TL;DR: Run Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2026 on your Mac, lifetime licenses now $29.97.
Mac developers who build for Windows, .NET, or C++ usually need Visual Studio, and the Professional edition normally comes with a recurring licensing fee. A Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2026 lifetime license lets you pay once instead, and it’s on sale for $29.97 (reg. $499.99) right now.
Visual Studio 2026 supports ARM64 processors, so an Apple silicon Mac running Windows 11 in Parallels can install it. From there, you can build cross-platform mobile and desktop apps with .NET MAUI, write web interfaces in C# with Blazor, and test .NET and C++ apps that target Windows, Linux, and containers. Hot reload applies code changes to a running app right away, so you aren’t restarting every few minutes.
As you type, IntelliCode learns from your codebase and completes whole lines or blocks for you. CodeLens shows recent changes, authors, and test status right in the editor. When a teammate needs to help debug, Live Share opens a session with them in real time, and they don’t have to clone the repo or install dependencies first.
This is a single-user license for one device, and activation requires a Microsoft account. Minor updates and security fixes for the 2026 release channel are included. Redeem your code within 30 days of purchase.
Stop paying every year for the IDE you open every day.
Get Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2026 on sale for $29.97.
Sale ends October 15 at 11:59 p.m. PT.
Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2026See Deal
StackSocial prices subject to change.
