Parallels Desktop Alternatives for Mac

There are many alternatives to Parallels Desktop for Mac if you are looking for a replacement. The best Mac 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 Parallels Desktop and 17 are available for Mac so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Mac alternatives to Parallels Desktop are Wine, QEMU, CrossOver and VMware Fusion.

Parallels Desktop alternatives are mainly Virtualization Tools but may also be Compatibility Layer Tools. Filter by these if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Parallels Desktop.

Parallels Desktop alternatives page was last updated

Parallels Desktop

135

Freemium • Proprietary
Virtualization Tool

Parallels Desktop gives Mac users the ability to run Windows, Linux or any other operating system and their critical...

More about Parallels Desktop

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 Parallels Desktop.
- - VirtualBox is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Parallels Desktop.
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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
Comments about VirtualBox as a Alternative to Parallels Desktop
Most users think VirtualBox is a great Parallels Desktop alternative.
John Fastman
Unlike Parallels, Virtualbox is free, open source and runs natively on Windows, Mac and Linux. What's not to like?
Positive comment•
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•
0

ChristianFerretti
free, lighter, even if less simple to use
Positive comment•
0
Wine
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Compatibility Layer Tool
Mac
Linux
Android
Android Tablet
BSD
30 Wine alternatives
Wine is a free, open source application for running Windows software on operating systems that are normally not supported. With Wine, you can install and run these applications just like you would in Windows.
- - Wine is the most popular Android & Android Tablet alternative to Parallels Desktop.
Suggest and vote on features
Wine Features
Run Windows software
Emulation
Opinions about Wine as a Alternative to Parallels Desktop
Almost everyone thinks Wine is a great Parallels Desktop 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.
Suggest and vote on features
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
CrossOver
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Paid • Open Source
Compatibility Layer Tool
Mac
Linux
Android
Chrome OS
29 CrossOver alternatives
CrossOver allows you to install many popular Windows applications and games on your Intel OS X Mac or Linux computer.
CrossOver has no features, suggest some!

Opinions about CrossOver as a Alternative to Parallels Desktop
Some users think CrossOver is a great Parallels Desktop alternative, some don't.
VMware Fusion
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free Personal • Proprietary
Virtualization Tool
Mac
39 VMware Fusion alternatives
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...
VMware Fusion has no features, suggest some!
UTM
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Virtualization Tool
Mac
iPhone
iPad
51 UTM alternatives
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.
- - UTM is the most popular iPhone & iPad alternative to Parallels Desktop.
Suggest and vote on features
UTM Features
Multi System Emulator
Emulation
Multipass
Is this is a good alternative?
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!
Wineskin Winery
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Mac
Wine
22 Wineskin Winery alternatives
Wineskin is a tool used to make ports of Windows software to Mac OS X. The ports are in the form of normal Mac application bundle wrappers. It works like a wrapper around the Windows software, and you can share just the wrappers if you choose.
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Wineskin Winery Features
Run Windows software
Run Windows Games
Discontinued
Hasn't been updated in over 6 years and doesn't work on most modern versions of macOS: https://sourceforge.net/projects/wineskin/, https://github.com/Gcenx/WineskinServer#wineskin
Lima
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Virtualization Tool
Mac
55 Lima alternatives
Lima launches Linux virtual machines on macOS, with automatic file sharing, port forwarding, and containerd.
Lima has no features, suggest some!
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Karton
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Compatibility Layer Tool
Mac
Linux
18 Karton alternatives
Run Linux programs on macOS, a different Linux distro, or a different architecture.
Karton has no features, suggest some!
Add a screenshot
Porting Kit
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Proprietary
Mac
19 Porting Kit alternatives
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.
Suggest and vote on features
Porting Kit Features
Run Windows software
WinOnX 64
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Paid • Proprietary
Mac
21 WinOnX 64 alternatives
Run your Windows applications on OSX without the need of buying a Windows license.
Suggest and vote on features
WinOnX 64 Features
Emulation
Run Windows software
Discontinued
The application has not been updated for almost three years, and also, judging by the reviews, does not work on the latest versions of macOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/winonx-64/id421346233