Autodesk Revit for Mac doesn’t exist but here we show you the best ways to install and run Revit on a Mac in 2024.
Revit is a Building Information Modelling tool (BIM) that’s often used alongside CAD software such as Autodesk’s industry standard AutoCAD software and also with 3D rendering software.
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Is Revit For Mac Available?
Frustratingly for many architects and students of architecture, although AutoCAD for Mac is available, Revit is not including the latest version of Revit 2023.
However, there are ways to use it in macOS as we’ll show you, including macOS Sonoma.
In our research and testing, we found that the best way to run Revit on a Mac is by using the Parallels virtual environment.
Parallels is by far the best way to run Windows on a Mac making it easy enough for anyone to install the Windows version of Revit on your Mac.
Does Revit Work On M1, M2 & M3 Macs?
Parallels also runs Windows on the latest Apple Silicon Macs so that you can install and use Revit on an Apple Silicon Mac.
In fact, some users find that as long as you have enough RAM, the powerful Apple Silicon Macs run Revit even better in a virtual environment than running it on a Windows PC.
Does Revit Work In Boot Camp On a Mac?
If you have an older Intel Mac you can also choose to use Boot Camp to install Windows and Revit on a Mac.
Boot Camp is a free tool in macOS that allows you to dual boot your Mac in either macOS or Windows.
However, Boot Camp does not work on M1, M2 and M3 chip Macs so Boot Camp is not an option to install Revit if you have an Apple Silicon Mac.
Can You Use Revit Remotely From A Mac?
You can also use Revit remotely on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs by using Remote Access software on your Mac to access it on a Windows PC.
A remote access tool allows you to access and use Revit running on a Windows computer by connecting to it remotely and can be used on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.
However, this is the least preferable option as it has many limitations on usability and performance issues due to lag on the connection between your Mac and the Windows computer running Revit.
1. Virtual Environment
Virtual machines like Parallels allow you to run macOS and Windows at the same time which is far more convenient as you can switch between your Mac and Windows in one click.
Although there are a few virtual machines for Mac, Parallels is by far the easiest virtual machine to setup and install Revit with and works on both Intel Macs and the latest Apple Silicon Macs.
Using Parallels means you don’t have to restart your Mac when you want to use Revit – you can just switch to macOS as you do when you want to use any other application.
Parallels is also the only way to run Windows on an M1, M2 or M3 Mac and is now officially endorsed by Microsoft as a way to use Windows on a Mac.
It’s important to be aware though that Parallels can only run the ARM version of Windows on Apple Silicon Macs which is different to the x86 version of Windows for Intel chips that’s most widely used.
Windows ARM is a slightly different version of Windows designed for ARM chips like the M1, M2 and M3 chip.
Revit is not compatible with Windows for ARM but thanks to x86 emulation in Windows ARM, it will “translate” Intel only software like Revit to work inside Windows ARM.
We strongly recommend only installing Revit using a virtual machine like Parallels if you have at least 32GB of RAM and preferably 64GB of RAM if your budget allows.
The reason is Parallels will split the RAM in half – one half to run the virtual machine and Windows within it and the other to run macOS and software within it.
Any less than 32GB of RAM will mean Revit will perform very slowly and laggy on your Mac.
If you’ve got an Intel Mac but can’t upgrade the RAM, you could also consider getting an eGPU to improve the performance of Revit with your Mac using Parallels.
Note that you can’t use an eGPU with Apple Silicon Macs so you must purchase the maximum amount of RAM you can afford when you buy an Apple Silicon Mac.
Finally, we also recommend getting an external storage drive for your Mac when running Revit.
The reason is that you’ll soon fill up your Mac hard drive with Revit files and nowadays, the fastest thunderbolt drives for Mac are almost as fast as your Mac’s hard drive itself.
You can’t upgrade the internal storage of Apple Silicon Macs after you’ve purchased them either so using an external hard drive is a fast and easy solution.
With this in mind, just follow these instructions to install Revit using Parallels.
- Download Parallels which will automatically install Windows 11 on your Mac. If you don’t want to purchase Parallels straight away, you can also try a 14 day free trial first. Microsoft no longer requires uses to activate Windows 11 with a product key in order to use it so the great thing is Windows doesn’t cost a cent nowadays unless you want to customize it.
- When you open Parallels, it will automatically Install Windows 11 for you from Microsoft.
- Purchase Revit and install it in Windows on your Mac. Alternatively, you can also download a free trial of Revit to try it first. Revit works with either Windows 10 or Windows 11 but is not compatible with Windows 7. You’ll also need to create a free Autodesk account to install Revit. If you’re a student or educator you can also use Revit for free with an Autodesk Education Plan but this is strictly for non-commercial use.
Once installed, you’ll find that you can use Revit on your Mac within the Windows environment just as if you were using a PC.
You should find that Revit performs pretty well on a Mac using Parallels although using any software in a virtual machine never performs as fast as having it installed directly in macOS.
However, using Parallels to run Revit is by far the quickest and easiest way to run Revit on a Mac.
You can try Parallels for free and also read our full Parallels review for more.
You can also read more about the best virtual machines for Mac here.
2. Boot Camp (Intel Macs Only)
Boot Camp is a free tool on macOS that allows you to dual boot in either macOS or Windows.
Whereas a virtual machine like Parallels runs macOS and Windows simultaneously, Boot Camp only allows you to boot your Mac in either macOS or Windows. To switch between the two, you need to shut down and restart your Mac
It’s important to be aware that Boot Camp is only available in macOS on Intel Macs.
Boot Camp does not work on the latest generation of Apple Silicon Macs.
If you’ve got an Intel Mac, to install Revit simply do the following:
- Follow these instructions to Install Windows on your Mac using Boot Camp. The main thing to consider when installing Revit is to make the partition to install Windows as big as possible on your Mac. If you don’t have much disk space available, you can also consider using an external hard drive, preferably a thunderbolt hard drive for working with Revit.
- Purchase Revit and install it in Windows on your Mac. Alternatively, you can also download a free trial of Revit to try it first. Revit works with either Windows 10 or Windows 11 but is not compatible with Windows 7. You’ll also need to create a free Autodesk account to install Revit in Windows on a Mac using Boot Camp.
3. Remote Access
You can also use Revit remotely on a Mac by using remote access software.
A remote access tool allows you to access Revit running in a Windows PC in another location. Remote Access software allows you to access and control apps on another computer from your Mac.
To remotely access and use Revit on another computer you need:
- Remote access software on your Mac such as Microsoft Remote Desktop
- Access to a Windows PC running Revit
Remotely accessing Revit is the least preferable way to use Revit because it relies very heavily on the stability and speed of your internet connection.
As a result, there can be a lot of lag and delay when using Revit remotely this way.
It also limits the amount of control you have over Revit. There are some functions and features which are difficult or impossible to use properly by using it remotely.
You can check out our roundup of the best remote desktop software for Mac here.
Why Is There No Revit For Mac?
It’s not clear why Autodesk hasn’t released Revit for Mac but it’s probably due to the added maintenance and development costs of making a Mac compatible version of Revit.
There is however a Mac version of AutoCAD so hopefully at some point Autodesk will release a Mac version of Revit too.
When Will Revit For Mac Be Released?
At the moment, Autodesk hasn’t announced any plans to release Revit on Mac.
There has never been a Mac compatible version of Revit released including the latest version of Revit 2023 which is Windows only.
For the foreseeable future, your only option to run Revit on a Mac is to use one of the options featured here.
Can You Get Revit Free?
Although there’s no free Mac version of Revit, if you’re a student or educator you can use Revit for free with an Autodesk Education Plan.