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Summary
Parallels Desktop is not free, but by visitingParallels Desktop’s trial page, you can download it with a free 14-day trial that gives you access to the full suite of features so you can try before you buy.
Parallels Desktop is one of the easiest ways to run Windows on a Mac. It works on everything from Apple Silicon models with the M1 or M2 chip to older Intel Macs, plus the setup process is easy. So are there any free versions of Parallels Desktop or discounts available?
Is Parallels Desktop Free?
Parallels Desktopfor Mac is a premium app, which means the full version is not available for free. The standard version of Parallels Desktop 18 starts at $99.99 for the home and student edition, which is a single one-off payment that gives you access to 8GB ofVRAM, 4 virtualCPUs, and 30 days of phone and email support.
You can also buy the Pro Edition of Parallels Desktop for $119 per year, which ups the VRAM to 128GB and virtual CPU count to 32 alongside some other nice extras like a Virtual Studio plugin, advanced networking tools, better sorting for your VM, and 24/7 phone and email support. Beyond this, there’s a Business edition for $149.99 per year which adds features geared toward enterprise users.
you may compare these editions on theParallels Desktop website. All versions of Parallels Desktop let you install and run Windows, Linux, and macOS as long as your underlying hardware is compatible. Mac users with an Apple Silicon machine candownload and install Windows 11 on ARM from within Parallels Desktop.
Parallels offersdiscounts for students and educatorswith a 50% price drop on the Standard and Pro editions. You’ll need to verify you’re a student before you may claim the discount. This discount is only available on a Parallels Desktop subscription, there’s no half-price one-off purchase for the Standard edition.
Parallels also offersdiscounts for active military members,government employees, andcharity and nonprofit employees.
Related:The Best Tech Discounts and Deals for College Students
Download Parallels Desktop for free from theParallels Desktop trial page. During installation, you’ll be asked to activate Parallels Desktop, at which point you can click on the “Try Free for 14 days” button at the bottom of the window to delay payment.
This gives you two weeks to try the software out. You can download and install various operating systems (including Windows), optimize VMs for gaming or other tasks or manually tweak virtual hardware setups, and install any software you want to make sure that the app does everything you expect it to.
Once your 14 days are up the app will notify you that the trial period has ended and allow you to upgrade from a trial to the full version. You’ll be able to keep any virtual machines you’ve created once you upgrade. Alternatively, you canuninstall Parallels Desktop as you would any other Mac appto get the space back.
The Best Free Alternatives to Parallels Desktop
Parallels Desktop isn’t the only virtual machine app for Mac, but it’s one of the easiest to use. When you buy Parallels you’re paying for a smooth setup process, superior3D accelerationwithin your VMs, and the general ease of use that other virtualization apps forego.
VMware Fusionnowsupports Windows on Apple Silicon Mac models, with a free version calledVMware Fusion Playeravailable for non-commercial usage. This allows you to run Windows on your Mac just like Parallels Desktop, though thesetup process is far more hands-onand requires some work on your part.
Another option is Oracle’s longstanding free virtual machine softwareVirtualBox. The application wasupdated in late 2022 to add support for Apple Silicon chips, though at the time of writing this functionality is still limited to the developer preview build.
Alternatively, Don’t Run Windows At All
There are other options forrunning Windows apps on your Mac that don’t involve a virtual machine. These include usingWine via the Wineskin Winery appor using apremium wrapper app called CrossOver.
Don’t forget that running Windows in a virtual machine still technically requires a Windows license, even for the ARM version of Windows 11. You caninstall and use Windows 11 without a licenseas long as you’re happy with Microsoft withholding some features and bugging you to activate.
