While macOS works well for most tasks, there are times when it just can't do what you want it to—usually, it's some application or game that just isn't supported natively. More often than not, this means running Windows on your Mac.

You can often get away with running Windows in a virtual machine using Parallels or VirtualBox, but sometimes that won't cut it. Today we'll discuss all the possible options for using Windows on your Mac, ranging from virtualization to using BootCamp Assistant.

How to Run Windows 11 on Apple Silicon Macs (M1 and M2 Models)

If you own an Apple silicon Mac, you only have one option: using virtualization software like Parallels to run Windows on your ARM-based computer. If you have an Intel-based Mac, you can still try this method out, but the second one, which we'll discuss in a bit, will work much better for you.

Regardless, if you just need to get Windows up and running to use a particular application once in a while, you can save a lot of hassle by running Windows in a virtual environment. But note that there are several pros and cons of using a VM to run Windows.

For starters, you don't need to partition your hard drive and potentially waste space—your Windows installation will only take up as much space as it needs. Installation is much faster and more straightforward, you can run both Windows and macOS side by side, and you don't need to worry about downloading and installing drivers.

Parallels Desktop Windows 11 desktop Mac

The main downside, of course, is that by using this method, you're running multiple operating systems simultaneously, so it's by no means efficient. You'll need to ensure that your Mac has enough RAM to handle both macOS and Windows, and battery life will take a significant hit while the VM runs—if you use a MacBook.

This is also not the solution if you want to do anything particularly graphics intensive. While virtualization software has made great strides in the last few years, making the graphics card more accessible to virtual machines, performance is still nowhere near what you'll get running Windows natively.

How to Run Windows 11 on Intel Macs Using Boot Camp

If virtualization isn't an option isn't ideal for your use case due to the reasons we listed above, you'll want to boot directly into Windows. However, that's only an option if you have a Mac powered by an Intel processor—all Macs released in late 2020 and later use Apple silicon.

This method involves partitioning your hard drive so that it's shared between macOS and Windows (unless you plan to run Windows exclusively) and then using the Boot Camp Assistant on macOS to install Windows on a separate partition.

Like the virtualization method, Boot Camp has its pros and cons, but the biggest con is the inability to run Windows and Mac simultaneously. You'll also need a lot of storage space on your Mac for the partition. So, let's look at Boot Camp Assistant below.

Boot Camp Assistant

Boot Camp Assistant is Apple's built-in utility for running Windows natively on your Mac (meaning that you shut down macOS and boot into Windows). It makes it easy to partition your drive, download the drivers you need, and create a bootable USB drive using an ISO file.

This guide assumes that you've bought Windows from Microsoft's online store and you have an ISO file to start the installation. You can download Windows directly from Microsoft.

When you launch Boot Camp Assistant (found in Applications > Utilities), you'll have the option to create a bootable install disk using a USB drive. You can also choose to create the installer in Terminal. We've covered both methods in our detailed guide to creating a Windows installation disk on your Mac.

boot-camp-assistant

Boot Camp Performance

If the main reason you want to run Windows in Boot Camp is for better performance compared to a virtual machine, you probably want to know what to expect.

First up, the good news—if you're heading to Windows for gaming, you'll probably get good graphics performance out of your Mac (as long as your Mac has a dedicated graphics card).

That's because, generally speaking, a lot of games are written for Windows first and will often use DirectX (a Microsoft technology); the same games on macOS will have to make do with different technology, OpenGL, which is cross-platform and well-supported but generally less efficient resulting in lower performance.

However, on the downside, if you use a MacBook, you may see some reductions in battery life and loss of functionality with your trackpad, as Apple designed it to work with macOS.

Windows, designed to run on lots of different hardware, is nowhere near as optimized, and it shows. You'll most likely lose a few hours of battery life running Windows—with some reports of a 50% reduction in battery life. Your mileage may vary, but it definitely doesn't stand up to macOS.

Unfortunately, the trackpad doesn't behave so well on Windows, either. While you can set up tap-to-click and two-finger right-clicking, it just doesn't feel as nice as in macOS.

Extra Drivers for Windows BootCamp

If you want to play games, you'll probably want to go and find the latest drivers for the particular graphics card in your Mac from either AMD or NVIDIA. These can increase the performance of your graphics card even further, but beware—they may break functionality like the ability to change the brightness of your display.

The Boot Camp drivers work well enough, though power management and trackpad functionality are definitely nowhere near as good as in macOS. Thankfully, better options are available, which brings them a lot closer.

power-plan-assistant

Power Plan Assistant helps to squeeze out a bit more battery life by giving you much greater customization over power-saving mechanisms, such as how quickly your monitor should dim and turn off.

It lets you have multiple profiles (for different battery percentage ranges or when you're charging) and provides quick access to toggling Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on or off—which usually requires diving into your network/Bluetooth settings.

trackpad-plus-plus-control-panel

Power Plan Assistant is free to install but requires a reinstall with every version release unless you have a serial number (which you can only get with a $20 "donation" to the developer).

Running Windows 11 Exclusively on Your Intel Mac

Automatically move files on Windows and Mac

Sometimes, you may decide that you're done with macOS altogether and wish to run Windows exclusively on your Mac. This is possible only in the case you have an Intel Mac, which you shouldn't buy anymore.

In this case, you'll probably still want to use Boot Camp Assistant to download the Boot Camp drivers, although you won't need to use its partitioning tool to resize your hard drive as you'll need to wipe it anyway.

Windows 11 Isn't Perfect on the Mac

You should definitely consider running a virtual machine if you need to run the occasional Windows application on your Mac. For most users, it should be more than sufficient and is generally much easier to set up and transition to and from macOS.

However, if you have an Intel Mac, you may consider running Windows natively on your Mac using Boot Camp Assistant. You'll have better graphics performance at the expense of battery life and trackpad usability, so it's still not an ideal experience.

If all goes well, you should be up and running in no time, but expect to have some broken functionality based on your Mac's hardware. Depending on your personal requirements, this may be a deal-breaker, so you may want to consider investing in a Windows laptop if you need to use it full-time.