Parallels Desktop AlternativesOnly apps from the EU

The best alternative to Parallels Desktop is WinBoat, 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 so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting alternatives to Parallels Desktop are QEMU, Boxes, MiceWine and Awingu.

filter to find the best alternatives

Parallels Desktop alternatives are mainly Virtualization Tools, but if you're looking for Compatibility Layer Tools or Remote Desktop Tools you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Free, Mac, Open Source, Mac + Open Source, Virtualization and Mac + Free. 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 Parallels Desktop.
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Alternatives list

  1. WinBoat icon
     67 likes

    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.

    52 WinBoat alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Docker
     
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    1
    Comments about WinBoat as an Alternative to Parallels Desktop
    Victor Ferreira
    Positive
    0

    I think WinBoat is the best alternative to Parallels Desktop because it works the same way, with a similar workflow and an interface that's just as beautiful and user-friendly.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    WinBoat icon
    WinBoat icon
    • WinBoat is Free and Open SourceParallels Desktop is Paid and Proprietary
    • WinBoat is Privacy focusedParallels Desktop is not according to our users
  2. QEMU icon
     300 likes

    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.

    44 QEMU alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
     
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    1
    Comments about QEMU as an Alternative to Parallels Desktop
    Kelson V
    0

    QEMU by itself is built into macOS, but it's a pain to run (it's all command-line) unless you use a GUI wrapper like UTM. It's also slower than Parallels due to limited support for hardware accelleration.

    QEMU icon
    QEMU icon
    • QEMU is Free and Open SourceParallels Desktop is Paid and Proprietary
    • QEMU is Lightweight, Privacy focused and Security-focusedParallels Desktop is not according to our users
  3. Boxes icon
     30 likes

    A simple GNOME application to access virtual systems. It is based on a design from Jon McCann and Jakub Steiner.

    28 Boxes alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    • GNOME
     
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    1
    Comments about Boxes as an Alternative to Parallels Desktop
    Kelson V
    0

    I'm not sure you can actually run Boxes on macOS, but from my experience running it on Linux, it's more comparable to UTM than to Parallels, and UTM is built specifically to run on macOS.

    Boxes icon
    Boxes icon
    • Boxes is Free and Open SourceParallels Desktop is Paid and Proprietary
    • Boxes is Lightweight, Privacy focused and Security-focusedParallels Desktop is not according to our users
  4. MiceWine icon
     4 likes

    MiceWine is a project that aims to run Windows applications and games on Android smartphones.

    46 MiceWine alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Android
    • Android Tablet
     
  5. Awingu icon
     Like

    Awingu provides an online workspace, available through any browser. The online workspace make legacy apps, SaaS and files available in a highly intuitive way.

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Online
     
  6. Porting Kit icon
     14 likes

    Using Wineskin technology, Porting Kit is a PaulTheTall.com app that can install games and apps compiled for Microsoft Windows® in Mac OS X. It has access to a server where we store WSI files for more than 300 games, which can be installed by any Porting Kit user.

    31 Porting Kit alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
     
  7. Karton VM icon
     2 likes

    A Libvirt-based Virtual Machine Manager for KDE.

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • KDE Plasma
     
  8. WinOnX 64 icon
     4 likes

    Run your Windows applications on OSX without the need of buying a Windows license.

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
     
  9. GDaaS icon
     2 likes

    GDaaS is GPU Desktop-as-a-Service. A Cloud Platform that deploys powerful vGPU-accelerated cloud desktops delivering mobility and collaboration to engineers and designers.

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
  10. FAUMachine icon
     3 likes

    FAUmachine is a virtual machine, similar in many respects to VMWare[tm], QEMU or Virtual PC[tm]. What distinguishes FAUmachine from these other virtual machines, are the following features:

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Linux
     
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