SolidWorks for Mac: Parallels, browser apps and alternatives

By Tiago Almeida · Updated 30 October 2026

There's no Mac version of SolidWorks. Dassault Systèmes makes the desktop app for Windows only, so on a Mac you can run it in Parallels, use Dassault's browser-based apps, look at SolidWorks files in a viewer, or move to a CAD app that runs on the Mac. This guide covers each one.

We don't sell SolidWorks or any of the alternatives below. We do make DWG Viewer, a Mac app that opens the DWG and DXF drawings SolidWorks exports, so weigh that in where it comes up.

Is there a SolidWorks for Mac?

No. Dassault's own blog says SolidWorks doesn't run natively on macOS, and that it can't recommend virtualisation or Parallels over using a PC. That includes the desktop apps in SolidWorks for Makers and SolidWorks Connected, which both need Windows.

Running SolidWorks in Parallels

Even so, SolidWorks' system requirements list Parallels Desktop for Mac as a tested virtual machine, at version 26.0.1 for SolidWorks 2026. The same page lists an Intel or AMD processor, so it isn't clear whether that covers Macs with Apple silicon, where Parallels runs the Arm version of Windows 11 and emulates Intel apps.

People do run it that way. They report that SolidWorks installs and works on M-series Macs, but RealView graphics and some add-ins don't, and a few see crashes when the licence is checked. In the autumn of 2026, users on M4 Macs found that Parallels 27 made the 3D view lag, and the workaround slows big assemblies. Open your own models during the free trial before you rely on it. On top of SolidWorks, you'll need a Parallels subscription and a Windows 11 licence.

Boot Camp, on older Intel Macs, isn't an option either: the same requirements page says Macs running Windows through Boot Camp aren't supported.

SolidWorks in the browser

Dassault's browser-based apps run on a Mac without Windows. SolidWorks xDesign is a parametric 3D modeller that works in a browser on Macs, PCs and tablets. 3D Creator is built on it, and so is the xDesign part of SolidWorks for Makers, the $48-a-year plan for non-commercial work, which you can use on a Mac even though its desktop app needs Windows.

xDesign is a separate app from desktop SolidWorks, and it keeps your work in Dassault's 3DEXPERIENCE cloud, so try it on your own parts before you switch.

What SolidWorks costs

In October 2026, Dassault's US store listed these prices, before tax. Desktop SolidWorks is sold there as SolidWorks Design:

Product	Per year	On a Mac
SolidWorks Standard	$2,820	Parallels only
SolidWorks Professional	$3,456	Parallels only
SolidWorks Premium	$4,716	Parallels only
SolidWorks xDesign	$2,400	In the browser
3D Creator	$3,000	In the browser
SolidWorks for Makers	$48	xDesign in the browser; non-commercial use only

Desktop SolidWorks is also sold as a perpetual licence through resellers, who set their own prices.

Opening SolidWorks files on a Mac

If you only need to look at parts and drawings other people make, you don't need SolidWorks.

eDrawings, Dassault's free viewer, is on the Mac App Store and opens SolidWorks parts, assemblies and drawings, eDrawings files, and DWG and DXF. The Mac version does less than the Windows one: there's no paid Professional edition, and you can't measure in DWG and DXF files.

Or ask for an export. SolidWorks saves drawings as PDF, DWG and DXF, and models as STEP, IGES, STL or eDrawings files. A PDF opens in Preview, and a STEP file opens in most CAD apps. DWG Viewer, our app, opens the DWG and DXF drawings with Finder thumbnails, a space-bar preview, layers and measuring, for $19 once. It can't open native SolidWorks files.

Mac CAD apps instead of SolidWorks

These run natively on the Mac or in its browser. Most of them bring SolidWorks files in as plain geometry, without the feature history, so you'd rebuild anything you want to keep editing.

Onshape runs in the browser and was started by people who founded SolidWorks. It imports SolidWorks parts, and assemblies packed with Pack and Go. It's free for public, non-commercial work, and the Standard plan costs $1,500 a year.
Autodesk Fusion runs natively on Apple silicon and imports SolidWorks parts and assemblies, though not drawings, and not with the free personal-use licence. It costs about $680 a year.
Shapr3D runs on the Mac and iPad. Its Pro plan, at $299 a year, imports SolidWorks parts and assemblies.
FreeCAD is free and open source, with builds for Apple silicon. It doesn't read SolidWorks files, so you'd bring designs across as STEP.

Which should I use?

Designing in SolidWorks every day, with customers or colleagues on it: a Windows PC.
Occasional SolidWorks work on a Mac you already own: SolidWorks in Parallels, once you've tried your own models in it.
Starting fresh on a Mac: Onshape, Fusion or Shapr3D.
Looking at parts and drawings other people send: eDrawings, or DWG Viewer for the DWG and DXF exports.

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