M1 Mac: how is the experience with Microsoft Office and Parallels?

[skaertus]

I am pretty impressed so far by what I have heard and read about the performance and battery life of the M1 Macs. And the new iMac looks gorgeous, in addition to having a great display and great sound. And the WWDC looks promising.

I feel tempted to buy one of them, but I am not sure due to my usage pattern. I have read many threads here in this forum stating that 8 GB is enough for most users. I would much like to have confirmation on some points before thinking of buying one.

My usage pattern is basically web browsing, PDF reading and annotating, and office. And when I say office, it is Microsoft Office only and no substitutes. I do not use the computer to program, edit photos or videos, or for graphic design. No art, just boring office work, several pages of written documents and text-only presentations. Most of the time, it is either Microsoft Word or Outlook and sometimes Excel or PowerPoint. No Photoshop or Illustrator or Final Cut.

People usually take it for granted that any computer will run Microsoft Office very well. I do not share this thought. I have a 13-inch MacBook Pro (late 2016) with a 3.3 GHz Core i7 and 16 GB RAM, and Microsoft Office is painful to run. Word and Outlook each consume an absurd amount of memory and are sluggish. Apple Pages runs like a charm, and so does other software, but it lacks the features I need. I need Microsoft Office.

For this reason, I mostly use PCs and not Macs. The main reason for this is that Microsoft Office is far better on Windows than on macOS. I can run Microsoft Office well on any computer, provided it is the Windows version. The Mac version demands much more power.

I have seen some videos on YouTube and some reports that Microsoft Office runs well and fast on M1 Macs. I would like to know how well it runs. And if 8 GB is enough to run Microsoft Office swiftly or if 16 GB would be required. I am skeptical of 8 GB because Office runs poorly on my 16 GB 2016 MacBook Pro, but perhaps the M1 is so good that makes up for the less memory.

Plus, I would like to know how Window on Parallels runs with 8 GB RAM. Would 16 GB be recommended?

Depending on how these pieces of software run, I may either end up buying an M1 Mac or give up and stick to Windows PCs instead.

Thanks.

 

[chabig]

Depending on how these pieces of software run, I may either end up buying an M1 Mac or give up and stick to Windows PCs instead.

Stop right now and buy a Windows PC. Windows won’t run on an M1 Mac, so you will be disappointed if you buy one.

 

[CWallace]

The only version of Windows supported on Apple Silicon is the Windows Insider Preview ARM edition which is still in development (think of it as a Beta). You can run Windows ARM under Parallels.

Microsoft Office 365 and Office 2019 do run natively on Apple Silicon as of the December 2020 release (build 16.44).

Microsoft 365, Office 2021, and Office 2019 support for Apple silicon - Microsoft Support

support.microsoft.com

 

[neilw]

Stop right now and buy a Windows PC. Windows won’t run on an M1 Mac, so you will be disappointed if you buy one.

If indeed running a Windows VM is a requirement, then the above advice is correct.

To answer the rest of your question: Office runs just fine on the M1. Most of it is ARM native, other than Teams, which will get a native update at some point. I have 16 GB so I can't comment on how it'll all run in 8 GB, but I suspect fine.

 

[Kung gu]

Stop right now and buy a Windows PC. Windows won’t run on an M1 Mac, so you will be disappointed if you buy one.

M1 Macs run outlook and MS office with no problems. @skaertus asked about windows on Parallels, this is possible and M1 Macs run this faster than Surface Pro X which run Windows on ARM.

The M1 Macs do not heat up like crazy and sip power compared to the Intel MacBooks.

 

[skaertus]

Stop right now and buy a Windows PC. Windows won’t run on an M1 Mac, so you will be disappointed if you buy one.

The only version of Windows supported on Apple Silicon is the Windows Insider Preview ARM edition which is still in development (think of it as a Beta). You can run Windows ARM under Parallels.

Microsoft Office 365 and Office 2019 do run natively on Apple Silicon as of the December 2020 release (build 16.44).

