Even the most loyal Mac users recognise that Windows still rules the roost in the world of desktop and laptop computers, and there are many important apps that only run on Windows.
For example, the Windows version of Microsoft Office includes the Access database that has never been available for the Mac, and there are many professional graphics and video tools that are Windows-only. And, of course, there are all those A-List games that have never even glanced in the direction of us poor, forgotten Mac gamers.
If you need to run Windows software or games on your Macs this article will reveal the best way to do so. We'll run through the best virtual machines for Mac, including Parallels and VMware, as well as some alternative options, including Apple's own Boot Camp and emulators that let you run Windows apps on a Mac without even installing Windows!
So read on to find out what the best way to run Windows software on a Mac is. We'll compare Boot Camp, and the virtualisation and emulation options so we can find the best virtual machine and virtualisation software packages for Macs.
Can I run Windows on a Mac?
When Apple moved to Intel processors back in 2006-2007 it also brought Windows to the Mac because the macOS and Windows OS suddenly spoke the same language. This was a benefit to Apple because it took away one of the biggest concerns of Windows users considering a move to the Mac - it meant they could bring Windows and their Windows software with them.
However, this is set to change. In 2020 Apple announced that it would be moving away from Intel to its own Apple Silicon processors and this transition began with the arrival of the M1 Chip in November 2020. This lead to prophesies that the days of Windows on the Mac are numbered, although luckily this doesn't look to be the case, with Parallels already announcing a version of Parallels that runs the ARM version of Windows on the M1 Mac.
But getting hold of the ARM version of Windows is not straightforward, and it is possible that the apps you rely on will not run well on the ARM version of Windows. For that reason we won't be recommending running Windows on an M1 Mac just yet.
So, for now, we will focus on running Windows on an Intel Mac. You can run Windows on Intel Macs and there plenty of options available for people who want to (that we will cover below).
Read more about running Windows on the M1 Mac here: Will Windows run on Apple Silicon?
Best way to run Windows on the Mac
Luckily there are plenty of options available for Mac users who need to run Windows and Windows apps on a Mac. Before we run through them, there are three main approaches to running Windows on a Mac, which we will detail below:
Boot Camp
Apple's own solution is dual-booting using its own Boot Camp software to switch (boot) back and forth between the macOS and Windows. Boot Camp will allow you to run Windows and Windows apps at full speed, using all the processor power and memory built into your Mac.
Boot Camp is the best solution for running games or professional graphics apps that need a lot of power. However, Apple's decision to abandon Intel processors does mean that Boot Camp will not work on Macs that use Apple's new chips, so Boot Camp's days are numbered.
Virtualisation
Another option for running Windows on a Mac is virtualisation. Programs such as Parallels Desktop, VMWare Fusion and VirtualBox allow you to create a virtual machine (VM), that runs on your Mac just like any other Mac app. The virtual machine uses software to mimic the workings of a conventional PC, and this allows you to install Windows on your virtual machine and then install any Windows apps that you want to use on the virtual machine too. You can run both operating systems at the same time and even run Windows apps alongside all your normal Mac apps.
The ability to run native Mac apps and virtualised Windows apps at the same time is a lot more convenient than dual-booting with Boot Camp, as you don't have to switch back and forth between macOS and Windows.
However, virtualisation does have some drawbacks. The virtual machine is running a full version of the Windows operating system on top of the main macOS on your Mac, so your Mac is going to need plenty of memory and processor power in order to provide decent performance - and the virtual machine won't be as fast as an actual physical PC that has its own built-in processor and memory. For this reason Boot Camp is still the best option for running high-end graphics software or the latest 3D games.
Emulation
A third option - after Boot Camp and virtualisation - involves Wine, which allows you to run Windows apps without Windows itself. No we aren't suggesting you down a bottle and imagine you are running Windows apps - Wine is a free open-source program from Oracle.
Rather than using conventional virtualisation technology to run Windows you don't actually run Windows at all. Rather Wine translates the programming routines - called APIs - in Windows apps so that they can talk directly to macOS, without needing a copy of Windows.
CodeWeavers CrossOver for Mac is based on Wine and it is already running Windows apps on M1 Macs!
Both Boot Camp and the virtualisation options require you to own a full, licensed copy of Windows. One of the major benefits of options like Wine and CrossOver is that you don't need a copy of Windows.
If you are looking for a free way to run Windows on your Mac read this: How to run Windows 10 on a Mac for free.
So that explains the difference between the different solutions for running Windows on the Mac, but what is the best route? Below we will run through what we think are the best virtual machines for running Windows on the Mac, looking at the pros and cons of solutions like Parallels versus VMware and comparing them to other ways to run Windows on the Mac such as CodeWeavers CrossOver for Mac.
