For some people, running Windows on a Mac is the perfect way to use a specific app that is unavailable on Mac, or to play Windows games.
For a long time, it has been relatively easy to run Windows on a Mac. Since Windows has traditionally been designed to run on an Intel processor, you could optionally boot your Mac into Windows, or run Windows within a virtual machine (VM) on your Mac. But with Apple silicon Macs (i.e. those with an M1, M2, or M3 chip), which run on a variant of ARM processors, a few things have changed.
In this article, we’ll look at the various options for running Windows today on both Intel Macs and the latest Apple silicon Macs.
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Back in the 1990s, Apple and Microsoft fought for platform supremacy. Apple had only a small sliver of PC market share. Many Mac users, especially in professional environments, also needed to use PCs to be able to run certain apps. Some needed to run specific apps for their business, while others wanted to play games that were unavailable on Mac; many web designers would even use a Windows PC to ensure that their websites ran correctly on Windows browsers.
Starting in 1994, Apple released some “DOS Compatible” Macs that allowed users to run both Mac and PC operating systems (i.e. Mac OS System 7, side by side with DOS or Windows 3.1) on a single computer. For example, the Power Macintosh 6100/66 and the Performa 640CD could be purchased with a daughter card containing an Intel 80486 DX2/66 processor. These Macs allowed users to boot into Windows when needed; both operating systems could even run simultaneously. Several later “PC Compatible” Macs through 1997, such as the Power Macintosh 7300/180, could be purchased with a PCI “PC Compatibility card” with a Pentium (or Pentium-compatible) processor, and supported Windows 95.
When Steve Jobs returned to Apple, all of this ended, and users needed to rely on emulation software instead. In 1997, Connectix released Virtual PC, an app that could emulate PC hardware to allow Windows to run on a Mac. While quite slow—Windows code had to be translated to work on Macs’ PowerPC processors—it did allow users to run Windows within Mac OS, without having to reboot. For many years, Virtual PC was the go-to app for running Windows on the Mac, until Apple released hardware with Intel processors in 2006.
In 2006, when Apple switched to Intel processors, running Windows became simpler. Apple released Boot Camp, which allowed users to install Windows in a dedicated partition on a Mac and boot into that operating system when necessary.
Today, Apple still supports dual-booting Windows via Boot Camp on Intel-based Macs running macOS Sequoia (or earlier). Technically, Apple and Microsoft only officially support Windows 10 in Boot Camp on Intel-based Macs. Windows 10 is supposed to get its final security patches in mid-October 2025. But many users have successfully bypassed the Windows 11 compatibility checks and upgraded anyway. It might be worth trying; having the option to boot your Intel Mac directly into Windows is a great option, and it’s important to use a fully patched operating system; just be sure to back up your important files before trying to upgrade to Windows 11, and don’t expect any support from Apple or Microsoft if you run into trouble.
Around the same time as Apple originally released Boot Camp, Parallels Desktop was released, offering a technology known as virtualization: the ability to run Windows within Mac OS X. This gave users an appealing alternative to Boot Camp, since Parallels Desktop didn’t require rebooting to change operating systems. One year later, VMware Fusion was released, offering the same virtualization capability, and today, these two apps offer excellent Windows virtualization on Macs—if they have Intel processors. (Both apps can also run other operating systems, including Linux, and even older versions of macOS.)
Another option available for Intel Macs today is VirtualBox, which is free, but a bit complicated to set up.
There’s also CrossOver, which can run some Windows games and apps, but not the full operating system. This approach has its pros and cons; you won’t have to pay for a Windows license or boot a full Windows operating system just to run a single app, and it’s optimized for many popular Windows games, but it also may be less compatible with certain Windows apps than VM-based solutions.
Although Apple shifted to its own “Apple silicon” processors starting in 2020, many users who want to run Windows may wish to keep an Intel Mac around—especially if they already own virtualization software or prefer the Boot Camp dual-boot experience.
Apple silicon-based Macs (that is, Macs with an M1, M2, or M3 system on a chip, rather than an Intel processor) use a variant of ARM processors. Apple has decided not to support running Windows with Boot Camp on Apple silicon Macs. This means that once again, Mac users have to turn to virtualization or emulation.
Parallels Desktop was the first major app to let you run Windows on an M1 Mac; VMware Fusion came a bit later to the party, and VirtualBox came along even later.
