Even if you prefer to work on a Mac, there's a chance that you'll need to run some Windows-only apps on your system eventually. You may even need to run another OS, like Linux, on your Mac.

That’s where virtual machines (VMs) come in. Virtual machine software allows you to run a simulation of a secondary computer on your laptop or desktop.

With a virtual machine, you can use Windows apps (or those on other platforms) on your Mac without needing to purchase a second computer. Here are the best virtual machine apps for Mac.

1. VirtualBox

Screenshot of Virtual Box installed on Mac OSX running Windows 8.1

VirtualBox is a free and open source virtual machine software from Oracle. It’s designed with developers and IT professionals in mind, so VirtualBox provides you with a great deal of control over your virtual environments.

VirtualBox supports a great number of guest operating systems going all the way back to Windows 98, and you can even run your own servers. The interface looks pretty dated and isn’t as streamlined as other virtual machine software, though VirtualBox has made some improvements that give it more polish.

The VirtualBox interface can be intimidating, as it shows a lot of technical details and specifications without many tips or descriptions for beginners. Creating a new virtual machine is much more time-consuming than in Parallels Desktop or VMWare Fusion Player, and you’ll need to know details such as the amount of RAM, CPU cores, and hard drive space to allocate to your VM.

Read more: How to Use VirtualBox: User's Guide

Making the process even harder, VirtualBox doesn’t offer any sort of technical support to users, so you’ll have to find help in the free guides on its website or in the user forums. While the VirtualBox software itself is free, you may need to license your copy of Windows installed in the VM if you want to use it long-term.

Download: VirtualBox (Free)

2. Boot Camp

Screenshot of boot camp utility on a mac

Boot Camp is a free utility that comes with your Mac that allows you to run Windows alongside macOS. The Boot Camp Assistant app sets aside a portion of your hard drive to install Windows. This allows you to choose whether to log into Windows or macOS every time you boot your Mac—a process known as dual-booting.

While logged into Windows, you can run Windows applications at full-speed using all your available memory and processor cores. This contrasts with virtual machines, which can only use a set percentage of resources (since your host OS is still running).

While Boot Camp is free, you’ll need to purchase a Windows license if you want to use all features of the Windows edition you install. Also, while you’re logged into Windows, you’ll lose access to macOS, so you can’t use your Windows and Mac apps simultaneously.

Unfortunately, if you have an Apple Silicon Mac (with the M1 chip), you won't have access to Boot Camp at all. Otherwise, this is one of the easiest ways to get the full Windows experience on your Mac without losing any power or functionality.

Visit: Boot Camp (Free)

3. VMWare Fusion Player

Screenshot of vmware fusion 12 player for mac

VMWare is a heavy hitter in the field of virtualization. While it's focused primarily on large-scale enterprise solutions, VMWare Fusion Player is designed with home users in mind.

VMWare Fusion can run either as a full-screen Windows emulation or in Unity mode, which allows you to use Windows apps from your macOS desktop. The latest version at the time of writing, VMWare Fusion 12 Player, is compatible with most recent versions of macOS (including Big Sur).

This latest edition was designed to be more user-friendly than earlier versions, while still offering advanced features that appeal to app developers or tech hobbyists. The price is a little high for home use, especially on top of the Windows license. Thankfully, there's a free personal use license for Fusion available for home users, students, and similar groups.

Download: VMWare Fusion Player ($149, free license available)

4. Parallels Desktop for Mac

Screenshot of parallels desktop 16 for mac

Parallels Desktop is a user-friendly virtual machine app that allows you to run Windows from within your macOS desktop. Parallels has two modes: Coherence mode allows you to hide the Windows interface while continuing to use Windows apps from your macOS desktop. The default mode makes the Windows interface fit the entire screen, so it feels like you’re using a PC.

Version 16, the latest release at the time of writing, is compatible with all versions of macOS including Big Sur. It has many convenient features, such as sharing printers between macOS and Windows, zooming and rotating using multi-touch gestures, and DirectX and OpenGL 3.2 support. You can also copy and paste and share files between your host and guest desktops, and get access to 24/7 tech support.

Parallels Desktop has a streamlined interface that’s easy to learn even as a beginner, and it's less expensive than other full-featured virtual machine software. However, keep in mind that if you want to activate your copy of Windows, you still need to purchase a Windows license for the VM.

Download: Parallels Desktop (from $79, 14-day free trial available)

5. Crossover

Screenshot of crossover for mac

Crossover is an app developed by Codeweavers. It uses the Wine open source software to run Windows apps right from your Mac desktop without the need for a virtual machine.

Since Crossover doesn’t create a separate desktop, you don’t need to purchase a Windows license to run Windows apps. This also means Crossover doesn’t require any extra memory or processor power to run a second operating system, so you’ll get better performance for tasks like graphics editing software.

The downside of Crossover is that it can’t run every single Windows app, and it can take a while for brand-new releases to join the compatibility catalog. That said, you can easily view Crossover’s list of available apps to make sure it supports all the software you need to use before you buy it, and it has a form to request new software.

Read more: The Easiest Way to Run Windows Programs on Mac

Overall, Crossover is an excellent, budget-friendly solution if you just need to run Windows apps without recreating the whole Windows operating system.

Download: Crossover (from $39.95, 14-day free trial available)

The Best Apps for Mac Virtual Machines

Now you know which virtual machine apps for Mac are your best choices. Knowing which Windows apps you’ll need to use will help inform your decision here. Most virtual machine software isn’t powerful enough to run resource-heavy video games or graphics editing software—you're best off dual-booting for those.

You also shouldn’t spend a lot of money on an advanced virtual machine program if you only need to use basic apps like Internet Explorer.