Parallels Desktop Alternatives for Windows
Parallels Desktop is not available for Windows but there are plenty of alternatives that runs on Windows with similar functionality. The best Windows 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 many of them are available for Windows so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Windows alternatives to Parallels Desktop are QEMU, VMware Workstation Pro, VMware Workstation Player and Windows Sandbox.
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.- Free • Open Source
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
- Solaris
VirtualBox is a powerful x86 and AMD64/Intel64 virtualization product for enterprise as well as home use.
VirtualBox vs Parallels Desktop opinions
rivolta8959I 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).
JohnFastmanUnlike Parallels, Virtualbox is free, open source and runs natively on Windows, Mac and Linux. What's not to like?
ChristianFerrettifree, lighter, even if less simple to use
- Free • Open Source
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
QEMU (short for "Quick EMUlator") is a free and open-source hosted hypervisor that performs hardware virtualization.
- Paid • Proprietary
- Windows
- Linux
VMware Workstation Pro Lets You Run Multiple Operating Systems as Virtual Machines (including Windows VMs) on a Single Windows or Linux PC.
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.
a new lightweight desktop environment tailored for safely running applications in isolation.
Portable-VirtualBox is a free and open source software tool that lets you run any operating system from a usb stick without separate installation. It unpacks and adjusts the paths and configuration of VirtualBox so it will run portably.
Discontinued
It has not been updated since 2017 and does not work with any version of Virtualbox beyond v5.1.22.
Qemu Simple Boot lets you to Boot ISO images without having to burn them to disc first , it is is a portable freeware virtualization tool
MobaLiveCD is a freeware that will run your Linux LiveCD on Windows thanks to the excellent emulator called "Qemu".
Qemu Manager is an easy to use management tool for the open-source QEMU emulator. It has a wealth of features for creating, managing and running multiple virtual machines.
Discontinued
The official website is no longer available. Last version, 7.0, released in April 2010, can be still downloaded from Download.com