VMware Workstation Player Alternatives for Mac

VMware Workstation Player is not available for Mac but there are plenty of alternatives that runs on macOS with similar functionality. 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 Workstation Player and 11 are available for Mac so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Mac alternatives to VMware Workstation Player are QEMU, Parallels Desktop, VMware Fusion and UTM.

filter to find the best alternatives

VMware Workstation Player alternatives are mainly Virtualization Tools, but if you're looking for Compatibility Layer Tools you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Linux, Open Source, Free and Mac. You can also filter by region, for example EU-based alternatives if you prefer software developed in the European Union. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to VMware Workstation Player.
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Alternatives list

  1. VirtualBox icon

    VirtualBox

     2926 likes
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    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.

    63 VirtualBox alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    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.
    VMware Workstation Player Icon
    VirtualBox icon

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

    • VirtualBox is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to VMware Workstation Player.

    • VirtualBox is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to VMware Workstation Player.

    • 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. QEMU icon

    QEMU

     296 likes
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    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
  4. Parallels Desktop icon

    Parallels Desktop

     145 likes
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    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.

    56 Parallels Desktop alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Subscription
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Chrome OS
    Parallels Desktop screenshot 1
     

    • Parallels Desktop is the most popular commercial alternative to VMware Workstation Player.

    • Parallels Desktop is Paid and ProprietaryVMware Workstation Player is Free Personal and Proprietary
  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. VMware Fusion icon

    VMware Fusion

     115 likes
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    Seamlessly run your favorite Windows applications and devices, on any Intel-based Mac. Built from the ground up for the Mac, VMware Fusion is the easiest way to switch to Mac—letting you bring all of your Windows applications with you, making the most of your Windows software...

    40 VMware Fusion alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    VMware Fusion screenshot 1
     
  7. UTM icon

    UTM

     25 likes
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    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.

    56 UTM alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    • visionOS
    UTM screenshot 1
     

    • UTM is the most popular iPhone & iPad alternative to VMware Workstation Player.

    • UTM is Free and Open SourceVMware Workstation Player is Free Personal and Proprietary
    • UTM is Privacy focused and LightweightVMware Workstation Player is not according to our users
  8. Lima icon

    Lima

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

    57 Lima alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
     
  10. RVVM icon

    RVVM

     3 likes
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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.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Windows
    • Mac
    RVVM screenshot 1
     
  11. Multipass icon

    Multipass

     7 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.

    57 Multipass alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Snapcraft
    Multipass screenshot 1
     

  12. JavaQemu

     4 likes
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    JavaQemu is a Graphical User Interface Front End for QEMU, written in Java.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    JavaQemu screenshot 1
     
  13. VirtualBuddy icon

    VirtualBuddy

     1 like
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    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

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    VirtualBuddy screenshot 1
     
  14. lume VM icon

    lume VM

     2 likes
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    A lightweight CLI and local API server to create, run and manage macOS and Linux virtual machines (VMs) natively on Apple Silicon.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Python
    • Apple Swift
    • Homebrew
    lume VM screenshot 1
     
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