Microsoft 365, Office 2021, and Office 2019 support for Apple silicon - Microsoft Support

support.microsoft.com

If indeed running a Windows VM is a requirement, then the above advice is correct.

To answer the rest of your question: Office runs just fine on the M1. Most of it is ARM native, other than Teams, which will get a native update at some point. I have 16 GB so I can't comment on how it'll all run in 8 GB, but I suspect fine.

M1 Macs run outlook and MS office with no problems. @skaertus asked about windows on Parallels, this is possible and M1 Macs run this faster than Surface Pro X which run Windows on ARM.

The M1 Macs do not heat up like crazy and sip power compared to the Intel MacBooks.

Thanks for the messages.

Running Parallels is not really a requirement, as I have other Windows machines.

I know that Apple Silicon supports Microsoft Office and that it runs OK. But one thing is to support and run it, and another very different thing is to run it effortlessly.

My question is whether an M1 Mac runs Microsoft Office considerably better than an Intel Mac does. And whether an M1 Mac runs Microsoft Office as seamlessly as a Windows machine runs the Windows version of Office.

I ask this because I consistently had bad experiences with Microsoft Office for Mac. Every time, I end up turning to Microsoft Office for Windows because its performance is far better. I would like to know whether the M1 processor is good enough to make up for the performance penalty imposed by Office for Mac compared to its Windows counterpart, so I do not feel inclined to turn to Windows once again.

 

[Kung gu]

Thanks for the messages.

Running Parallels is not really a requirement, as I have other Windows machines.

I know that Apple Silicon supports Microsoft Office and that it runs OK. But one thing is to support and run it, and another very different thing is to run it effortlessly.

My question is whether an M1 Mac runs Microsoft Office considerably better than an Intel Mac does. And whether an M1 Mac runs Microsoft Office as seamlessly as a Windows machine runs the Windows version of Office.

I ask this because I consistently had bad experiences with Microsoft Office for Mac. Every time, I end up turning to Microsoft Office for Windows because its performance is far better. I would like to know whether the M1 processor is good enough to make up for the performance penalty imposed by Office for Mac compared to its Windows counterpart, so I do not feel inclined to turn to Windows once again.

M1 native office Apps are good. Native means an app can take full advantage of the M1 efficiency and power.
You can also try the M1 Macs in the Apple Store.

Can you tell me how advanced your Office usage is?

Also check out this video:

 

[ian87w]

I am pretty impressed so far by what I have heard and read about the performance and battery life of the M1 Macs. And the new iMac looks gorgeous, in addition to having a great display and great sound. And the WWDC looks promising.

I feel tempted to buy one of them, but I am not sure due to my usage pattern. I have read many threads here in this forum stating that 8 GB is enough for most users. I would much like to have confirmation on some points before thinking of buying one.

My usage pattern is basically web browsing, PDF reading and annotating, and office. And when I say office, it is Microsoft Office only and no substitutes. I do not use the computer to program, edit photos or videos, or for graphic design. No art, just boring office work, several pages of written documents and text-only presentations. Most of the time, it is either Microsoft Word or Outlook and sometimes Excel or PowerPoint. No Photoshop or Illustrator or Final Cut.

People usually take it for granted that any computer will run Microsoft Office very well. I do not share this thought. I have a 13-inch MacBook Pro (late 2016) with a 3.3 GHz Core i7 and 16 GB RAM, and Microsoft Office is painful to run. Word and Outlook each consume an absurd amount of memory and are sluggish. Apple Pages runs like a charm, and so does other software, but it lacks the features I need. I need Microsoft Office.

For this reason, I mostly use PCs and not Macs. The main reason for this is that Microsoft Office is far better on Windows than on macOS. I can run Microsoft Office well on any computer, provided it is the Windows version. The Mac version demands much more power.

I have seen some videos on YouTube and some reports that Microsoft Office runs well and fast on M1 Macs. I would like to know how well it runs. And if 8 GB is enough to run Microsoft Office swiftly or if 16 GB would be required. I am skeptical of 8 GB because Office runs poorly on my 16 GB 2016 MacBook Pro, but perhaps the M1 is so good that makes up for the less memory.

