Parallels vs Boot Camp: Parallels wins for light work on Apple Silicon, Boot Camp is dead on M-series Macs

On Intel Macs, Boot Camp is free and gives native Windows performance, but Apple Silicon Macs can’t use Boot Camp at all. Parallels runs ARM Windows well for light productivity like Word, Excel, and web apps, but it costs a subscription and can’t handle gaming or heavy CAD. If you only need occasional Windows apps, Parallels works fine; if you need full Windows all day, get a real Windows laptop.