Parallels Desktop for Mac System Requirements

Parallels Desktop 20 for Mac system requirements

	Minimum To run most applications such as Microsoft Office, accounting, trading, SAP, Matlab, and more	Best Performance For graphics-intensive applications, high loads and running multiple virtual machines
Processor	Apple M4, M4 Pro, M4 Max, M3, M3 Pro, M3 Max, M2, M2 Pro, M2 Max, M2 Ultra, M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max and M1 Ultra chips Intel Core i5, Core i7, Core i9, Intel Core M or Xeon processor	Apple M4, M4 Pro, M4 Max, M3, M3 Pro, M3 Max, M2, M2 Pro, M2 Max, M2 Ultra, M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max and M1 Ultra chips Intel Core i5, Core i7, Core i9 or Xeon processor
Memory	4 GB of RAM	16 GB of RAM or more
Storage	600 MB for Parallels Desktop application installation Additional disk space for the guest operating system (at least 16 GB is required for Windows OS)	600 MB for Parallels Desktop application installation Additional disk space for the guest operating system (at least 16 GB is required for Windows OS)
Graphics	Apple M4, M4 Pro, M4 Max, M3, M3 Pro, M3 Max, M2, M2 Pro, M2 Max, M2 Ultra, M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max and M1 Ultra chips Intel, AMD Radeon, or NVIDIA graphics cards	Apple M4, M4 Pro, M4 Max, M3, M3 Pro, M3 Max, M2, M2 Pro, M2 Max, M2 Ultra, M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max and M1 Ultra chips AMD Radeon Pro graphics card
Operating System	macOS Sequoia 15.0 or newer macOS Sonoma 14.0 or newer macOS Ventura 13.4 or newer macOS Monterey 12.6 or newer macOS Big Sur 11.7 or newer[1] macOS Catalina 10.15.7 or newer[1] macOS Mojave 10.14.6 or newer[1]	macOS Sequoia 15.0 or newer macOS Sonoma 14.0 or newer macOS Ventura 13.4 or newer macOS Monterey 12.6 or newer macOS Big Sur 11.7 or newer[1] macOS Catalina 10.15.7 or newer[1] macOS Mojave 10.14.6 or newer[1]

Internet connection is required for product activation, updates, and select features.

[1] – the marked OS version is not supported by Parallels Desktop 20, and the product installer will set up an earlier product version; support of guest operating systems can be limited.  It is recommended to update macOS if possible. 

Supported Guest Operating Systems (Mac with Apple M-series chip)

Only Arm versions of operating systems are supported.

• Windows 11 Pro and Enterprise editions (recommended)
• Windows Server 2025 (when released)
• Ubuntu Linux 24.04, 23.04, 22.04, 21.10, 21.04, 20.10, 20.04
• Fedora Workstation 41, 40, 39
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
• Debian GNU/Linux 12, 11
• Kali Linux 2024.2, 2023.1, 2022.2, 2022.1, 2021.3
• CentOS Stream 9
• macOS Monterey 12 (in-app download)
• macOS Ventura 13 (in-app download)
• macOS Sonoma 14 (in-app download)
• macOS Sequoia 15 (in-app download)

Supported Guest Operating Systems (Mac with an Intel processor)

Only x86 versions of operating systems are supported.

• Windows 11 (recommended)
• Windows 10^[1]
• Windows Server 2025 (when released)
• Windows Server 2022
• Windows Server 2019
• Windows Server 2016
• Windows Server 2012 R2
• Boot2Docker
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 9,8 and 7
• CentOS Linux 9 Stream, 8, 7
• Fedora Linux 41, 40, 39
• Ubuntu 24.04, 23.04, 22.04 LTS, 21.10, 21.04, 20.04 LTS, 18.04 LTS, 16.04 LTS
• Debian GNU/Linux 12, 11
• Suse Linux Enterprise 15
• OpenSUSE Linux 15.5 and 15.4
• Linux Mint 20
• Kali 2024.2, 2023.1, 2022.2, 2022.1
• Elementary OS 7
• Manjaro 22 and 21
• Mageia 8
• Gentoo Linux^[2]
• openBSD 6^[2]
• FreeBSD 12 and 11^[2]
• openVZ 7
• eComStation 2 and 1.2^[2]
• ReactOS 0.4^[2]
• Android OS (in-app download only)
• macOS Sequoia 15.0^[3]
• macOS Sonoma 14.0^[3]
• macOS Ventura 13.0^[3]
• macOS Monterey 12.0^[3]
• macOS Big Sur 11.0^[3]
• macOS Catalina 10.15^[3]
• macOS Mojave 10.14.x^[3]
• macOS High Sierra 10.13.x^[3]
• macOS Sierra 10.12.x^[3]
• OS X El Capitan 10.11.x^[3]
• OS X Yosemite 10.10.x^[3]
• OS X Mavericks 10.9.x^[3]
• and many more...

