Parsec Download
Download Parsec and connect to everything
The Parsec app is available on every major platform. Pick your device below — installing takes under two minutes, and your first connection usually works on the first try.
The Parsec app is available on every major platform. Pick your device below — installing takes under two minutes, and your first connection usually works on the first try.
Parsec software runs on more platforms than any other high-performance remote desktop tool.
Three steps on the host, one step on the client. That's genuinely the whole process.
Go to the download page and grab the Parsec app installer for your host machine's operating system. Run it, follow the prompts. The whole thing takes two minutes max, and you don't need to reboot.
Open the Parsec app, create a free account (it takes about thirty seconds), and sign in. Enable hosting from the settings — just flip one toggle. Your machine will appear in your device list.
On your client device, download Parsec or open parsec web in a browser, sign in with the same parsec login, find your host machine in the list, and click connect. You're in.
By default, the Parsec app picks sensible settings automatically. If you want to push resolution or frame rate higher — or if you're on a slow connection and want to optimize for latency — the settings panel has everything you need.
| OS | Windows 10 or later |
| CPU | Any modern processor |
| GPU | NVIDIA Maxwell+ or AMD RX 400+ |
| RAM | 4GB minimum, 8GB+ recommended |
| Network | 5Mbps+ upload recommended |
| OS | macOS 10.15 Catalina+ |
| CPU | Intel or Apple Silicon |
| GPU | Hardware-encoding GPU |
| RAM | 4GB minimum |
| Network | 5Mbps+ upload recommended |
| OS | Windows / Mac / Linux / Android |
| CPU | Any — decoding is lightweight |
| GPU | Hardware decode preferred |
| RAM | 2GB minimum |
| Network | 5Mbps+ download recommended |
| Browser | Chrome, Firefox, Edge |
| Version | Latest two major releases |
| Hardware | Any modern device |
| Network | 5Mbps+ download |
| Install | None required |
Downloading and installing the Parsec app is one of the more painless software experiences out there, but it helps to understand what you're actually setting up before you start. There are two roles in any Parsec connection: the host and the client. The host is the machine you want to control remotely — your gaming PC at home, your workstation at the office, or a cloud machine you've provisioned for remote work. The client is whatever you're connecting from — a laptop, a phone, a TV, or even a browser tab through parsec web.
You can have both on the same machine — download Parsec to your laptop, enable hosting, and use it as both the machine you control and the machine you control it from. This is useful for testing your setup or for certain multi-machine workflows. But the typical arrangement is: one powerful host machine, one or more lightweight client devices, and a parsec login linking everything together.
Windows is where the Parsec app is most fully featured. Hosting, client connections, and all the advanced peripheral features are available on Windows. When you download Parsec for Windows, the installer is around 50MB and runs through a straightforward wizard. No third-party software bundles, no opt-out checkboxes for toolbars — just the Parsec app.
After installation, open the Parsec app and either create a free account or sign in with an existing parsec login. If this is your host machine, navigate to the settings and enable hosting. You'll see a toggle and a brief explanation. Flip it on, and your machine becomes accessible. It'll appear in your device list and in the device list of any team members you've granted access to.
One thing worth knowing: for the best hosting performance on Windows, you want a GPU with hardware encoding support. NVIDIA GPUs from the Maxwell generation onward (that's most cards from 2014 forward) support NVENC, NVIDIA's hardware encoder. AMD cards from the Polaris generation (RX 400 series and above) support AMF, AMD's equivalent. When you download Parsec and it detects a compatible GPU, it switches to hardware encoding automatically — you don't need to configure anything.
The macOS version of the Parsec app supports both Intel and Apple Silicon (M1 and later) machines natively. If you're on an M1, M2, or M3 Mac, there's a native Apple Silicon build that takes advantage of the platform's hardware video encoding capabilities — performance is excellent on newer Macs.
