Think Before Buying Mac App Store Edition of Parallels Desktop

Parallels Desktop is a beautiful product for creating virtual machine setups. I use this for creating Windows 11 ARM VM setup in iMac with M1 chip. Since Apple Bootcamp does not support M series chips, Parallels is a cool option to install Windows and switch OS without rebooting. However, the problem comes with so many different product versions they offer. If you are planning to buy Parallels Desktop for Mac, make sure to purchase from their website and here is why you SHOULD NOT buy the App Store version from Apple.

Parallels Desktop 18 for Mac Editions

When you want to buy a new license from their USA website, you will find three different editions available for Parallels Desktop 18 for Mac.

• Standard – $99.99 / year
• Pro – $119.99 / year
• Business – $149.99 / year

The Mac App Store edition also will cost you $99.99 as same as Standard edition. However, this is not even listed on the site as you can see. Also, sometimes you can get discount when purchasing through Parallels website which you will never get from Mac App Store. For example, the student version is available at 50% discount all the time in Parallels website.

Features You Will NOT Get in Mac App Store Edition

The App Store page only explains what you can do with Parallels Desktop app and not about what you will not get compared to the Standard edition. Here are some of the important features not available with Mac App Store edition:

• Sharing Mac VPN setup in Windows 11.
• Installing VPN apps in Windows 11.  
• Syncing keyboard layouts between macOS and Windows 11
• Sharing files from Windows to Mac (you can only access Mac’s files in Windows 11).
• Sharing apps between Mac and Windows.

You can check this official Parallels support page to find the complete differences between Mac App Store and Standard editions.

Problems with Parallels Desktop for Mac App Store Edition

I use VPN on Mac which can’t be shared with Windows 11 (neither through shared option nor using bridged network). This means I literally need to work with two different networks within my iMac. The frustrating part is that I also can’t install VPN app in Windows. Because VPN app will try to install VPN adapter which will essentially fail (though app will be installed you can’t connect without VPN adapter). The only network adapter installed by default with the setup is Parallel VirtlO Ethernet Adapter and you can’t use any other adapters with App Store version.

Also, i can’t access Windows files from Mac. This leads to lot of confusion in keeping track of files/folders between two systems. You can use mirroring option to share Mac’s desktop/download folders to reduce the clutter. However, it is not same as browsing through Windows files from Mac Finder.

Subscription Transfer Not Possible

Since using the same network is important for me, I headed over to Parallels support team over chat. The support guy confirmed that it is not possible to transfer Apple App Store subscription to Standard or any other editions. All what you can do is to wait for the subscription expiry in App Store and then buy it newly from Parallels website. It means I need to wait for a year to get the setup the way I wanted to use.

Get Refund from Apple

Since it’s only been few weeks after I purchased the app from Mac App Store, I raised a refund request with Apple. Fortunately, this worked out for me and Apple approved my refund request. This is how I cancelled App Store subscription to get the money back and purchased a new Standard edition subscription directly from Parallels website. You can also try if that works out for you.

Lesson Not Learnt

The surprising fact was that I had the same problem with Microsoft Office 365 subscription purchased from Apple App Store. Since I changed the country in App Store, I had to wait till the time of subscription expiry and renew the purchase directly from Microsoft account with different payment method. Unfortunately, I did not learn the lesson and again purchased Parallels Desktop for Mac App Store edition. So, if you are reading this article, make sure to purchase Standard / Pro / Business editions from Parallels website and not from Mac App Store. Otherwise, make use of the 14 days free trial period that comes with Mac App Store version to test everything goes well for your need before subscription starts.