VMware Workstation Pro Alternatives for Linux

There are many alternatives to VMware Workstation Pro for Linux if you are looking for a replacement. The best Linux 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 Pro and 17 are available for Linux so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Linux alternatives to VMware Workstation Pro are WinBoat, QEMU, KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) and VMware Workstation Player.

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Most VMware Workstation Pro alternatives are Virtualization Tools, but you can also narrow the list to Compatibility Layer Tools. Other popular filters are Linux and Free. You can also filter for EU-based alternatives if you prefer software from the European Union.
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Alternatives
VMware Workstation Pro alternatives page was last updated

Alternatives list

  1. VirtualBox icon
     3013 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.

    75 VirtualBox alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2009

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Oracle Solaris
    Good alternative?
     
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    5
  2. 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?
     
  3. 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

    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
    • BSD
    Good alternative?
     
  4. 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?
     
  5. 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?
     
  6. Boxes icon
     34 likes

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

    32 Boxes alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2013

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    • GNOME
    • Flathub
    Good alternative?
     
  7. AQEMU icon
     15 likes

    Qt-based GUI for QEMU on Windows (x64 and ARM64) and Linux, with native ARM64 WHPX acceleration, VM snapshots and drag-and-drop file copy.

    32 AQEMU alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2013

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
  8. Multipass icon
     9 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.

    Cost / License

    Since

    • Since 2020

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Snapcraft
    Good alternative?
     
  9. 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

    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
  10. OpenVZ icon
     13 likes

    OpenVZ is container-based virtualization for Linux.

    OpenVZ creates multiple secure, isolated Linux containers (otherwise known as VEs or VPSs) on a single physical server enabling better server utilization and ensuring that applications do not conflict.

    Each container performs.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2013

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
  11. Virtualization solution for SME and freelancer. With Collax V-Cube you can run several servers, operating systems and applications virtually on only one hardware. Virtualization of hardware, network and storage. Collax V-Cube uses the KVM hypervisor.

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2021

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
  12. Bochs icon
     17 likes

    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...

    42 Bochs alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2011

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
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