Plus, I would like to know how Window on Parallels runs with 8 GB RAM. Would 16 GB be recommended?

Depending on how these pieces of software run, I may either end up buying an M1 Mac or give up and stick to Windows PCs instead.

Thanks.

What version of Office are you using? Are you on an old version or using Microsoft 365?

I have Microsoft 365, and my Office experience is not any different between Mac and Windows, other than mismatched fonts when working on the same document or ppt. And my Mac is not even a fancy one, it's an old 2012 mini i5 with just 8GB of RAM.

 

[cardfan]

Thanks for the messages.

Running Parallels is not really a requirement, as I have other Windows machines.

I know that Apple Silicon supports Microsoft Office and that it runs OK. But one thing is to support and run it, and another very different thing is to run it effortlessly.

My question is whether an M1 Mac runs Microsoft Office considerably better than an Intel Mac does. And whether an M1 Mac runs Microsoft Office as seamlessly as a Windows machine runs the Windows version of Office.

I ask this because I consistently had bad experiences with Microsoft Office for Mac. Every time, I end up turning to Microsoft Office for Windows because its performance is far better. I would like to know whether the M1 processor is good enough to make up for the performance penalty imposed by Office for Mac compared to its Windows counterpart, so I do not feel inclined to turn to Windows once again.

It’s best to get one and try it for yourself. Your idea of running office efficiently has your own criteria.

But generally office is best on windows but you sound like you already know.

 

[Rvstphn]

I use MS office all the time on my m1 MacBook Air 8gb RAM, and haven’t had any performance issues. They seem incredibly fast and efficient. This is true of Word, PowerPoint and Excel. That being said, I’ve also never had an issue running the MS Office apps on a Mac so this may come down to subject experience but for me the apps never seemed to eat up memory or anything like that.

 

[JohnnyGo]

I use MS office all the time on my m1 MacBook Air 8gb RAM, and haven’t had any performance issues. They seem incredibly fast and efficient. This is true of Word, PowerPoint and Excel. That being said, I’ve also never had an issue running the MS Office apps on a Mac so this may come down to subject experience but for me the apps never seemed to eat up memory or anything like that.

I have the same experience. Performance wise, Office was a bit slow in my 2016 MBP and it is objectively faster in my M1 MBA. YMMV

 

[abhi182]

My usage is very similar to the OP.
I alternate between a i5 1035G7 (16GB) LG laptop and a M1 MBA (8GB)for office/ productivity work
For the sake of an added comparison , i also have my ageing office laptop (an 6th gen i7) but i haven't used it in over a year because it is too slow in comparison.

Specifically on office:
- Outlook is considerably faster on the MBA - whether it be flipping between emails or (and especially) switching views
- Excel feels marginally faster on the LG
- Word and powerpoint seem to behave the same

As for other office usage apps:
- Zoom feels a little better/faster on MBA
- Teams feels a little better/faster on the LG

Overall though, i prefer the MBA for MS office as
a) most of my work involves outlook.
b) The MBA feels faster when driving extended 4K display when docked

At a broader level , once you include PDFs/ browsing , overall UX and especially battery life, my preference towards the MBA gets significantly stronger.

Edit: One thing worth noting - My workplace is in the process of retiring that abomination called Skype for business in favor of teams. As bad as SFB is on windows, it is 5X worse on the mac. If we were to continue using SFB, i would have used the win laptop for work all the time

 

[jerryk]

Thanks for the messages.

Running Parallels is not really a requirement, as I have other Windows machines.

I know that Apple Silicon supports Microsoft Office and that it runs OK. But one thing is to support and run it, and another very different thing is to run it effortlessly.

My question is whether an M1 Mac runs Microsoft Office considerably better than an Intel Mac does. And whether an M1 Mac runs Microsoft Office as seamlessly as a Windows machine runs the Windows version of Office.

