Parallels Desktop AlternativesOnly 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 Mac Virtualization Tool 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 ten of them are Virtualization Tools available for Mac so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Mac Virtualization Tool alternatives to Parallels Desktop are QEMU, VMware Fusion, UTM and Lima.

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Parallels Desktop alternatives are mainly Virtualization Tools but may also be Compatibility Layer Tools or Remote Desktop Tools.  Other popular filters includes Mac + Open Source and Mac + Free. Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Parallels 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
Parallels Desktop alternatives page was last updated Feb 3, 2025
  1. VirtualBox icon
     2879 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.

    63 VirtualBox alternatives
    VirtualBox Manager

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Oracle Solaris

    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 commentDec 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).

    CommentMay 13, 2022
    0
    ChristianFerretti

    free, lighter, even if less simple to use

    Positive commentMar 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
     281 likes

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

    49 QEMU alternatives
    QEMU  with the free OS ReactOS

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Privacy focused

    Features

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

    QEMU VS Parallels Desktop

    Is QEMU a good alternative to Parallels Desktop?
     
  3. VMware Fusion icon
     115 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...

    44 VMware Fusion alternatives
    VMware Fusion screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeProprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    VMware Fusion iconParallels Desktop Icon

    VMware Fusion VS Parallels Desktop

    Is VMware Fusion a good alternative to Parallels Desktop?
     
  4. UTM icon
     19 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.

    55 UTM alternatives
    UTM screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    • visionOS

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

    • UTM is Free and Open SourceParallels Desktop is Paid and Proprietary
  5. Lima icon
     3 likes

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

    56 Lima alternatives

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Lima iconParallels Desktop Icon

    Lima VS Parallels Desktop

    Is Lima a good alternative to Parallels Desktop?
     
  6.  4 likes

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

    17 JavaQemu alternatives
    JavaQemu screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux

    JavaQemu Features

    1.  Emulation
    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
     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.

    49 VirtualBuddy alternatives
    VirtualBuddy screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    VirtualBuddy iconParallels Desktop Icon

    VirtualBuddy VS Parallels Desktop

    Is VirtualBuddy a good alternative to Parallels Desktop?
     
  8. Veertu icon
     1 like

    Run Windows and Linux on your Mac alongside OS X. Veertu is simple, light, secure virtualization software designed for Mac.

    10 Veertu alternatives
    Veertu screenshot 1

    License model

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    Discontinued

    Discontinued virtualization product.

    Veertu iconParallels Desktop Icon

    Veertu VS Parallels Desktop

    Is Veertu a good alternative to Parallels Desktop?
     
  9. lume VM icon
     1 like

    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

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Python
    • Apple Swift
    • Homebrew

    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?
     
  10. Vmtek icon
     Like this app

    VMTek is the Mac virtualization platform you've been waiting for. Run multiple instances and versions of macOS*, Linux and other operating systems side-by-side on your Mac with ease. High performance Mac-native virtualization designed from the ground up to take advantage of...

    7 Vmtek alternatives
    Vmtek screenshot 1

    License model

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Vmtek iconParallels Desktop Icon

    Vmtek VS Parallels Desktop

    Is Vmtek a good alternative to Parallels Desktop?
     
10 of 10 Parallels Desktop alternatives