KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) Alternatives for Windows

KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) is not available for Windows but there are plenty of alternatives that runs on Windows with similar functionality. The best Windows alternative is VirtualBox, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 25 alternatives to KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) and 15 are available for Windows so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Windows alternatives to KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) are QEMU, VMware Workstation Pro, VMware Workstation Player and Windows Sandbox.

KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) alternatives are mainly Virtualization Tools but may also be Android Emulators or Boot Managers. Filter by these if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine).

KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) alternatives page was last updated

KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine)

102

Free • Open Source
Virtualization Tool

KVM (for Kernel-based Virtual Machine) is a full virtualization solution for Linux on x86 hardware containing...

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VirtualBox
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Virtualization Tool
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
Solaris
61 VirtualBox alternatives
VirtualBox is a powerful x86 and AMD64/Intel64 virtualization product for enterprise as well as home use. Not only is VirtualBox an extremely feature rich, high performance product for enterprise customers, it is also the only professional solution that is freely available as...
- - VirtualBox is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine).
- - VirtualBox is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine).
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VirtualBox Features
1. LightweightVirtualBox consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
2. Container VirtualizationVirtualBox can make use of isolated user spaces called "containers" to run applications.
3. PortableVirtualBox can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
Multiple languages
Opinions about VirtualBox as a Alternative to KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine)
Most users think VirtualBox is a great KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) alternative.
QEMU
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Virtualization Tool
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
42 QEMU alternatives
QEMU (short for "Quick EMUlator") is a free and open-source hosted hypervisor that performs hardware virtualization.
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QEMU Features
1. LightweightQEMU consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
2. PortableQEMU can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
3. Privacy focusedQEMU is considered a privacy friendly alternative.
4. Support for scriptingQEMU supports scripts and macros to automate or customize tasks.
5. Container VirtualizationQEMU can make use of isolated user spaces called "containers" to run applications.
6. Command line interfaceQEMU either have CLI support or is a CLI-only app.
GPU Acceleration
Security focused
User mode emulation
Emulation
Comments about QEMU as a Alternative to KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine)
Most users think QEMU is a great KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) alternative.
Guest
KVM is a kernel module that QEMU can use to speed up the emulation
Negative comment•
2
VMware Workstation Pro
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Paid • Proprietary
Virtualization Tool
Windows
Linux
39 VMware Workstation Pro alternatives
VMware Workstation Pro Lets You Run Multiple Operating Systems as Virtual Machines (including Windows VMs) on a Single Windows or Linux PC. VMware Workstation Pro is the industry standard for running multiple operating systems as virtual machines (VMs) on a single Linux or...
- - VMware Workstation Pro is the most popular commercial alternative to KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine).
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VMware Workstation Pro Features
1. Container VirtualizationVMware Workstation Pro can make use of isolated user spaces called "containers" to run applications.
Multiple languages
Support for Android Things
Bundled with macOS
VMware Workstation Player
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free Personal • Proprietary
Virtualization Tool
Windows
Linux
38 VMware Workstation Player alternatives
VMware Workstation Player builds on the industry leading foundation of Workstation Pro, and delivers a streamlined user interface for creating and running operating systems and applications in a virtual machine.
VMware Workstation Player has no features, suggest some!
Windows Sandbox
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Proprietary
Virtualization Tool
Windows
52 Windows Sandbox alternatives
a new lightweight desktop environment tailored for safely running applications in isolation.
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Windows Sandbox Features
1. Container VirtualizationWindows Sandbox can make use of isolated user spaces called "containers" to run applications.
2. LightweightWindows Sandbox consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
Sandbox
Portable Virtualbox
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Virtualization Tool
Windows
40 Portable Virtualbox alternatives
Portable-VirtualBox is a free and open source software tool that lets you run any operating system from a usb stick without separate installation. It unpacks and adjusts the paths and configuration of VirtualBox so it will run portably.
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Portable Virtualbox Features
1. PortablePortable Virtualbox can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
GNU/linux-libre
Discontinued
It has not been updated since 2017 and does not work with any version of Virtualbox beyond v5.1.22.
VMware vSphere Hypervisor
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Paid • Proprietary
Virtualization Tool
Windows
Linux
NVIDIA vGPU
AMD MxGPU
40 VMware vSphere Hypervisor alternatives
VMware vSphere Hypervisor ( based on ESXi ) is a free bare-metal hypervisor that virtualizes servers so you can consolidate your applications on less hardware.
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VMware vSphere Hypervisor Features
VPS
Citrix Hypervisor
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Yes
No
Freemium • Open Source
Virtualization Tool
Windows
Linux
RadeonPro
NVIDIA vGPU
AMD MxGPU
36 Citrix Hypervisor alternatives
(formerly XenServer) Citrix Hypervisor is a leading virtualization management platform optimized for application, desktop and server virtualization infrastructures.
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Citrix Hypervisor Features
Hypervisor
Multipass
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Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Mac
Windows
Linux
55 Multipass alternatives
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.
Multipass has no features, suggest some!
Bochs
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Windows
Linux
Android
AmigaOS
MorphOS
38 Bochs alternatives
Bochs is a highly portable open source IA-32 (x86) PC emulator written in C++, that runs on most popular platforms. It includes emulation of the Intel x86 CPU, common I/O devices, and a custom BIOS. Currently, Bochs can be compiled to emulate a 386, 486...
- - Bochs is the most popular Android alternative to KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine).
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Bochs Features
X86-emulation
Android Sync
QEMU Manager
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Proprietary
Virtualization Tool
Windows
47 QEMU Manager alternatives
Qemu Manager is an easy to use management tool for the open-source QEMU emulator. It has a wealth of features for creating, managing and running multiple virtual machines.
QEMU Manager has no features, suggest some!
Discontinued
The official website is no longer available. Last version, 7.0, released in April 2010, can be still downloaded from Download.com
VMLite VBoot
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Paid • Proprietary
Boot Manager
Windows
Linux
33 VMLite VBoot alternatives
VBoot allows you to boot a physical computer from a single virtual disk file in VHD/VMDK/VDI/Raw format. Each file contains a single operating system. It supports Windows 2000, Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, 2003 Server, 2008 Server and Linux 2.6, 32- and 64-bit.
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VMLite VBoot Features
Boot from Virtual Disk