Parallels Desktop AlternativesOnly Open Source apps categorised as Virtualization Tools for Mac

There are many alternatives to Parallels Desktop for Mac if you are looking for a replacement. The best open source Mac Virtualization Tool alternative is VirtualBox. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Parallels Desktop and seven of them are open source and Virtualization Tools available for Mac so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source Mac Virtualization Tool alternatives to Parallels Desktop are QEMU, UTM, Lima and JavaQemu.

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Parallels Desktop iconParallels Desktop
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Virtualization tool enabling seamless operation of Windows and Linux on Mac. Support for Windows 11 on Apple Silicon with resource customization.

More about Parallels Desktop
More about Parallels Desktop
Parallels Desktop alternatives page was last updated Feb 22, 2025
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  1. VirtualBox icon
    VirtualBox icon

    VirtualBox

     2887 likes
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    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.

    63 VirtualBox alternatives
    VirtualBox Manager

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Oracle Solaris
    Create Virtual Machine
    Setting of an OS
    +5
    Instaling Windows 10 as Virtual Machine

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Virtualization
    2.  Multiple languages
    3. Zalando icon  Zalando integration
    4.  Ad-free
    5.  Container Virtualization
    6.  Dark Mode
    7.  Portable
    8.  Hypervisor
    VirtualBox iconParallels Desktop Icon

    VirtualBox VS Parallels Desktop

    Is VirtualBox a good alternative to Parallels Desktop?
     
    Comments about VirtualBox as an Alternative to Parallels Desktop
     
    John Fastman

    Unlike Parallels, Virtualbox is free, open source and runs natively on Windows, Mac and Linux. What's not to like?

    Positive comment •Dec 17, 2016
    8
    Léana

    I like it because it's FOSS, however, it's really glitchy. It has a lot of display issues with my guest OSs (screen flickering, black screen).

    Comment •May 13, 2022
    0
    ChristianFerretti

    free, lighter, even if less simple to use

    Positive comment •Mar 26, 2021
    0
    Parallels Desktop Icon
    VirtualBox icon

    • Most users think VirtualBox is a great Parallels Desktop alternative.

    • VirtualBox is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to Parallels Desktop.

    • VirtualBox is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Parallels Desktop.

    • VirtualBox is Free and Open SourceParallels Desktop is Paid and Proprietary
    • VirtualBox is Lightweight and Privacy focusedParallels Desktop is not according to our users
  2. QEMU icon
    QEMU icon

    QEMU

     285 likes
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    QEMU (short for "Quick EMUlator") is a free and open-source hosted hypervisor that performs hardware virtualization.

    44 QEMU alternatives
    QEMU with the free OS ReactOS

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    Hardware Configuration of a VMware machine
    Harddisk based on a VMware vmdk-file
    +1
    Advanced settings of a vmdk-machine

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Virtualization
    2.  GPU Acceleration
    3.  Portable
    4.  Command line interface
    5.  Container Virtualization
    6.  Support for scripting
    7.  User mode emulation
    8.  Emulation
    QEMU iconParallels Desktop Icon

    QEMU VS Parallels Desktop

    Is QEMU a good alternative to Parallels Desktop?
     
  4. UTM icon
    UTM icon

    UTM

     20 likes
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    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.

    55 UTM alternatives
    UTM screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    • visionOS
    UTM screenshot 1
    UTM screenshot 2

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused
    2.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Virtualization
    2.  Multi System Emulator
    3.  Emulation
    4.  Ad-free
    5.  Container Virtualization
    UTM iconParallels Desktop Icon

    UTM VS Parallels Desktop

    Is UTM a good alternative to Parallels Desktop?
     
    Comments about UTM as an Alternative to Parallels Desktop
     
    Guest

    Its Open Source Unlike Parallels Desktop Its Also Open Source So Its More Trustable

    Positive comment •Feb 22, 2025
    0
    Parallels Desktop Icon
    UTM icon

    • UTM is the most popular iPhone & iPad alternative to Parallels Desktop.

    • UTM is Free and Open SourceParallels Desktop is Paid and Proprietary
    • UTM is Privacy focused and LightweightParallels Desktop is not according to our users
  5. Lima icon
    Lima icon

    Lima

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

    56 Lima alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Lima iconParallels Desktop Icon

    Lima VS Parallels Desktop

    Is Lima a good alternative to Parallels Desktop?
     

  6. JavaQemu

     4 likes
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    JavaQemu is a Graphical User Interface Front End for QEMU, written in Java.

    17 JavaQemu alternatives
    JavaQemu screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux

    JavaQemu Features

    1.  Emulation
    JavaQemu screenshot 1
    JavaQemu screenshot 2
    Discontinued

    Website states: "This project is no longer active because I stopped playing with Java since a long time."

    Parallels Desktop Icon

    JavaQemu VS Parallels Desktop

    Is JavaQemu a good alternative to Parallels Desktop?
     
  7. VirtualBuddy icon
    VirtualBuddy icon

    VirtualBuddy

     1 like
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    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.

    49 VirtualBuddy alternatives
    VirtualBuddy screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    VirtualBuddy iconParallels Desktop Icon

    VirtualBuddy VS Parallels Desktop

    Is VirtualBuddy a good alternative to Parallels Desktop?
     
  9. lume VM icon
    lume VM icon

    lume VM

     1 like
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    A lightweight CLI and local API server to create, run and manage macOS and Linux virtual machines (VMs) natively on Apple Silicon.

    31 lume VM alternatives
    lume VM screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Python
    • Apple Swift
    • Homebrew
    lume VM screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused
    2.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Command line interface
    2.  Ad-free
    3.  No Tracking
    lume VM iconParallels Desktop Icon

    lume VM VS Parallels Desktop

    Is lume VM a good alternative to Parallels Desktop?
     
7 of 7 Parallels Desktop alternatives