RELATED: You Don't Need a Product Key to Install and Use Windows 10 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. One more note: purchasing Parallels does not give you a Windows license, or a Windows product key. Parallels Desktop Lite can only run Windows virtual machines if you pay for a subscription, however.

There’s also Parallels Desktop Lite, which is free on the Mac App Store and lets you create both Linux and macOS virtual machines. 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. RELATED: How to Make Linux and macOS Virtual Machines for Free with Parallels Lite A $70 annual subscription gives you access to all updates “for free,” according to the Parallels website.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.This lets you run Parallels on a single Mac. Purchasing the latest home version of Parallels Desktop costs $80 as of this writing.it’s well worth the cost.īrowsing the Parallels website, it can be a little tricky to find out what the product actually costs. 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. 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. Virtual machines are complicated, but Parallels makes it reasonably simple to set one up and use it. You can even combine the two desktops, if you want, and run Windows software right on your Mac desktop from your Mac’s dock. This allows you to quickly switch between the Mac and Windows desktops.

Parallels runs Windows within macOS, using what’s called a Virtual Machine. 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. RELATED: How to Install Windows on a Mac With Boot Camp Why Use Parallels Instead of Boot Camp or VirtualBox?

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