want Windows to stop feeling like a virtual machine.
What it does
Parallels runs Windows, Linux and older macOS as virtual machines on Apple’s hypervisor, and then spends its effort on the seams: Coherence puts Windows application windows on the Mac desktop with no VM window around them, the clipboard and Retina scaling work, folders are shared both ways, and a Windows program can be the default handler for a file type in Finder.
Setup is one button — it downloads and installs Windows 11 ARM itself, licence included in the purchase path.
Notes
- Apple Silicon means ARM guests. Windows 11 ARM runs x86 and x64 applications through Microsoft’s own emulation, which handles most software and not games with anti-cheat.
- Sold per year as a subscription, or as a perpetual licence for one major version. Free for personal use on nothing.
- The Pro tier is the one with the network conditioner, nested virtualization and a
prlctlCLI worth scripting against. - Its hardware graphics support is why it, rather than UTM, is the answer when a guest needs a working GPU.
Alternative to
| Alternative | Type | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| UTM | Open source | Free, does x86 emulation too, far rougher integration |
| VMware Fusion | Free | Free for everyone now, weaker Windows-on-ARM story |
| VirtualBox | Open source | Apple Silicon support is still a developer preview |
| Docker Desktop | Freemium | For a Linux environment rather than a Linux desktop |
| Windows App | Free | Use a Windows machine that already exists, over RDP |
Install
brew install --cask parallels