[1] — Only the 64-bit version is supported.
[2] — Parallels Tools are not available for this operating system.
[3] — Requires a Mac computer that supports the operating system as a host OS.

Note:  Support for legacy Windows OS versions (2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8/8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2) is limited. Learn more at KB 129252.

Parallels Desktop for Mac emulates PC hardware, so operating systems that are not present in this list can work as well. You can download the Parallels Desktop trial and install an operating system of your choice. If it doesn't work and you believe it should be supported, let us know at Parallels Forum. To learn more about the limitations of running Windows 11 in Parallels Desktop, please visit KB 129497. 

To learn more about Parallels Tools compatibility with Linux kernels, please visit KB 129963.

Parallels Desktop 19 for Mac system requirements

	Minimum To run most applications such as Microsoft Office, accounting, trading, SAP, Matlab, and more	Best Performance For graphics-intensive applications, high loads and running multiple virtual machines
Processor	Apple M3, M3 Pro, M3 Max,  M2, M2 Pro, M2 Max, M2 Ultra, M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max and M1 Ultra chips Intel Core i5, Core i7, Core i9, Intel Core M or Xeon processor	Apple M3, M3 Pro, M3 Max, M2, M2 Pro, M2 Max, M2 Ultra, M1 Pro, M1 Max and M1 Ultra chips Intel Core i5, Core i7 or Core i9 processor
Memory	4 GB of RAM	16 GB of RAM or more
Storage	600 MB for Parallels Desktop application installation Additional disk space for the guest operating system (at least 16 GB is required for Windows 11)	SSD drive
Graphics	Apple M3, M3 Pro, M3 Max, M2, M2 Pro, M2 Max, M2 Ultra, M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max and M1 Ultra chips Intel, AMD Radeon, or NVIDIA graphics cards	Apple M3, M3 Pro, M3 Max, M2, M2 Pro, M2 Max, M2 Ultra, M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max and M1 Ultra chips AMD Radeon Pro graphics card
Operating System	macOS Sonoma 14.0 or newer macOS Ventura 13.4 or newer macOS Monterey 12.6 or newer macOS Big Sur 11.7 or newer[1] macOS Catalina 10.15.7 or newer[1] macOS Mojave 10.14.6 or newer[1]	macOS Sonoma 14.0 or newer macOS Ventura 13.4 or newer macOS Monterey 12.6 or newer

Internet connection is required for product activation, updates, and select features.

[1] – the marked OS version is not supported by Parallels Desktop 19, and the product installer will set up an earlier product version; support of guest operating systems can be limited.  It is recommended to update macOS if possible. 

Supported Guest Operating Systems (Mac with Apple M-series chip)

Only Arm versions of operating systems are supported.

• Windows 11 Pro and Enterprise editions (recommended)
• Ubuntu Linux 23.04, 22.04, 21.10, 21.04, 20.10, 20.04 
• Fedora Workstation 38, 37, 36, 35, 34, 33-1.2 
• Debian GNU/Linux 12, 11, 10
• Kali Linux 2023.1, 2022.2, 2022.1, 2021.3
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 9
• macOS Monterey 12 (in-app download)
• macOS Ventura 13 (in-app download)
• macOS Sonoma 14 (in-app download)

Supported Guest Operating Systems (Mac with an Intel processor)

Only x86 versions of operating systems are supported.

