Note: Internet Explorer X is no longer under development and is a piece of legacy software.

Tired of Safari? Well, you are in luck then because you can now download Internet Explorer for Mac! This might seem a little counterintuitive at first because Mac users would never need to use Microsoft’s previous flagship browser, right? 

This is certainly true for new websites, especially those that need a modern web browser and modern security features, but sometimes an older browser is necessary. For this reason, you can now download Internet Explorer for Mac OS X, and it’s free.

There are legacy websites that still use Flash and Java, so Internet Explorer still has a target audience of websites that it can be used with. Mac Internet Explorer works just as you would expect, and it does a good job at rendering websites and basic navigation.

Can you download Internet Explorer on a Mac?

You can still download Internet Explorer on a Mac through Microsoft’s ModernIE service. This is aimed at developers that wish to test features in older browsers, but there’s nothing stopping you from running it as a user. Microsoft Edge is the successor of Internet Explorer.

Internet Explorer Versions

There are currently 4 different versions of Internet Explorer available from the Microsoft Developer website. These are Internet Explorer 8, Internet Explorer 9, Internet Explorer 10, and Internet Explorer 11.

Virtualization Formats Available

Your choice here will depend on your preferred virtualization platform. Microsoft has created virtual machines for VMWare, Vagrant, VirtualBox, Hyper V, and of course, Parallels. Mac users will probably be most familiar with Parallels as it offers seamless integration with MacOS.

Compatibility

Because there is no native Mac OS support for Internet Explorer there needs to be an intermediate layer between the OS and Internet Explorer. This is why virtual machines are used as a way to overcome the lack of active development for the Operating System.

Features

Internet Explorer 11 is the highest version that you can run with this particular solution, and it seems to run flawlessly. Opening web pages to test glitches and errors is very easy thanks to the familiar layout of Internet Explorer.