What You Need

To install and set up Parallels Desktop 15 for Mac, you need:

  • A Mac computer with:
    • Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, Core i9, Intel Core M or Xeon processor.
    • At least 4GB of RAM (8GB recommended).
    • At least 500 MB of space available on the boot volume (the volume that has macOS) for Parallels Desktop installation.
    • Enough free disk space for each virtual machine and its applications (for example, at least 16 GB for each installation of Windows 10).
    • macOS 10.15 Catalina, macOS 10.14 Mojave, macOS 10.13 High Sierra, macOS 10.12.6 Sierra.

      To identify your computer's processor, memory, and macOS version, choose Apple menu > About This Mac.

    • Internet connection required for product activation, select features, and online updates.
  • One of the following:
    • Windows installation media.

      Note: If you don't have Windows, Parallels Desktop can help you download and install Windows 10.

    • An Internet connection to download and install freely available operating systems such as Ubuntu, Fedora or other Linux systems supported by Parallels Desktop.
    • A macOS recovery partition that can be used to create a virtual machine with the guest version of macOS.
    • A Windows computer to transfer to a virtual machine and use it on your Mac alongside macOS.
    • The Boot Camp partition with Windows to create a Boot Camp-based virtual machine.

    For a list of operating systems that Parallels Desktop supports for use with your Mac, see Supported Guest Operating Systems or go to https://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/resources/#requirements.