Apple’s Mac devices continue to rank among the most preferred workstations worldwide, particularly in creative and tech-driven industries. According to IDC, macOS holds around 9–10% of the global desktop operating system market, while Windows maintains a dominant share of over 70%, underscoring its strong foothold in enterprise environments.
Despite the popularity of Macs for design, performance, and user experience, most organizations still rely on Windows for their core business operations.
As hybrid workplaces grow, a cross-platform workflow is becoming increasingly important. Many teams use Macs for creative or analytical work and Windows for business-critical operations. This dual-platform approach helps organizations leverage the best of both ecosystems – macOS for its reliability and design precision, and Windows for its enterprise compatibility and scalability.
This is where desktop virtualization plays a defining role. There are various desktop virtualization applications available in the market that allow you to create or access Windows or Linux-based virtual desktops on your Mac. These applications can be local or SaaS-based. It means that you need to install some applications, while others can be accessed through the Internet.
In this article…
Whether you’re supporting cross-platform teams, running virtual labs, or enabling hybrid work, choosing the right virtual desktop solution for Mac can transform your workflow. Let’s look at the best virtual desktop solutions for Mac users.
Best Virtual Desktop Solutions for Mac
1. Citrix DaaS
Citrix DaaS, previously known as Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktop Service, is a cloud-based virtual desktop solution ideal for enterprise-level operations. Citrix DaaS enables the delivery of high-performance desktops on macOS devices. It deploys security features like watermarking and session recording to ensure data protection.
DaaS enables you to deploy a hybrid cloud environment, where you can connect public clouds, such as Microsoft Azure, with on-premise hypervisors, such as XenServer. However, Citrix DaaS can be challenging in terms of license management and costs.
Pricing: Starting at $10 per user per month
2. Amazon Workspaces
One of the leading virtual desktop solution providers in the market, Amazon Workspaces enables the creation of Windows, Ubuntu, RedHat, or Rocky-based virtual machines to remote endpoints, including Mac. Amazon Workspaces offers both persistent and non-persistent virtual desktops in the cloud.
It offers advanced customization features for businesses to personalize the VDI environment as per their requirements. Amazon Workspaces deploys security features like Identity and Access Management, Availability Zone-based redundancy, Compliance Validation, and AWS Security Token Service.
Pricing: Quote-based
3. Azure Virtual Desktop
Microsoft’s Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) offers a cloud-based Windows desktop experience to Mac users. It integrates solutions, such as Microsoft 365, Azure AD, and others, making it a preferred choice for companies with an Azure-first strategy.
AVD supports multi-session Windows 11, allowing multiple users per virtual machine. Mac users benefit from smooth performance via the native AVD client.
Pricing: Quote-based
4. Parallels Desktop for Mac
Parallels offers advanced virtualization software to run various Windows and Linux applications on macOS. Its most basic version, Standard Edition, supports 8GB RAM and 4 vCPU instances. Moreover, Parallels offers DirectX 11 support for graphics-intensive applications. However, you would need to buy the Pro or Business Edition.
Pricing: Starting at $129.99
5. Ace Cloud Hosting’s DaaS
Ace Cloud Hosting is a cloud-based virtual desktop solution provider with over 15 years of experience. It offers industry-specific Desktop as a Service (DaaS) solutions to cater to niche business and industry requirements. Businesses can choose Windows or Linux-based virtual desktops and access them on their Mac.
Ace Cloud Hosting’s DaaS is a completely managed solution that relieves you from IT tasks like desktop monitoring, IT management, and data security. It offers an industry-best 99.99% uptime, 24/7/365 support, and on-demand scalability. You can also opt for GPU-powered virtual desktops to run resource-intensive workloads on a Mac without lag.
Ace Cloud Hosting prioritizes data security to ensure total data protection at the physical, network, and endpoint levels. Some major security features are 256-bit data encryption, multi-factor authentication, Intrusion Detection and Prevention, vulnerability assessment, threat intelligence, distributed firewalls, and Identity and Access Management.
Pricing: Starting at $33 per user per month. See pricing.
Book a personalized demo to explore high-performance Windows and Linux virtual desktops on your Mac—secure, scalable, and fully managed by Ace Cloud Hosting.
6. Nerdio Manager for Enterprise
Nerdio Manager for Enterprise is a cloud management solution built for native Azure Virtual Desktop deployment. It enables IT professionals to deploy the VDI environment in just a few hours.
The autoscaling feature helps businesses save up to 75% on Azure compute costs. Mac users can benefit from improved AVD performance and streamlined management. Nerdio Manager is ideal for larger enterprises running AVD at scale.
Pricing: Starting at $6 per user per month
7. Oracle VirtualBox
Introduced in 2007, Oracle’s VirtualBox is an open-source virtualization solution that can run Windows or Linux OS on a host macOS. VirtualBox offers support for x86 hardware, with version 7.1 offering support for macOS/Arm.
