Parallels Desktop Alternatives for Mac

There are many alternatives to Parallels Desktop for Mac if you are looking for a replacement. The best Mac alternative is VirtualBox, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Parallels Desktop and many of them are available for Mac so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Mac alternatives to Parallels Desktop are Wine, QEMU, CrossOver and UTM.

filter to find the best alternatives

Parallels Desktop alternatives are mainly Virtualization Tools, but if you're looking for Compatibility Layer Tools you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Free, Mac, Open Source, Mac + Open Source, Virtualization and Mac + Free. You can also filter by region, for example EU-based alternatives if you prefer software developed in the European Union. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Parallels Desktop.
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Alternatives list

  1. VirtualBox icon
     2954 likes

    Open source VirtualBox offers powerful x86/AMD64 virtualization available freely under GNU GPL v2. Runs on Windows, Linux, Mac, Solaris hosts. Supports a vast array of guest OS like Windows, Linux, Solaris. Portable, lightweight, ad-free, with dark mode.

    69 VirtualBox alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Oracle Solaris
     
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    3
  2. Wine icon
     763 likes

    An advanced, free open-source tool enabling Windows applications to run on Linux and other systems without emulation. It offers configuration options, supports diverse operating systems, and benefits from continuous updates and robust community support to enhance Windows app compatibility.

    50 Wine alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • BSD
    • Flathub
     
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    1
  3. QEMU icon
     304 likes

    QEMU, an open-source hypervisor, performs hardware virtualization, emulates CPUs using dynamic binary translation, and supports various architectures. It runs diverse unmodified guest OS, provides device models, and offers mixed translation modes for efficient execution.

    45 QEMU alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
     
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    1
  4. CrossOver icon
     77 likes

    Cross-platform utility enables seamless installation and execution of Windows applications on macOS, Linux, and Chrome OS. No Windows license required—facilitates easy app management with a few clicks, eliminates the need for virtual machines and reboots, delivering efficient compatibility layer operation.

    46 CrossOver alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Android
    • Chrome OS
     
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    1
  5. UTM icon
     29 likes

    UTM is a full featured system emulator and virtual machine host for iOS and macOS. It is based off of QEMU. In short, it allows you to run Windows, Linux, and more on your Mac, iPhone, and iPad.

    59 UTM alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    • visionOS
     
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    2
  6. VMware Fusion icon
     119 likes

    Seamlessly run your favorite Windows applications and devices, on any Intel-based Mac. Built from the ground up for the Mac, VMware Fusion is the easiest way to switch to Mac—letting you bring all of your Windows applications with you, making the most of your Windows software...

    42 VMware Fusion alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
     
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    1
  7. Multipass icon
     7 likes

    Multipass is a lightweight VM manager for Linux, Windows and macOS. It's designed for developers who want a fresh Ubuntu environment with a single command. It uses KVM on Linux, Hyper-V on Windows and HyperKit on macOS to run the VM with minimal overhead.

    63 Multipass alternatives

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Snapcraft
     
  8. RVVM icon
     3 likes

    RVVM is a virtual machine / emulator for RISC-V guests, which emphasizes on performance, security, lean code and portability. It already runs a lot of guest operating systems, including Linux, Haiku, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, etc.

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Windows
    • Mac
     
  9. VirtualBuddy icon
     1 like

    VirtualBuddy can virtualize macOS 12 and later on Apple Silicon, with the goal of offering features that are useful to developers who need to test their apps on multiple versions of macOS, especially betas.

    55 VirtualBuddy alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
     
  10. Lima icon
     3 likes

    Lima launches Linux virtual machines on macOS, with automatic file sharing, port forwarding, and containerd.

    63 Lima alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
     
  11. Turbo.net for Mac runs PC apps on your Mac without having to install a Virtual Machine.

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Online
    • Chrome OS
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
     
  12. Karton icon
     4 likes

    Run Linux programs on macOS, a different Linux distro, or a different architecture.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
     
12 of 22 Parallels Desktop alternatives