• Windows 11 (recommended)
• Windows 10*
• Windows Server 2022
• Windows Server 2019
• Windows Server 2016
• Windows Server 2012 R2
• Boot2Docker
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 9, 8 and 7
• CentOS Linux 9 Stream, 8, 7
• Fedora Linux 38, 37
• Ubuntu Linux 23.04, 22.04 LTS, 21.10, 21.04, 20.04 LTS, 18.04 LTS, 16.04 LTS
• Debian GNU/Linux 12, 11, 10
• Suse Linux Enterprise 15
• OpenSUSE Linux  15.5, 15.4
• Linux Mint 20
• Kali Linux 2023.1, 2022.2, 2022.1, 2020.2, 2019, 2018
• Elementary OS 7 
• Manjaro 22, 21
• Mageia 8, 7 
• Gentoo Linux ** 
• Solaris 11, 10 ** 
• openBSD 6 ** 
• FreeBSD 12, 11 ** 
• openVZ 7 
• eComStation 2, 1.2 ** 
• ReactOS 0.4 ** 
• Android OS (in-app download only)* 
• macOS Sonoma 14.0 ***
• macOS Ventura 13.0 ***
• macOS Monterey 12.0 ***
• macOS Big Sur 11.0 ***
• macOS Catalina 10.15 ***
• macOS Mojave 10.14.x ***
• macOS High Sierra 10.13.x ***
• macOS Sierra 10.12.x ***
• OS X El Capitan 10.11.x ***
• OS X Yosemite 10.10.x ***
• OS X Mavericks 10.9.x ***
• Mac OS X Leopard Server 10.5.x -  OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.x ****
• and many more...

* - Only the 64-bit version is supported.

** - Parallels Tools are not available for this operating system.

*** - Parallels Desktop 19 supports only macOS virtual machines created on a Mac computer that supports the operating system as a host OS. Feel free to give it a try if you need such a virtual machine, though please note that it might not work.

**** - virtual machines with these operating systems are not supported in Parallels Desktop 19.3.0 and newer versions.

Note: To run legacy Windows OS versions (2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8/8.1), download and use Parallels Tools version 18.3.0. Learn more in KB 129252.

Note: Parallels Desktop for Mac emulates PC hardware, so operating systems that are not present in this list can work as well. You can download the Parallels Desktop trial and install an operating system of your choice. If it doesn't work and you believe it should be supported, let us know at Parallels Forum. To learn more about the limitations of running Windows 11 in Parallels Desktop, please visit KB 129497. 

To learn more about Parallels Tools compatibility with Linux kernels, please visit KB 129963.

Parallels Desktop 18 for Mac system requirements

	Minimum To run most applications such as Microsoft Office, accounting, trading, SAP, Matlab, and more	Best Performance For graphics-intensive applications, high loads and running multiple virtual machines
Processor	Apple M2, M2 Pro, M2 Max, M1 Ultra, M1 Pro, M1 Max, and M1 chips, Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, Core i9, Intel Core M or Xeon processor	Apple M2, M2 Pro, M2 Max, M1 Ultra, M1 Pro, M1 Max, and M1 chips, Intel Core i5, Core i7, Core i9 or Xeon processor
Memory	4 GB of RAM	16 GB of RAM or more
Storage	600 MB for Parallels Desktop application installation Additional disk space for the guest operating system (at least 16 GB is required for Windows 11)	SSD drive
Graphics	Apple M2, M2 Pro, M2 Max, M1 Ultra, M1 Pro, M1 Max, and M1 chips   Intel, AMD Radeon, or NVIDIA graphics cards	Apple M2, M2 Pro, M2 Max, M1 Ultra, M1 Pro, M1 Max, and M1 chips   AMD Radeon Pro graphics card
Operating System	macOS Ventura 13.0 macOS Monterey 12.4 or newer  macOS Big Sur 11.6.7 or newer  macOS Catalina 10.15.7 or newer  macOS Mojave 10.14.6 or newer	macOS Ventura 13.0 macOS Monterey 12.4 or newer  macOS Big Sur 11.6.7 or newer

Internet connection is required for product activation, updates, and select features.

Supported Guest Operating Systems (Mac with Apple M-series chip)

Only Arm versions of operating systems are supported.