I ask this because I consistently had bad experiences with Microsoft Office for Mac. Every time, I end up turning to Microsoft Office for Windows because its performance is far better. I would like to know whether the M1 processor is good enough to make up for the performance penalty imposed by Office for Mac compared to its Windows counterpart, so I do not feel inclined to turn to Windows once again.

I run the M1 Office 365 version on my M1 Air. It works fine. Seems speedy. Office 365 has been ported to the M1. If you are running some Intel version of Office for Mac your performance may be different.

 

[maternidad]

Retracted

 

[4sallypat]

No issues - no lag - no spinning beach balls!

I run 2 versions of Microsoft Office on my M1 Macs:

• Office 2019 (Rosetta2) Mini base 8GB
• Office 365 (app native download) iMac 24" base 8GB

 

[xraydoc]

To the OP — go to an Apple store and test one out for yourself. Only you can decide if it runs Office well enough.
I’m a moderate Word and PowerPoint user, and for me the M1 is more than acceptable. But Office is Microsoft’s core business… it’ll always run “best” on Windows.

 

[excelsior.ink]

I have the Office/Outlook 2019 (not the subscription one) running natively on my MBP M1 16GB and it flies.

 

[3rik]

I am pretty impressed so far by what I have heard and read about the performance and battery life of the M1 Macs. And the new iMac looks gorgeous, in addition to having a great display and great sound. And the WWDC looks promising.

I feel tempted to buy one of them, but I am not sure due to my usage pattern. I have read many threads here in this forum stating that 8 GB is enough for most users. I would much like to have confirmation on some points before thinking of buying one.

My usage pattern is basically web browsing, PDF reading and annotating, and office. And when I say office, it is Microsoft Office only and no substitutes. I do not use the computer to program, edit photos or videos, or for graphic design. No art, just boring office work, several pages of written documents and text-only presentations. Most of the time, it is either Microsoft Word or Outlook and sometimes Excel or PowerPoint. No Photoshop or Illustrator or Final Cut.

People usually take it for granted that any computer will run Microsoft Office very well. I do not share this thought. I have a 13-inch MacBook Pro (late 2016) with a 3.3 GHz Core i7 and 16 GB RAM, and Microsoft Office is painful to run. Word and Outlook each consume an absurd amount of memory and are sluggish. Apple Pages runs like a charm, and so does other software, but it lacks the features I need. I need Microsoft Office.

For this reason, I mostly use PCs and not Macs. The main reason for this is that Microsoft Office is far better on Windows than on macOS. I can run Microsoft Office well on any computer, provided it is the Windows version. The Mac version demands much more power.

I have seen some videos on YouTube and some reports that Microsoft Office runs well and fast on M1 Macs. I would like to know how well it runs. And if 8 GB is enough to run Microsoft Office swiftly or if 16 GB would be required. I am skeptical of 8 GB because Office runs poorly on my 16 GB 2016 MacBook Pro, but perhaps the M1 is so good that makes up for the less memory.

Plus, I would like to know how Window on Parallels runs with 8 GB RAM. Would 16 GB be recommended?

Depending on how these pieces of software run, I may either end up buying an M1 Mac or give up and stick to Windows PCs instead.

Thanks.

I have the 8gb ram MacBook Air

Microsoft Office runs great. I have no complaints at all, its smooth, snappy, and everything works. I actually prefer Office on Mac to office on windows. The animations are smoother, and the app looks a bit better.

I also use Microsoft Teams and have the Onedrive client always running in the background syncing stuff, and its all fine.

For PDF reading I recommend PdfPen but of course you can use whatever you want. it and Adobe Acrobat (Pro) run great too.

For web browsing I use Safari, and websites load faster than anything ive used before including my custom build desktop gaming PC. Firefox, Chrome and Edge run great too.

For what you are doing the 8gb ram model should be totally fine. I also use Photoshop and multitask a lot on it and I have no issues

 

[Spacegray]

I use Office365 on my MBA M1 16/512GB and the apps are running very fast.
When starting an app for the first time after reboot, it takes about 4 sec. until the start screen appears.
When quitting the app (not just closing the window) and restarting it again, it needs less than half a sec. to start.
Opening files is very fast and also the handling of large word or powerpoint documents is very fast.

