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 50 alternatives to Parallels Desktop and 19 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.

filter to find the best alternatives

Parallels Desktop alternatives are mainly Virtualization Tools, but if you're looking for Cloud Computing Services or Compatibility Layer 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. VirtualBox icon

    VirtualBox

     2931 likes
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    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

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Oracle Solaris
    VirtualBox Manager
     
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    3
    34
    Comments about VirtualBox as an Alternative to Parallels Desktop
    John Fastman
    Positive
    8

    Unlike Parallels, Virtualbox is free, open source and runs natively on Windows, Mac and Linux. What's not to like?

    Léana
    0

    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).

    ChristianFerretti
    Positive
    0

    free, lighter, even if less simple to use

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    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

    QEMU

     296 likes
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    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.

    43 QEMU alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    QEMU with the free OS ReactOS
     
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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.

    Parallels Desktop 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
  4. VMware Workstation Pro icon

    VMware Workstation Pro

     393 likes
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    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...

    35 VMware Workstation Pro alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    VMware Workstation Pro screenshot 1
     
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    9
  5. VMware Workstation Player icon

    VMware Workstation Player

     247 likes
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    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.

    38 VMware Workstation Player alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free Personal
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    VMware Workstation Player screenshot 1
     
  7. Portable Virtualbox icon

    Portable Virtualbox

     45 likes
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    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.

    38 Portable Virtualbox alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Portable Virtualbox screenshot 1
     
  9. AQEMU icon

    AQEMU

     14 likes
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    Cross-platform GUI virtual machine manager using QEMU as backend. Support Linux/BSD/Windows 8/10/11

    21 AQEMU alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    AQEMU screenshot 1
     
  10. RVVM icon

    RVVM

     3 likes
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    RVVM is a virtual machine / emulator for RISC-V guests, which emphasizes on performance, security, lean code and portability. It already runs a lot of guest operating systems, including Linux, Haiku, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, etc.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Windows
    • Mac
    RVVM screenshot 1
     
  11. Multipass icon

    Multipass

     7 likes
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    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.

    57 Multipass alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Snapcraft
    Multipass screenshot 1
     
  12. QEMU Manager icon

    QEMU Manager

     8 likes
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    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.

    47 QEMU Manager alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    QEMU Manager screenshot 1
     
  14. Qemu Simple Boot icon

    Qemu Simple Boot

     8 likes
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    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

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Qemu Simple Boot screenshot 1
     
12 of 19 Parallels Desktop alternatives