The best free alternative to Parallels Desktop is VirtualBox, which is also Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Parallels Desktop and loads of them is free so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting free alternatives to Parallels Desktop are Wine, WinBoat, QEMU and VMware Workstation Pro.
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.
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.
Runs Windows applications, individual apps, or full desktops inside Linux with native OS-level integration, sleek interface, advanced filesystem sharing, smartcard passthrough, and resource monitoring while supporting simple installation and ongoing feature updates.
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.
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...
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.
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.
Comprehensive desktop tool for managing virtual machines using libvirt, supporting KVM, Xen, and Linux Containers. It offers performance stats, resource allocation and virtual hardware configuration with VNC and SPICE clients for graphical consoles.
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.
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...
A simple GNOME application to access virtual systems. It is based on a design from Jon McCann and Jakub Steiner.
a new lightweight desktop environment tailored for safely running applications in isolation.
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Unlike Parallels, Virtualbox is free, open source and runs natively on Windows, Mac and Linux. What's not to like?