VMware Fusion Alternatives for Mac

There are many alternatives to VMware Fusion for Mac if you are looking for a replacement. The best Mac alternative is VirtualBox, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 25 alternatives to VMware Fusion and 17 are available for Mac so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Mac alternatives to VMware Fusion are Parallels Desktop, UTM, Multipass and Lima.

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Alternatives list

  1. VirtualBox icon

    VirtualBox

     2953 likes

    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.

    69 VirtualBox alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Oracle Solaris
    VirtualBox Manager
     
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    4
    VirtualBox vs VMware Fusion Comments
    Hans
    Positive
    0

    VirtualBox is a free alternative

    vb078
    Positive
    -1

    Open source and free with nearly the same options.

    ByteRanger
    Negative
    0

    While VirtualBox has never failed me on a Linux host, I have never been able to get VirtualBox working reliably on MacOS. The free/opensource part of VirtualBox doesn't even hold a candle to VMware feature wise. The added extensions module that makes it more comparable to VMware is only free for personal use, and the commercial license is priced like VMware's server offerings, many times more expensive than VMware Fusion Pro.

    3 of 4 comments
    • VirtualBox is Free and Open SourceVMware Fusion is Free and Proprietary
    • VirtualBox is Lightweight and Privacy focusedVMware Fusion is not according to our users
  2. Parallels Desktop icon

    Parallels Desktop

     147 likes

    Virtualization software for running Windows, Linux, and other OSes on Mac. Supports Windows 11 on Apple Silicon, resource adjustments, and seamless app access and file sharing between OS environments.

    58 Parallels Desktop alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Parallels Desktop screenshot 1
     
  4. UTM icon

    UTM

     28 likes

    UTM is a full featured system emulator and virtual machine host for iOS and macOS. It is based off of QEMU. In short, it allows you to run Windows, Linux, and more on your Mac, iPhone, and iPad.

    59 UTM alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    • visionOS
    UTM screenshot 1
     
  5. Ad
    Screenshot
    Parallels Desktop icon
    Parallels Desktop

    Virtualization software for running Windows, Linux, and other OSes on Mac. Supports Windows 11 on Apple Silicon, resource adjustments, and seamless app access and file sharing between OS environments.

    https://www.parallels.com
    Learn More
  6. Multipass icon

    Multipass

     7 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.

    63 Multipass alternatives

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Snapcraft
    Multipass screenshot 1
     
  7. Lima icon

    Lima

     3 likes

    Lima launches Linux virtual machines on macOS, with automatic file sharing, port forwarding, and containerd.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
     
  8. RVVM icon

    RVVM

     3 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

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Windows
    • Mac
    RVVM screenshot 1
     
  10. Vmtek icon

    Vmtek

     Like

    VMTek is the Mac virtualization platform you've been waiting for. Run multiple instances and versions of macOS*, Linux and other operating systems side-by-side on your Mac with ease. High performance Mac-native virtualization designed from the ground up to take advantage of...

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Vmtek screenshot 1
     
  11. Karton icon

    Karton

     4 likes

    Run Linux programs on macOS, a different Linux distro, or a different architecture.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
     
  12. Boot Camp icon

    Boot Camp

     18 likes

    Boot Camp is a utility by that assists users in installing Windows 10 on Macs. Boot Camp guides users through non-destructive re-partitioning (including resizing of an existing APFS partition, if necessary) of their hard disk drive and automatically downloads Apple-provided...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Boot Camp screenshot 1
     
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    2
    Boot Camp vs VMware Fusion Comments
    Guest
    Negative
    1

    Boot Camp is not a hypervisor or virtualization technology, it is a dual-boot tool

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Negative
    0

    Bootcamp is basically a very specialized partition manager to allow the installation of windows on apple machines. It also comes with windows drivers for the hardware used by apple.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    • Boot Camp is Free and ProprietaryVMware Fusion is also Free and Proprietary
  13. Veertu icon

    Veertu

     1 like

    Run Windows and Linux on your Mac alongside OS X. Veertu is simple, light, secure virtualization software designed for Mac.

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Veertu screenshot 1
     
  14. Turbo.net for Mac icon

    Turbo.net for Mac

     1 like

    Turbo.net for Mac runs PC apps on your Mac without having to install a Virtual Machine.

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Online
    • Chrome OS
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    Run IE and PC browsers on Mac
     
  15. VirtualBuddy icon

    VirtualBuddy

     1 like

    VirtualBuddy can virtualize macOS 12 and later on Apple Silicon, with the goal of offering features that are useful to developers who need to test their apps on multiple versions of macOS, especially betas.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    VirtualBuddy screenshot 1
     
12 of 17 VMware Fusion alternatives