Hosting on macOS requires macOS 10.15 or later. When you first enable hosting, macOS will ask for accessibility permissions, which the Parsec app needs to capture the display and pass keyboard and mouse input. These are standard permissions for any remote access tool on macOS. Once granted, the setup behaves the same as on Windows — enable hosting, it shows up in your device list, connect from anywhere.
Parsec web deserves its own explanation because it fills a specific and important gap. Not every situation allows you to install software. Corporate laptops often have restrictions on what can be installed. Hotel business center machines obviously can't have software added. Some IT environments restrict software installation by policy. In all of these cases, parsec web lets you access your machines anyway.
To use parsec web, open a supported browser on whatever device you have, navigate to the parsec web interface, and sign in with your parsec login. Your registered machines appear in the same device list you'd see in the native app. Click connect, and you're in. The video stream and input handling work through WebRTC, which every modern browser supports without plugins.
The parsec web experience is very close to the native client for most scenarios. The main limitation is peripheral support — gamepad and Wacom tablet forwarding work differently in browsers, and some advanced features require the native client. But for access, file management, running applications, checking on a long job, or handling something quick, parsec web is completely capable. It's not a stripped-down fallback; it's a genuinely useful way to access your machines when the native Parsec app isn't available.
Getting great gaming performance from the Parsec app involves a few setup choices. On the host side, the most important thing is GPU encoding — make sure your GPU supports NVENC or AMF and that hardware encoding is enabled in the Parsec app settings. Next, set your streaming resolution and frame rate. For 1080p gaming at 144hz or higher, choose the high frame rate option. For 4K, choose the high quality option and accept the lower frame rate cap. The Parsec app doesn't let you have both simultaneously — 240fps requires 1080p, and 4K caps at 60fps.
On the network side, a wired connection on the host machine makes a significant difference. Wi-Fi on the host adds variable latency and can cause frame drops under congestion. The client device can be on Wi-Fi without much issue — incoming video is less latency-sensitive than outgoing input. If you're gaming through the Parsec app from a Wi-Fi client, your input goes from your device to the host over Wi-Fi, which typically adds under 10ms on a good network. Combined with the Parsec protocol's own latency, you're looking at a total roundtrip that's imperceptible in most genres.
When deploying the Parsec app across a team, the first decision is whether to use self-managed deployment or the Parsec Teams admin panel. For smaller teams, the admin panel approach is simpler: add machines, assign users, and everyone connects through the same Parsec app they'd use personally. For larger organizations or environments with managed deployment requirements, the Parsec app can be deployed silently via MSI package on Windows, making it compatible with standard enterprise deployment tools like SCCM, Intune, or any other MSI-based management system.
Once deployed, user accounts are tied to their parsec login credentials. If you've set up SSO for your organization, parsec login uses your identity provider — no separate passwords to manage. Machines appear in the admin panel and can be assigned to individuals or groups. Access is as granular as you need it to be: you can give a specific user access to a specific machine without giving them visibility into anything else.
A few things people commonly wonder about when they download Parsec for the first time. Does it work on metered connections? Yes, but bandwidth usage is real — at 1080p, 60fps, you're looking at roughly 10–20Mbps downstream on the client. Do you need a fast internet connection? You need enough bandwidth for the stream and low enough latency for inputs to feel responsive — typically a 10Mbps+ connection with under 50ms latency gets good results. Does the Parsec app support ultra-wide monitors? Yes, if the host machine has an ultra-wide display, the client renders it at the correct aspect ratio. Can you use parsec web with a touchscreen? Yes — parsec web passes touch input as mouse input on the host side, which works well for most applications.
Is parsec web as good as the native download Parsec client? For most purposes, yes. The video quality and latency are essentially identical. The differences are in peripheral support and some advanced features. If you're connecting for basic access, parsec web is completely fine. If you're doing professional creative work with a Wacom tablet or gaming with a controller, the native Parsec app is the right choice.
Free to use personally, powerful enough for studios. Try it now.