There are many reasons why you might want to run Windows on your Mac computer. Maybe you need to run a Windows-only application, or you prefer the look and feel of Microsoft’s operating system. Whatever your reason, you basically have two ways to go about it.
Which method is right for you depends on your budget, how often you plan to use Windows, and the age of your Mac. We’ve covered both here so you can take your pick or switch between the two if you need to.
And just in case you were wondering, you can’t run macOS on a Windows computer, at least not easily. Apple doesn’t make its software available for non-Apple computers, so if you want to give it a shot, you’ll have to follow unofficial workarounds that might seem like more trouble than they’re worth.
Option 1: Boot Camp
Apple’s Boot Camp is a built-in application that configures your computer as a dual-boot system, allowing you to choose between loading Windows or macOS each time your machine starts. Boot Camp has many advantages: it’s officially supported by Apple and Microsoft, it makes full use of your Mac’s processing power and memory, and it’s simple to set up.
But because nothing about Windows-Mac relations can be perfect, Boot Camp has the big downside of quickly going out of fashion, making it incompatible with the latest Apple computers. Macs with Apple’s M1 chip inside, meaning all the machines the company has released since 2020 and will continue to release in the future, don’t support Boot Camp because Windows just isn’t designed for this processor design.
[Related: 4 great macOS features you can get on Windows]
But the limitations keep coming, and even if you have an older Mac with an Intel chipset, Boot Camp will only let you run Windows 10. Indeed, Windows 11 has pretty strict system requirements that Intel Macs don’t. simply do not satisfy. . As of this writing, it’s unclear if Boot Camp will ever come to Macs running Apple silicon, or if Windows 11 will ever work with Boot Camp. Apple has made some positive noises about it, so it looks like it’s now down to Microsoft.
So if you have an old Mac and are content to run Windows 10, Boot Camp can easily give you the flexibility of the operating system. To get started, you’ll need a digital copy of Windows (which you can get from Microsoft for $139) and run Boot Camp Assistant. Use Spotlight search (command + spacebar) to find the app on your Mac, open it and follow the installation process.
The first step is to set up a partition on your Mac’s hard drive, which will separate out part of the drive so Windows can live there. How big this space is is up to you, but the more files and programs you want to use with Windows, the more space you’ll need. Apple recommends at least 64 GB for Windows to run smoothly and at least 128 GB for the best experience.
When the time is right, Boot Camp Assistant will prompt you to open the file you downloaded from Microsoft. You will know what it is by the ISO filename extension. After the installation is complete, each time you start your Mac, hold down the Option key to choose between macOS and Windows. You can also set the default choice from macOS by opening the Apple menu and choice System Preferences and then boot disk.
Option 2: Virtualization software
The other option to get Windows on your Mac – and really the only option if you have a newer M1-powered machine or want to use Windows 11 – is to use virtualization software.
This type of program runs Windows on top of another layer of software that works with macOS, so as far as Windows is concerned, it runs on a normal PC. This extra layer of processing and interpretation slows performance compared to Boot Camp, although for most tasks you shouldn’t notice any major lag issues. It’s also a more expensive option, as you’ll be paying for the virtualization package as well as Windows itself.
Parallels is the best in the business for this and will cost you a one-time fee of $80. For faster support, free upgrades to future releases, and a few extras (like more customization tools), there’s also a pro-level package for $100 per year. As with Boot Camp, you’ll also need to purchase Windows, which will cost you $139. As of this writing, Microsoft doesn’t sell Windows 11 directly, so you’ll have to settle for Windows 10 which you can then upgrade to the latest version of the operating system.
But this approach also has its problems. If you want to use Windows 11, you need to use an experimental version of software that Microsoft made specifically for ARM processors, which is what Apple’s chips are. You’ll need to register with Microsoft to use this build, and because it’s experimental, you may encounter a few bugs.
[Related: MacOS Big Sur has an annoying Do Not Disturb bug. Here’s how to fix it.]
The good news is that Parallels does all the heavy lifting for you. Download and run the installer package, follow the onscreen instructions, and you’ll be using Windows on your Mac in minutes. Parallels also lets you run Windows as a Mac application, so you can switch between operating systems as needed without rebooting, running Microsoft’s operating system in full screen or even in a window .
While performance isn’t quite as good as with Boot Camp, Parallels does a good job of optimizing Windows, so most apps and even less demanding games should run smoothly. Other virtualization tools are available, including VMware Fusion and VirtualBox, but they are more difficult to configure than Parallels and are even more problematic when it comes to M1 and Windows 11 Macs.
Finally, if these two options seem a bit overkill to you, things might get easier in the future. Microsoft’s Windows 365 Cloud PC is a tool that can broadcast access to a Windows 11 computer through any browser on any type of machine, regardless of the operating system it is running. This app is currently only available for businesses, but it may become a consumer option at some point in the future, making a PC experience on a Mac seamless.