 

[Blue Quark]

I very rarely actively use Microsoft's Office software. I have it because I have a Office 365 subscription that I got when setting up my Win10 PC a year and a quarter ago, but generally I find LO Calc (which is my main need) runs better and implements things better than Excel. Also, I prefer the results I get from building things in LO Writer to Word.

That said, from playing around with it briefly, the various M$ bits and bobs seem to work just fine in Big Sur.

 

[Zeeinnm]

I use MS office all the time on my m1 MacBook Air 8gb RAM, and haven’t had any performance issues. They seem incredibly fast and efficient. This is true of Word, PowerPoint and Excel. That being said, I’ve also never had an issue running the MS Office apps on a Mac so this may come down to subject experience but for me the apps never seemed to eat up memory or anything like that.

Since you use it, maybe you can help me. I am confused over 365 and Office. I just want to have
Word. Do I need both 365 and Word or can I just buy Word?

 

[JPMLondon]

I have an 8GB M1 Mac Mini running both Office 365 in Mac version and Windows version via Parallels. A fairly heavy Excel user I prefer the Windows version, so have set this as the default app to open .xlsx files. Two words: Runs. Fine.
I'd also add that if you use "Coherence Mode" in Parallels Windows Excel will act and feel pretty much like a native Mac app.

It's not always perfect though as Parallels tends to crash if the machine goes to sleep, but then you can just reopen and the beauty is you won't have lost your work as it's not the Excel app itself that crashed, but the Parallels VM that goes to sleep.

The last thing is - knowing what I know now - if I could go back in time 6 months I would have waited for 16GB to be available instead of settling for 8GB. Running a Parallels VM is better with the extra ram as it easily takes 5-6GB which means you'll be using swap really quickly. Most of the time it doesn't show on performance though, so mainly about having a bit extra to give. I'm quite amazed of what this entry machine can do!

 

[Rvstphn]

Since you use it, maybe you can help me. I am confused over 365 and Office. I just want to have
Word. Do I need both 365 and Word or can I just buy Word?

You can. They sell it in the US as a standalone license for $139.99. If you’ve gone to college somewhere, I would check to see if you can get it free through as alumni. I know several schools that (including the small school I went to) that have a deal with MS that allows students, faculty and alumni to have access to Office 365 for free for life.

 

[PeterLC]

I have the 8gb ram MacBook Air

Microsoft Office runs great. I have no complaints at all, its smooth, snappy, and everything works. I actually prefer Office on Mac to office on windows.

I need more information, please. Is your MBA an M1? Presuming it IS, is your great running MS Office an Office for Mac version running directly under the M1, Microsoft 365, or is it the Office for Windows version running under Parallels > Windows 10, or something else? I ask this because I have found that Office for Mac (2019) [stand-alone version] running under a 2016 Intel MBA is annoyingly deficient of many functions compared to the "same" Office for Windows (Intel) version.
I am about to buy an MBP 16" (when they are released) and having trouble with so many posts from people not fully explaining what exact products they have configured. I'm looking for an MS Office (stand alone) version that will run directly under M1 (M2, M1X, whatever) which, ideally, will have ALL the functions of the MS Office Windows version(s), rather than a stripped-down version that MS Office for Mac has been.

 

[Yebubbleman]

The only version of Windows supported on Apple Silicon is the Windows Insider Preview ARM edition which is still in development (think of it as a Beta). You can run Windows ARM under Parallels.

I'm going to add to this that, as someone who owns many PCs, running the Windows Insider Preview version of Windows 10 for ARM64 on Parallels is an annoyingly messy experience. Part of this is Parallels' interface which seems to almost discourage customization of virtual machines. But the rest of it is due to the fact that you're not using a shipping version of Windows 10, let alone the version for ARM64. Some x86/x64 apps work fine. Some don't. If you're expecting the level of smoothness and stability that you got from running Windows 10 in Parallels Desktop or VMware Fusion on an Intel Mac, you might want to temper your expectations.