Open Source VirtualBox Alternatives for Linux

There are many alternatives to VirtualBox for Linux if you are looking for a replacement. The best open source Linux alternative is WinBoat. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to VirtualBox and many of them are open source and available for Linux so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source Linux alternatives to VirtualBox are QEMU, Proxmox Virtual Environment, KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) and virt-manager.

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Most VirtualBox alternatives are Virtualization Tools, but you can also narrow the list to Compatibility Layer Tools or Server Management Tools. Other popular filters are Free, Linux, Windows, Open Source and Mac. You can also filter for EU-based alternatives if you prefer software from the European Union.
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Alternatives
VirtualBox alternatives page was last updated

Alternatives list

  1. WinBoat icon
     93 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.

    56 WinBoat alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2025

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Docker
    Good alternative?
     
  2. QEMU icon
     317 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.

    50 QEMU alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2009

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    Good alternative?
     
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    8
  3. Proxmox Virtual Environment is a complete and easy to use Open Source virtualization platform for running Virtual Appliances and Virtual Machines. Proxmox VE tightly integrates KVM hypervisor and LXC containers, software-defined storage and networking functionality on a single...

    53 Proxmox Virtual Environment alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2010

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Debian
    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    Good alternative?
     
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    1
  4. KVM (for Kernel-based Virtual Machine) is a full virtualization solution for Linux on x86 hardware containing virtualization extensions (Intel VT or AMD-V). It consists of a loadable kernel module, kvm.

    43 KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2012

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Android
    Good alternative?
     
  5. virt-manager icon
     88 likes

    Comprehensive desktop tool for managing virtual machines using libvirt, supporting KVM, Xen, and Linux Containers. It offers performance stats, resource allocation and virtual hardware configuration with VNC and SPICE clients for graphical consoles.

    40 virt-manager alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2013

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Good alternative?
     
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    3
  6. Boxes icon
     34 likes

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

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2013

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    • GNOME
    Good alternative?
     
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    1
  7. Xen icon
     74 likes

    Xen.org, home of the Xen hypervisor, the powerful open source industry standard for virtualization. It is a native (bare-metal) hypervisor providing services that allow multiple computer operating systems to execute on the same computer hardware concurrently.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2012

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • US flagUnited States
    Xen screenshot 1
    Good alternative?
     
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    5
  8. XCP-ng icon
     47 likes

    XCP-ng is a high-performance, enterprise-level hypervisor with a rich ecosystem and is the result of massive cooperation between individuals and companies. All commercial features are enabled with no commitment required to a support agreement.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2018

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • NVIDIA vGPU
    • AMD MxGPU
    Good alternative?
     
  9. RVVM icon
     5 likes

    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

    Since

    • Since 2024

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Windows
    • Mac
    Good alternative?
     
  10. (formerly XenServer) Citrix Hypervisor is a leading virtualization management platform optimized for application, desktop and server virtualization infrastructures.

    44 Citrix Hypervisor alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2011

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • RadeonPro
    • NVIDIA vGPU
    • AMD MxGPU
    Good alternative?
     
  11. Multipass icon
     9 likes

    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.

    68 Multipass alternatives

    Cost / License

    Since

    • Since 2020

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Snapcraft
    Good alternative?
     
  12. OpenVZ icon
     13 likes

    OpenVZ is container-based virtualization for Linux.

    OpenVZ creates multiple secure, isolated Linux containers (otherwise known as VEs or VPSs) on a single physical server enabling better server utilization and ensuring that applications do not conflict.

    Each container performs.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2013

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
12 of 29 VirtualBox alternatives