There is no Power BI Desktop for macOS. On a Mac you have four options: use the Power BI service in a browser, run Windows on the Mac with Parallels Desktop, stream a Windows 365 Cloud PC, or connect to a Windows machine remotely. If you only view, share and lightly edit reports, the browser is enough. If you build semantic models, you need Windows in some form, and on an Apple Silicon Mac that means Parallels or a Cloud PC.

Boot Camp, which older guides recommend, is not an option on any Mac with an M-series chip. It only ever worked on Intel Macs.

Which option to choose

Option 1: Use the Power BI service in a browser

The Power BI service at app.powerbi.com runs in Safari, Chrome, Edge and Firefox on a Mac. Microsoft lists the latest version of Safari for Mac as a supported browser.

In the browser you can:

• View and interact with reports and dashboards shared with you

• Build new reports on top of semantic models that are already published

• Share content, set up subscriptions and manage workspaces, if your license allows it

What you cannot do in the browser is the full modeling work that Power BI Desktop is built for: Power Query transformations across many sources, complex DAX modeling, and external tools such as Tabular Editor and DAX Studio. If that is your job, pick one of the next three options.

Reports can look slightly different on a Mac because Power BI uses the Segoe UI font by default, which macOS does not include. If your audience uses Macs, test your reports there.

Option 2: Run Windows on the Mac with Parallels Desktop

Microsoft authorizes Parallels Desktop versions 18, 19 and 20 to run the Arm versions of Windows 11 Pro and Windows 11 Enterprise on Apple Silicon Macs. Power BI Desktop's own requirements list Windows on Arm as supported, provided the 2025-09 cumulative update (KB5065789) or later is installed.

The setup:

1. Install Parallels Desktop and let it download Windows 11 on Arm.

2. Run Windows Update until the 2025-09 cumulative update or a later one is installed.

3. Install Power BI Desktop from the Microsoft Store inside Windows. The Store version updates itself.

Give the virtual machine enough memory. Power BI Desktop asks for at least 4 GB, and a real semantic model uses far more, so a Mac with 16 GB of RAM or more is the practical minimum for this route.

Other virtualization tools exist, but Microsoft's support article names only Parallels as an authorized solution.

Option 3: Stream a Windows 365 Cloud PC

Windows 365 streams a full Windows 11 desktop from Microsoft's cloud to your Mac. Microsoft states that Power BI Desktop is fully supported on Windows 365 and on Azure Virtual Desktop. You connect with the Windows App for macOS or from a browser.

This is the cleanest option for a company. IT manages the Cloud PC, data never has to sit on the Mac, and nobody needs to maintain a virtual machine. You pay a monthly Windows 365 license per user.

Option 4: Connect to a Windows PC or Azure Virtual Desktop remotely

This option uses a Windows machine your organization already runs, rather than a new Cloud PC: an office PC, a server, or an Azure Virtual Desktop pool. Install the Windows App from the Mac App Store. It replaced the older Microsoft Remote Desktop app, and it is the same app you would use for Windows 365.

Performance depends on your connection. Dragging visuals around over a slow link is tiring, so this suits occasional work better than a full day of report building.

Microsoft does not support Power BI Desktop as a published Citrix application or in Citrix VDI. Azure Virtual Desktop and Windows 365 are the two virtual environments it supports.

What we recommend

For most analysts on a MacBook, run Parallels with Windows 11 on Arm and install Power BI Desktop from the Microsoft Store. It works offline and keeps everything on one machine. You need a Parallels license and a Windows 11 Pro or Enterprise license.

For a team where several people need Power BI Desktop, use Windows 365. It removes the "works on my Mac" problem and keeps company data off personal machines.

If you mostly consume reports, do not install anything. Use the browser.

To see what building a report involves before you pick, read our step-by-step guide to building Power BI reports. To understand how workspaces and apps decide who sees what, read our guide to Power BI workspaces and apps. For which license each role needs, see our Power BI license guide.

FAQs

Is there a Power BI Desktop app for Mac?

No. Power BI Desktop runs only on Windows. Microsoft's minimum requirements list Windows 10 or later, including Windows on Arm with the 2025-09 cumulative update.

Can I use Boot Camp to run Power BI on an M1, M2, M3 or M4 Mac?

No. Boot Camp only works on Intel Macs. On Apple Silicon, use Parallels Desktop with Windows 11 on Arm, or stream Windows from Windows 365.

Does Power BI work in Safari?

Yes. The Power BI service supports the latest version of Safari on Mac. Power BI Desktop is a separate Windows application.

Can I build reports on a Mac without Windows?

Yes, in the browser, on top of semantic models that are already published. Building the model itself from raw data needs Power BI Desktop, which needs Windows.

Sources

• Download Power BI Desktop: minimum requirements - Microsoft Learn

• Options for using Windows 11 with Mac computers with Apple M-series chips - Microsoft Support

• Supported browsers for Power BI and Fabric - Microsoft Learn

• What is Windows App? - Microsoft Learn