With any of these apps, the process is exactly the same as on an Intel Mac, with the exception of needing a specific version of Windows. Microsoft makes available an ARM version of Windows 11 that you can access if you register for the Windows Insider Preview program. This version is not officially distributed otherwise, and is currently free. It’s not clear whether Microsoft will officially release the ARM version of Windows 11 for purchase outside of this preview program, other than preinstalled on specialized PCs, like Copilot+ PCs.
Parallels Desktop starts at $100 for the standard edition (or $70 for students). The standard edition is somewhat limited in the amount of virtual RAM and CPU cores it can use (8 GB virtual RAM, and 4 virtual CPUs). That $100 is a one-time purchase; however, if you want to upgrade to major new versions, you’ll have to pay an upgrade fee (currently $70). The Pro edition, meanwhile, requires a $120 per year subscription ($80 for students); this version includes more pro features, allows you to dedicate up to 128 GB of vRAM and 32 vCPUs per virtual machine (VM), and includes unlimited technical support. If you use it heavily, the Pro edition may be a better option for you.
VMware Fusion Pro’s pricing is much simpler; it’s free for personal (non-commercial) use, or $120 per year for commercial use.
VirtualBox is also free for personal use or educational use. If you want to use it for commercial purposes, Oracle VM VirtualBox Enterprise costs a one-time $50 per user for a perpetual license—but is sold with a minimum order of 100 user licenses (i.e. a $5000 purchase).
Meanwhile, CrossOver costs $74 for one year of support including software upgrades; a lifetime license with unlimited upgrades costs $494. As mentioned earlier, CrossOver lets you run Windows games and apps without the need to install Windows.
Note that Parallels Desktop, VMware Fusion, and VirtualBox currently do not support DirectX 12, so you might not be able to play some very recent, high-end PC games. However, CrossOver began introducing support for some DirectX 12-based game titles in late 2023.
Another option to run Windows on an Apple silicon Mac is to use the open-source QEMU, which can emulate systems to let you run various operating systems, including Windows. As with Parallels Desktop and the other options above, the best way to run Windows on an Apple silicon Mac is to register for the Windows Insider Preview program to get an ARM build of Windows, and setting up QEMU is a bit more complex than using Parallels Desktop.
Thankfully, there’s a free (or rather, payment optional) GUI app that simplifies setting up and running QEMU VMs. The app is called UTM, and it’s available as either a standalone download (for free, but you have to manually update it when new versions are released) or via the Mac App Store ($9.99; includes automatic updates). There is no extra cost to use UTM for commercial purposes, so small companies and professionals on a tight budget (or who only use Windows occasionally) may prefer UTM as a significantly cheaper alternative to Parallels Desktop, VMware Fusion, or VirtualBox.
UTM works well for most use cases, but isn’t compatible with high-end Windows video games that require 3D graphics acceleration.
Check out our complete, step-by-step guide to running Windows 11 Pro on an M1, M2, or M3 Mac for free using UTM.
How to run Windows 11 for FREE on a Mac with an M1, M2, or M3 chip
In the future, if you have a fast internet connection, and only need to use Windows apps occasionally, you may no longer need to run Windows on a Mac. The future of Windows for the Mac may be in your web browser. Microsoft Windows 365 Cloud PC allows you to “Securely stream your Windows experience,” on any device: Mac, iPad, and even iPhone. With all the heavy lifting done on a cloud server, you won’t need to tax your Mac, or use up space on a drive. (Virtual machines usually require dozens of gigabytes of disk space.)
For now, Microsoft is only marketing this service to businesses, and it starts at $35 a month for Mac users—far pricier than most other options. You essentially rent a virtual instance of Windows on a cloud server, and pay what you would for any other virtual cloud server. Given its cost, this isn’t an ideal solution for home users who need to occasionally use Windows apps, or who want to play Windows games on their Macs. However, if you do need to run Windows regularly for your mostly-Mac business, this is an easy (though expensive) way to do so.
Many Mac users have long needed to use Windows: sometimes for a single app, sometimes because games or specialized apps aren’t available for the Mac. (This may be changing, though; some “AAA” game titles are becoming more available on modern Macs, thanks in part to the power of Apple silicon and Apple’s Game Porting Toolkit.) But there are still cases where you may want to run Windows apps on your Mac. No matter whether you use an Intel Mac or an Apple silicon Mac, there are plenty of options available.
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