VirtualBox Alternatives for Linux

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

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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. 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...

    40 VMware Workstation Pro alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2009

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
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    7
  4. 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
  5. 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?
     
  6. 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
  7. 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.

    45 VMware Workstation Player alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free Personal
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2009

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
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    1
  8. 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
  9. 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
  10. VMware vSphere Hypervisor ( based on ESXi ) is a free bare-metal hypervisor that virtualizes servers so you can consolidate your applications on less hardware.

    45 VMware vSphere Hypervisor alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2010

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • NVIDIA vGPU
    • AMD MxGPU
    Good alternative?
     
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    1
  11. 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?
     
  12. 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?
     
12 of 34 VirtualBox alternatives