Free CrossOver AlternativesTop Compatibility Layer Tools and other similar apps like CrossOver

The best free alternative to CrossOver is Wine, which is also Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 25 alternatives to CrossOver and many of them is free so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting free alternatives to CrossOver are Lutris, Proton, PlayOnLinux - PlayOnMac and Bottles.

filter to find the best alternatives

CrossOver alternatives are mainly Compatibility Layer Tools, but if you're looking for Game Library Managers or Virtualization Tools you can filter on that. 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 CrossOver.
CrossOver iconCrossOver
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Install Windows applications on Mac, Linux, and Chrome OS without needing a Windows license, offering seamless integration and easy app management.

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CrossOver alternatives page was last updated Apr 25, 2025
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  1. Wine icon

    Wine

     715 likes
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    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.

    45 Wine alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    Wine screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Run Windows software
    2.  Compatibility Layer
    3.  Emulation
    4.  Ad-free

    Wine VS CrossOver

     
    Comments about Wine as an Alternative to CrossOver
    Guest
    Positive Aug 27, 2022
    0

    It’s free. And you never have to buy anything for wine. You can keep it as long as you want!! And I love that special ability! Thanks!

    CrossOver Icon
    Wine icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Wine is a great CrossOver alternative.

    • Wine is the most popular Android, Mac, Linux & Android Tablet alternative to CrossOver.

    • Wine is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to CrossOver.

    • Wine is Free and Open SourceCrossOver is Paid and Proprietary
    • Wine is LightweightCrossOver is not according to our users
  2. Lutris icon

    Lutris

     214 likes
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    Lutris is an open source gaming platform for GNU/Linux. It allows you to gather and manage (install, configure and launch) all your games acquired from any source, in a single interface.

    53 Lutris alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • FR flagFrance
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Online
    • Flathub
    Lutris screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Game Launcher
    2.  Custom Scripts
    3.  Multi System Emulator
    4.  Compatibility Layer
    5.  Ad-free
    6.  Dark Mode
    7.  Two-factor Authentication

    Lutris VS CrossOver

     

    • Almost everyone thinks Lutris is a great CrossOver alternative.

    • Lutris is the most popular Web-based alternative to CrossOver.

    • Lutris is Free and Open SourceCrossOver is Paid and Proprietary
    • Lutris is LightweightCrossOver is not according to our users
  4. Proton icon

    Proton

     104 likes
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    Proton is a tool for use with the Steam client which allows games which are exclusive to Windows to run on Linux kernel operating system. It uses Wine to facilitate this.

    39 Proton alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Steam
    Proton screenshot 1

    Proton Features

    1.  Run Windows software
    2.  Run Windows Games
    3.  Compatibility Layer
    4.  Emulation
    5.  Ad-free

    Proton VS CrossOver

     
    Comments about Proton as an Alternative to CrossOver
    Kelson V
    Positive Oct 14, 2023
    0

    For Steam games, it's simpler to just run the native Steam client and let it configure Proton for each game than to mess around with running them through another Wine environment.

    CrossOver Icon
    Proton icon

    • Most users think Proton is a great CrossOver alternative.

    • Proton is Free and Open SourceCrossOver is Paid and Proprietary
  5. PlayOnLinux - PlayOnMac icon

    PlayOnLinux - PlayOnMac

     242 likes
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    PlayOnLinux is a graphical frontend for the Wine software compatibility layer which allows Linux and Mac users to install Windows-based video games, Microsoft Office (2000 to 2010), Microsoft Internet Explorer, as well as many other applications.

    42 PlayOnLinux - PlayOnMac alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • FR flagFrance
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Wine
    • FreeBSD
    PlayOnLinux - PlayOnMac screenshot 1

    PlayOnLinux - PlayOnMac Features

    1.  Run Windows software
    2.  Run Windows Games
    3.  Ad-free

    PlayOnLinux - PlayOnMac VS CrossOver

     
  6. Bottles icon

    Bottles

     36 likes
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    Easily manage wineprefix on Linux.

    39 Bottles alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Flathub
    Main screenshot, showing three windows; the main window, an application window, and the New Bottle window.