• Windows 11 Pro and Enterprise editions (recommended)
• Ubuntu Linux 23.04, 22.04, 21.10, 21.04, 20.10, 20.04 
• Fedora Workstation 38, 37, 36, 35, 34, 33-1.2 
• Debian GNU/Linux 11, 10
• Kali Linux 2023.1, 2022.2, 2022.1, 2021.3
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 9
• macOS Monterey 12 (in-app download)
• macOS Ventura 13 (in-app download)

Supported Guest Operating Systems (Mac with an Intel processor)

Only x86 versions of operating systems are supported.

• Windows 11 (recommended)
• Windows 10
• Windows 8.1
• Windows 8
• Windows Server 2022 
• Windows Server 2019
• Windows Server 2016
• Windows Server 2012 R2
• Windows 7 (SP0-SP1)
• Windows Server 2008 R2 (SP0-SP2)
• Windows Vista Home, Business, Ultimate and Enterprise (SP0-SP2)
• Windows Server 2003 R2 (SP0-SP2)
• Windows XP (SP0-SP3)
• Windows 2000 Professional SP4
• Windows 2000 Server SP4
• Boot2Docker
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 9, 8 and 7
• CentOS Linux 9 Stream, 8, 7
• Fedora Linux 36, 35, 34, 33
• Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, 21.10, 21.04, 20.04 LTS, 18.04 LTS, 16.04 LTS
• Debian GNU/Linux 11, 10
• Suse Linux Enterprise 15
• OpenSUSE Linux  15.2, 15.1, 15
• Linux Mint 20, 19
• Kali 2022.2, 2022.1, 2020.2, 2019, 2018 
• Elementary OS 6, 5 
• Manjaro 21, 19, 18 
• Mageia 8, 7 
• Gentoo Linux ** 
• Solaris 11, 10 ** 
• openBSD 6 ** 
• FreeBSD 12, 11 ** 
• openVZ 7 
• eComStation 2, 1.2 ** 
• ReactOS 0.4 ** 
• Android OS* 
• macOS Ventura 13.0 ***
• macOS Monterey 12.0
• macOS Big Sur 11.0
• macOS Catalina 10.15
• macOS Mojave 10.14.x
• macOS High Sierra 10.13.x
• macOS Sierra 10.12.x
• OS X El Capitan 10.11.x
• OS X Yosemite 10.10.x
• OS X Mavericks 10.9.x
• OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.x
• OS X Lion 10.7.x
• OS X Lion Server 10.7.x
• Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server 10.6.x
• Mac OS X Leopard Server 10.5.x
• and many more...

* - Only the version downloaded with help of the Installation Assistant with Parallels Desktop.

** - Parallels Tools are not available for this operating system.

*** - please note that you can install only the versions of macOS virtual machines (VMs) that your host supports. E.g., macOS Ventura VM won't work on the legacy Mac that isn't compatible with macOS Ventura 13.

Note: Parallels Desktop for Mac emulates PC hardware, so operating systems that are not present in this list can work as well. You can download the Parallels Desktop trial and install an operating system of your choice. If it doesn't work and you believe it should be supported, let us know at Parallels Forum.

Parallels Tools for Linux require X Window System version 1.15-1.20 and Linux Kernel version 3.1-6.1.

Moving Your PC? 

You can move your files from Windows PC using Apple Migration Assistant. 
To move your Windows apps, you can use the Parallels Transporter feature. **

Note: Parallels Transporter is not available for Mac with Apple M-series chips. 

PC system requirements to move your PC to your Intel Mac (using Parallels Transporter Agent): 

• 700 MHz (or higher) x86 or x64 processor (Intel or AMD)
• 256 MB of RAM 
• 50 MB of available hard disk space for installation of Parallels Transporter Agent 
• Ethernet or WiFi network adapter for migrating over network 
• External USB drive for migrating via external disk 
• Supported Windows: Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and Windows 2000 * 

* - To migrate Windows Vista or older, Transporter Agent from Parallels Desktop 13 should be used.

** - Version 18.3.3 of Parallels Desktop for Mac does not support transferring a Windows installation from a PC. If you still want to perform the transfer, install an 18.3.2 release available here, complete the transfer, and then upgrade to 18.3.3.