Open Source Windows Sandbox AlternativesVirtualization Tools and other similar apps like Windows Sandbox

The best open source alternative to Windows Sandbox is VirtualBox. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Windows Sandbox and many of them is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to Windows Sandbox are WinBoat, QEMU, Sandboxie Plus and KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine).

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Windows Sandbox alternatives page was last updated

Alternatives list

  1. VirtualBox icon
     2954 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
     
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  2. WinBoat icon
     72 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.

    53 WinBoat alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Docker
     
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  3. QEMU icon
     304 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.

    45 QEMU alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
     
  4. Sandboxie Plus icon
     396 likes

    Sandboxie Plus creates a sandbox-like isolated operating environment in which applications can be run or installed without permanently modifying the local or mapped drive.

    22 Sandboxie Plus alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
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  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.

    42 KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Android
     
  6. virt-manager icon
     84 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
     
  7. UTM icon
     29 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
     
  8. Boxes icon
     33 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

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    • GNOME
     
  9. Firejail icon
     38 likes

    Firejail is a SUID security sandbox program that reduces the risk of security breaches by restricting the running environment of untrusted applications using Linux namespaces and seccomp-bpf.

    21 Firejail alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
     
  10. 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.

    35 Xen alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
     
12 of 41 Windows Sandbox alternatives