Being an open-source platform, you can download it for free from the website. However, as far as graphics are concerned, VirtualBox supports DirectX 9.
Pricing: Free version available
8. Accops DaaS
Accops DaaS is a cloud-based desktop virtualization platform. It offers a centralized platform, called Accops Managed Control Plane, for managing and provisioning virtual desktops.
Accops helps you build a fully compliant workspace with high-level security. Its power management and idle timeout feature ensure optimum resource utilization. You can choose a dedicated desktop or a pool depending on your business needs.
Pricing: Quote-based
9. VMware Fusion Pro
VMware Fusion Pro is a hypervisor solution that allows you to create Windows virtual machines on a Mac. You can customize VMs with different privacy settings and network configurations as per business requirements.
You can connect Fusion Pro with VMware’s remote management solution – vSphere to launch and manage VMs and the host OS remotely.
Pricing: Free Version Available
10. Inuvika OVD Enterprise
Built on the Linux platform, Inuvika OVD Enterprise delivers Windows and Linux virtual desktops to Mac devices over the cloud. Inuvika offers a delightful experience to end-users with its application mode, enabling a native desktop-like operation. It offers a 60% cost reduction as compared to Citrix or VMware.
Pricing: Starting at $8.55 per user per month
11. Workspot
Workspot is a SaaS-based VDI turnkey solution that enables businesses to deliver Windows and Linux-based virtual desktops on Azure, Google Cloud, and AWS.
Mac devices can access the virtual desktops remotely. Built for enterprises, it simplifies IT management and deploys cloud PCs in minutes. Moreover, Workspot also delivers GPU workstations for resource-intensive workloads.
Pricing: $15 per user per month
12. Thinfinity Remote Workspace
Thinfinity Remote Workspace is a VDI platform that offers both on-premise and cloud-based virtual desktop solutions. It enables businesses to create and manage on-premise VDI with hypervisors like Hyper-V and leverage cloud-based VDI platforms, such as AWS or Azure. With Thinfinity Remote Workspace, you can reduce licensing costs by up to 65%.
Pricing: Quote-based
Choosing the Right Virtual Desktop Solution For Your Mac
1. Analyze Workforce Requirements
Before selecting a virtual desktop for the Mac platform, it is essential to analyze your current and future workforce requirements. Identify the challenges the workforce is currently facing. Additionally, create a report on the various departments and the type of virtual desktop each would require.
For instance, while designers would require a GPU-powered desktop, accountants might require a standard one. Moreover, choosing the right virtual desktop solution for Mac will also depend on whether you are working remotely, in-office, or hybrid mode.
2. User Experience
Mac users are accustomed to seamless UI and performance, and your VDI solution should reflect that. When employees work on Windows or Linux virtual desktops on a Mac, they must get a lag-free experience as if working on a physical desktop. Check for features like multi-monitor support and support for audio/video, USB, etc.
3. Data Security
Data Security is non-negotiable when choosing a VDI solution. Therefore, analyze the security features each VDI solution offers. If you decide to opt for a Desktop as a Service provider, ask for their downtime history and incident detection and response systems.
4. Easy Management
A virtual desktop solution should be easy to manage and deploy. Your IT team must be able to manage and customize virtual desktops without extensive training. Moreover, the solution must be easy to onboard and set up.
Check if the VDI solution offers a centralized management platform. Or, you can choose a managed, hosted virtual desktop provider that will fully take care of desktop management.
5. Cost Considerations
Cost can be a crucial factor in selecting a VDI solution. Therefore, you must analyze the ROI of both on-premise tools and cloud-based services before selecting one.
While deploying on-premise desktop virtualization tools seems less costly, it involves additional in-house IT costs. On the other hand, a Desktop as a Service provider offers fully managed services on a subscription basis.
6. Customer Support
Even the best VDI solutions can have issues, such as network latency, device compatibility issues, and session timeouts. Therefore, before choosing a VDI solution, check if the vendor offers 24/7 custom support.
Moreover, the provider must have multi-channel support options, including live chat, email, and phone. Competent VDI solution providers also offer onboarding and migration support.
Experience unmatched speed, security, and flexibility with Ace Cloud Hosting’s managed VDI solutions. Perfect for creative, hybrid, and enterprise teams.
Ensure a Seamless Cross-Platform Workflow with the Right VDI Solution
Choosing the right VDI solution ensures long-term cost efficiency, reduced IT dependencies, high performance, and better work flexibility for Mac users. However, from the plethora of options mentioned in the blog, you must choose the one that suits your business requirements. Analyze the solution in terms of ROI rather than pricing.
Most on-premise VDI solutions or hosted VDI services offer a free demo or trial. You must try all the solutions and analyze their capabilities before shortlisting one for your Mac users.
