2 best Mac to Windows software to get acquainted with MacOS
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If you have been a long time user of Windows OS and are curious about the next best thing MacOS, you don’t necessarily need to spend a four-figure fortune on buying an all-new shiny Macbook or iMac.
You can try out all the working of the MacOS from the comfort of your Windows computer.
That said, running the MacOS on your Windows computer is comparatively tedious tasks than running Windows on a Mac.
While the Mac users have virtualization software like the Parallel Desktop, Wine, Bootcamp, VMware Fusion, Windows users are limited to a few open sources virtual software.
Nevertheless, the software works and allows you to experience the working of the MacOS on your Windows system.
In this article, we take a look at the best two Mac to Windows applications to run Mac exclusive apps on your Windows system.
Run MacOS on Windows with these 2 tools
WMware Workstation Player
- Price – Free for personal use / Starts at $149
VMware Workstation Player is a streamline desktop virtualization application that allows you to run one or more operating system on the same computer without having to reboot the system again and again.
It is a premium software and starts at $149 for the commercial use but you can grab the free copy to test it out for your personal use.
VMware offers simple but power virtualization with nearly 20 years of active development. The sandbox features offered by the VMware Workstation Player allows the users to run and learn about the different operating system without affecting the main desktop environment.
In case you decide to install MacOS on a standard PC, learn how to do it here.
On the performance front, VMware Workstation Player appears to be a better choice over the VirtualBox. Although VMware Workstation Player appears to be more reliable with the more polished environment and fewer bugs and glitches to deal with, it still lags behind when it comes to compatibility with other systems.
VMware Workstation Player is an excellent virtual machine to run MacOS on your Windows System. However, some features of the software are locked for premium users only.
Apart from that VMware Workstation Player is reliable software to test and run the MacOS on your Windows computer.
VirtualBox
- Price – Free
VirtualBox is among the most popular Virtualization machines for Windows computers. It is an open source project and is available for download and use. It is a multi-platform software, in case you want to install it on other environments.
Compared to WMware Workstation Player, the VirtualBox interface is a bit intimidating for the average and first-time users. You may need to read some guide or watch a YouTube video to understand the working and use of VirtualBox.
On the performance front again WMware Workstation Player looks better optimized for the system with low/medium hardware.
However, if you have powerful enough system you probably won’t notice the difference between the two virtual machines.
VirtualBox no doubt can boast about its compatibility features which we found a bit lacking in WMware Workstation Player for the advanced users.
You can set up virtual machines, save a snapshot and launch the virtual data on a different computer immediately. This feature is not available in the WMware Workstation Player free version.
Other feature like a shared folder, shared data transfer, and seamless mode is offered by both the virtualization software. If you have a decent system with good configuration and you don’t want to pay for any features, VirtualBox fits the bill perfectly.
Conclusion
So, these are the two best Mac to Windows software that you can use to run the Mac apps on your Windows computer.
The VirtualBox is completely free software with all the features on offer whereas the VMware Player offers better reliability, easier to use but requires you to pay for some additional features.
If you are a tech enthusiast, try both the software and compare them side by side. But, if you are a casual user, go with VMware Player.
What do you think? Do let us know which virtualization software you prefer in the comments below.
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