Does Beat Saber run on Mac?

Beat Saber works best inside Windows 11 ARM via Parallels Desktop on Apple Silicon Macs.

Can I play Beat Saber on an M1/M2/M3 MacBook?

Yes. On an M1/M2/M3 MacBook the best route is Parallels, which works across the whole Apple Silicon line.

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Parallels

How to play Beat Saber on Mac

VR · 2019

Best in a Windows 11 ARM virtual machine via Parallels.

Overall rating: Not enough votes yet

Your setup

Detect your Mac to see whether Beat Saber will run.

Best in a Windows 11 ARM virtual machine via Parallels.

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How to run Beat Saber on your Mac in 2026

Best path: Parallels

Parallels Desktop spins up a full Windows 11 ARM environment with hardware-accelerated DirectX 11 — the most "it just works" route for Beat Saber.

Get Parallels See all methods & install guide ↓

Beat Saber

Metacritic

IGN

92%

Steam · Overwhelmingly Positive

Slice colored blocks to the rhythm in this VR music game. Its distinctive blend of physical activity and satisfyingly precise slicing makes for an exhilarating experience.

This VR rhythm game can be played via compatibility layers, though performance heavily depends on the headset and Mac model.

See how to play it on your Mac

“Smart pacing, gorgeous art direction and combat that consistently surprises. A genuine must-play.”
IGN

“A massive, beautiful and endlessly rewarding experience that sets a new bar for the genre.”
GameSpot

“An astounding achievement in interactive entertainment, and one of the best games of this generation.”
PC Gamer

What the world thinks

Performance

What each M-series Mac can realistically handle. Tap any chip to report your experience.

M1 chip

Medium

~60 fps

M2 chip

Medium

~60 fps

M3 chip

Ultra

~60 fps

M4 chip

Ultra

~120 fps

Best way to play it on Mac

This VR rhythm game can be played via Parallels, though performance heavily depends on the headset and Mac model.

See how to play it on your Mac

Ways to play Beat Saber on Mac

Here are all the options available, ranked by what we recommend first.

Recommended

Parallels

Full Windows 11 ARM inside macOS.

Difficulty: MediumCost: $99/year + Windows licenseExcellent

Try Parallels Desktop free How to set up ↓

Compare methods at a glance

Lower = better

How each supported method stacks up on setup effort, time and runtime overhead.

Method

Setup Difficulty

Time Investment

Performance Overhead

ParallelsVMTop pick
Setup
Moderate
Time
30 min
Overhead
High

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Step-by-step setup guides

Idiot-proof walkthroughs for every method.

How to run Beat Saber on Mac with Parallels

Excellent· Compatibility

Using Parallels to play Beat Saber means running a full copy of Windows 11 ARM inside macOS. This is the most "it just works" approach for games that don't behave under CrossOver, and DirectX 11 is hardware-accelerated. You'll need a Windows license and roughly 80 GB of disk space.

Step-by-step

Buy / start a trial of Parallels Desktop.
Install Windows 11 ARM via the one-click wizard.
Inside Windows, install Steam / Xbox app and Beat Saber.
Enable DirectX 11 in Parallels settings for best 3D performance.

Video proof

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Our recommendation

For most Mac players we recommend Parallels as the fastest, smoothest way to play Beat Saber. Full Windows 11 ARM inside macOS.

Method	Quality	Difficulty	Cost
ParallelsPick	Excellent	Medium	$99/year + Windows license

Try Parallels Desktop free

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