    Properties

    1.  Customizable

    Features

    1.  Run Windows software
    2.  Compatibility Layer
    3.  Ad-free
    4.  Native GUI
    5.  Dark Mode

    Bottles VS CrossOver

     
  7. Whisky icon

    Whisky

     19 likes
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    Whisky provides a clean and easy to use graphical wrapper for Wine built in native SwiftUI. You can make and manage bottles, install and run Windows apps and games, and unlock the full potential of your Mac with no technical knowledge required.

    32 Whisky alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Wine
    • Homebrew
    Whisky screenshot 1
    Discontinued

    Whisky is no longer actively maintained. Apps and games may break at any time.

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Dark Mode
    2.  Ad-free
    3.  Run Windows software

    Whisky VS CrossOver

     
  9. Mythic icon

    Mythic

     9 likes
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    An open-source Epic Games Launcher alternative and normal game launcher for macOS written in Swift. We started this project to create a GUI frontend for Legendary and to play Windows games using game porting toolkit by Apple.

    47 Mythic alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Mythic screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  No Tracking
    2.  Ad-free
    3.  No registration required
    4.  Dark Mode
    5.  Game Launcher
    6. Discord icon  Discord integration

    Mythic VS CrossOver

     
  10. Windows Subsystem for Linux icon

    Windows Subsystem for Linux

     21 likes
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    The Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is a new Windows 10 feature that enables you to run native Linux command-line tools directly on Windows.

    33 Windows Subsystem for Linux alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Windows Subsystem for Linux screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Command line interface
    2.  Linux on Windows

    Windows Subsystem for Linux VS CrossOver

     
    Comments about Windows Subsystem for Linux as an Alternative to CrossOver
    Guest
    Negative Mar 19, 2025
    0

    It's the other way around. WSL is to run linux programs on windows not windows programs in Linux!

    CrossOver Icon
    Windows Subsystem for Linux icon

    • Windows Subsystem for Linux is the most popular Windows alternative to CrossOver.

    • Windows Subsystem for Linux is Free and Open SourceCrossOver is Paid and Proprietary
    • Windows Subsystem for Linux is LightweightCrossOver is not according to our users
  11. Winlator icon

    Winlator

     11 likes
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    In this digital age, our smartphones and tablets have become indispensable tools for both work and play. While Android offers a vast ecosystem of apps, it has often left users longing for the convenience of their favorite Windows applications. But fear not!

    9 Winlator alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • BR flagBrazil

    Platforms

    • Android
    Winlator screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Ad-free
    2.  Run Windows Games
    3.  Run Windows software

    Winlator VS CrossOver

     

  12. Proton GE

     2 likes
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    This is my build of Proton with the most recent bleeding-edge Proton Experimental WINE.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Wine

    Proton GE VS CrossOver

     
  13. Pegasus icon

    Pegasus

     27 likes
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    Pegasus is a graphical frontend for browsing your game library (especially retro games) and launching them from one place. It's focusing on customizability, cross platform support (including embedded devices) and high performance.

    43 Pegasus alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • HU flagHungary
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • Raspberry Pi
    Pegasus screenshot 1

    Pegasus Features

    1.  Portable
    2.  Game Launcher

    Pegasus VS CrossOver

     
  14. WineBottler icon

    WineBottler

     28 likes
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    WineBottler is an App to manage and wrap your Windows apps into convenient OS X apps. WineBottler helps you with running Windows programs on OS X.

    34 WineBottler alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Wine
    WineBottler screenshot 1
    Discontinued

    The application has not been updated for almost three years: https://bitbucket.org/winebottler/winebottler/src/master/, https://bitbucket.org/winebottler/winebottler/src/master/It also does not support the latest versions of macOS: https://www.reddit.com/r/winehq/comments/j43ziq/comment/g7gqpk5/

    WineBottler Features

    1.  Run in existing prefix

    WineBottler VS CrossOver

     
    Comments about WineBottler as an Alternative to CrossOver
    Guest
    Negative Jun 23, 2017
    -2

    It's much more complicated than Crossover. CrossOver is simple to use and WineBottler is much more complicated

    CrossOver Icon
    WineBottler icon
    • WineBottler is Free and Open SourceCrossOver is Paid and Proprietary
12 of 41 CrossOver alternatives