Open Source VirtualBox Alternatives for Windows

There are many alternatives to VirtualBox for Windows if you are looking for a replacement. The best open source Windows alternative is QEMU. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to VirtualBox and 13 are open source and available for Windows so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source Windows alternatives to VirtualBox are Proxmox Virtual Environment, Portable Virtualbox, Bochs and Citrix Hypervisor.

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Open source virtualization tool supporting x86/AMD64, runs on Windows, Linux, Mac, Solaris. Offers portable, lightweight,...

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VirtualBox alternatives page was last updated Feb 13, 2025
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Alternatives
  1. QEMU icon

    QEMU

     286 likes
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    QEMU (short for "Quick EMUlator") is a free and open-source hosted hypervisor that performs hardware virtualization.

    43 QEMU alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

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

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Privacy focused
    3.  Security-focused

    Features

    1.  Virtualization
    2.  GPU Acceleration
    3.  Portable
    4.  Command line interface
    5.  Container Virtualization
    6.  Support for scripting
    7.  User mode emulation
    8.  Emulation

    QEMU VS VirtualBox

     
    Comments about QEMU as an Alternative to VirtualBox
    Top Positive Comment
    Guest
    Jan 12, 2017
    14

    It runs faster than virtualbox using KVM. Also is better suited for production level.

    Most Recent Comment
    Nuncio Bitis
    Positive •Dec 24, 2024
    0

    If you want a GUI to manage QEMU machines, install AQEMU. It works like VirtualBox or VMware GUIs.

    ag123
    Positive •Oct 19, 2023
    2

    it is fast to virtualize (say an iso file) you just have to run two commands

    Show more comments
    3 of 6 comments
    VirtualBox Icon
    QEMU icon

    • Most users think QEMU is a great VirtualBox alternative.

    • QEMU is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to VirtualBox.

    • QEMU is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to VirtualBox.

    • QEMU is Free and Open SourceVirtualBox is also Free and Open Source
    • QEMU is Lightweight and Privacy focusedVirtualBox is not according to our users
  2. Proxmox Virtual Environment icon

    Proxmox Virtual Environment

     131 likes
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    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...

    47 Proxmox Virtual Environment alternatives

    License model

    • Freemium • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    Proxmox Virtual Environment screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Virtualization
    2.  WebUI Management
    3.  High Availability
    4.  Clustering
    5.  Live migration
    6.  Two-factor Authentication
    7.  Container Virtualization
    8.  Portable
    9.  Dark Mode

    Proxmox Virtual Environment VS VirtualBox

     

    • Most users think Proxmox Virtual Environment is a great VirtualBox alternative.

    • Proxmox Virtual Environment is the most popular Android Tablet alternative to VirtualBox.

    • Proxmox Virtual Environment is Freemium and Open SourceVirtualBox is Free and Open Source
    • Proxmox Virtual Environment is LightweightVirtualBox is not according to our users
  4. Portable Virtualbox icon

    Portable Virtualbox

     44 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.

    39 Portable Virtualbox alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Portable Virtualbox screenshot 1
    Discontinued

    Discontinued.

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Command line interface
    2.  Container Virtualization
    3.  Portable
    4.  GNU/linux-libre

    Portable Virtualbox VS VirtualBox

     
    Comments about Portable Virtualbox as an Alternative to VirtualBox
    Evan Sercombe
    Positive •Apr 12, 2018
    -20

    It is basically VirtualBox for mobile.

    VirtualBox Icon
    Portable Virtualbox icon

    • Most users think Portable Virtualbox is a great VirtualBox alternative.

    • Portable Virtualbox is Free and Open SourceVirtualBox is also Free and Open Source
    • Portable Virtualbox is LightweightVirtualBox is not according to our users
  5. Bochs icon

    Bochs

     15 likes
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    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...

    38 Bochs alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    Bochs screenshot 1

    Bochs Features

    1.  X86-emulation
    2. Android icon  Android Sync

    Bochs VS VirtualBox

     
  6. Citrix Hypervisor icon

    Citrix Hypervisor

     22 likes
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    (formerly XenServer) Citrix Hypervisor is a leading virtualization management platform optimized for application, desktop and server virtualization infrastructures.

    37 Citrix Hypervisor alternatives

    License model

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • RadeonPro
    • NVIDIA vGPU
    • AMD MxGPU
    Citrix Hypervisor screenshot 1

    Citrix Hypervisor Features

    1.  Hypervisor

    Citrix Hypervisor VS VirtualBox

     
  7. Multipass icon

    Multipass

     6 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.

    56 Multipass alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Country of Origin

    • GB flagUnited Kingdom

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Multipass screenshot 1

    Multipass VS VirtualBox

     
  9. RVVM icon

    RVVM

     1 like
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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.

    10 RVVM alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Windows
    • Mac
    RVVM screenshot 1

    RVVM Features

    1.  Emulation

    RVVM VS VirtualBox

     
  10. MobaLiveCD icon

    MobaLiveCD

     26 likes
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    MobaLiveCD is a freeware that will run your Linux LiveCD on Windows thanks to the excellent emulator called "Qemu".

    23 MobaLiveCD alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • FR flagFrance
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Main window

    MobaLiveCD Features

    1.  Portable

    MobaLiveCD VS VirtualBox

     
    Comments about MobaLiveCD as an Alternative to VirtualBox
    Guest
    Negative •Sep 8, 2015
    1

    is mounting iso app like poweriso

    VirtualBox Icon
    MobaLiveCD icon
    • MobaLiveCD is Free and Open SourceVirtualBox is also Free and Open Source
8 of 13 VirtualBox alternatives