Open Source VMware Workstation Player AlternativesTop Virtualization Tools and other similar apps like VMware Workstation Player

The best open source alternative to VMware Workstation Player is VirtualBox. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 25 alternatives to VMware Workstation Player and many of them is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to VMware Workstation Player are WinBoat, QEMU, KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) and virt-manager.

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Alternatives list

  1. VirtualBox icon

    VirtualBox

     2935 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.

    65 VirtualBox alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Oracle Solaris
    VirtualBox Manager
     
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    3
    27
    Comments about VirtualBox as an Alternative to VMware Workstation Player
    ph soft
    Positive
    0

    Open source but problems with 3D accelerations (works better in VMWare for me).

    Felippe Henrique Diniz de Castro
    Positive
    -1

    Way better than VMware and Open Source.

    Guest
    Negative
    -10

    Windows guest sound are crackle.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    VirtualBox icon
    VirtualBox icon

    • Most users think VirtualBox is a great VMware Workstation Player alternative.

    • VirtualBox is Free and Open SourceVMware Workstation Player is Free Personal and Proprietary
    • VirtualBox is Lightweight and Privacy focusedVMware Workstation Player is not according to our users
  2. WinBoat icon

    WinBoat

     64 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.

    52 WinBoat alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Docker
    WinBoat screenshot 1
     
  4. QEMU icon

    QEMU

     299 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.

    44 QEMU alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    QEMU with the free OS ReactOS
     
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    6
  5. KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) icon

    KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine)

     119 likes

    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.

    41 KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Android
    KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) screenshot 1
     
  6. virt-manager icon

    virt-manager

     81 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.

    34 virt-manager alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    virt-manager screenshot 1
     
  7. UTM icon

    UTM

     26 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
     
  9. Boxes icon

    Boxes

     30 likes

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

    28 Boxes alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    • GNOME
    Boxes screenshot 1
     
  11. Portable Virtualbox icon

    Portable Virtualbox

     45 likes

    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

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Portable Virtualbox screenshot 1
     
  13. 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
     
  14. 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.

    59 Multipass alternatives

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Snapcraft
    Multipass screenshot 1
     
12 of 28 VMware Workstation Player alternatives