QEMU Alternatives

One of the most popular alternatives to QEMU is VirtualBox, which is free and open source. Other popular alternatives are WinBoat, VMware Workstation Pro, KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) and Parallels Desktop. Virtualization Tools like QEMU are a crowded field, with more than 25 alternatives for Linux, Windows, Mac, self-hosting and the web.

filter to find the best alternatives

Most QEMU alternatives are Virtualization Tools, but you can also narrow the list to Compatibility Layer Tools or Operating Systems. Another popular filter is Windows.
Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard
Alternatives
QEMU alternatives page was last updated

Alternatives list

  1. lume VM icon
     3 likes

    A lightweight CLI and local API server to create, run and manage macOS and Linux virtual machines (VMs) natively on Apple Silicon.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Python
    • Apple Swift
    • Homebrew
    Good alternative?
     
  2. clearVM icon
     17 likes

    clearVM, formerly Witsbits, enables you to set up your servers with virtualization and deploy virtual machines faster than ever before. It’s a complete virtualization solution with a self-upgrading hypervisor and cloud-based centralized management, reducing time spent on...

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    • US flagUnited States
    clearVM screenshot 1
    Good alternative?
     
  3. PocketVBox icon
     5 likes

    Just a Portable VirtualBox Pack.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Good alternative?
     
  4. PCE icon
     5 likes

    PCE is a collection of microcomputer emulators. At the moment it contains three emulators:

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
  5. Cassowary icon
     3 likes

    Run Windows Applications on Linux as if they are native. Use Linux applications to launch files located in Windows VM without needing to install applications on VM. With easy to use configuration GUI. TEST.

    41 Cassowary alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
  6. Bochs icon
     17 likes

    Bochs is a highly portable open source IA-32 (x86) PC emulator written in C++, that runs on most popular platforms. It includes emulation of the Intel x86 CPU, common I/O devices, and a custom BIOS. Currently, Bochs can be compiled to emulate a 386, 486...

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
  7. PearPC icon
     5 likes

    PearPC is an architecture-independent PowerPC platform emulator capable of running most PowerPC operating systems, like Mac OS X.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
  8. Bushel icon
     1 like

    Need to try out old versions of macOS for your software? Want to try a script or piece of software without breaking your Mac?

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • US flagUnited States
    Bushel screenshot 1
    Good alternative?
     
  9. CheerpX icon
     1 like

    CheerpX is an x86 virtualization technology for running executables and operating systems entirely client-side. It’s an always available, zero-cost virtual machine with guaranteed data privacy, powered by a WebAssembly JIT engine.

    58 CheerpX alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free Personal
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • WebAssembly
    Good alternative?
     
  10. MacMulator icon
     1 like

    MacMulator is the computer emulator for your Mac! It engages the power of Qemu, together with a nice, easy to use UI, to let you create any kind of Virtual Machines in a few clicks. Whatever OS you need to run on your Mac, MacMulator is the tool for you!.

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Good alternative?
     
  11. v86 icon
     2 likes

    v86 emulates an x86-compatible CPU and hardware.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    Good alternative?
     
  12. ManageIQ icon
     Like

    Discover, optimize, and control your hybrid IT. Manage containers, virtual machines, networks, and storage from a single platform.

    Continuous Discovery

    Connect ManageIQ to your virtualization, container, network, and storage management systems, where it will discover inventory.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • Docker
    • Vagrant
    • Google Cloud Platform
    • Kubernetes
    • Microsoft Azure
    • OpenShift
    • OpenStack
    • QEMU
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux
    • VMware vSphere
    • Amazon Web Services
    • Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud
    Good alternative?
     
You are at page 3 of QEMU alternatives