Wine AlternativesOnly apps categorised as Compatibility Layer Tools
The best Compatibility Layer alternative to Wine is Proton, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 25 alternatives to Wine and many of them are Compatibility Layer Tools so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Compatibility Layer Tool alternatives to Wine are PlayOnLinux - PlayOnMac, CrossOver, Bottles and Parallels Desktop.
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Wine alternatives are mainly Compatibility Layer Tools, but if you're looking for Virtualization Tools or Game Library Managers you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Linux + Compatibility Layer. 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 Wine.- Compatibility Layer Tool
- Free • Open Source
40 Proton alternativesProton is a tool for use with the Steam client which allows games which are exclusive to Windows to run on Linux kernel operating system. It uses Wine to facilitate this.
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application type
Country of Origin
United States
Platforms
- Linux
- Steam
Proton Features
Proton VS Wine
Comments about Proton as an Alternative to Wine
Top Positive CommentMost Recent CommentKelson VProton's built on Wine and built into Steam. It's a lot simpler to run the native Steam client and let it run the game through an optimized environment than to try to configure it yourself for each game.
Proton is much easier to use than wine, you only download it with Steam and ready without many settings.
42 PlayOnLinux - PlayOnMac alternativesPlayOnLinux is a graphical frontend for the Wine software compatibility layer which allows Linux and Mac users to install Windows-based video games, Microsoft Office (2000 to 2010), Microsoft Internet Explorer, as well as many other applications.
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application type
Country of Origin
France
EU
Platforms
- Mac
- Linux
- BSD
- Wine
- FreeBSD
PlayOnLinux - PlayOnMac Features
PlayOnLinux - PlayOnMac VS Wine
Comments about PlayOnLinux - PlayOnMac as an Alternative to Wine
vXtreniusXPlayOnLinux uses wine technology in a simple, easy to use user interface.
40 CrossOver alternativesCross-platform utility enables seamless installation and execution of Windows applications on macOS, Linux, and Chrome OS. No Windows license required—facilitates easy app management with a few clicks, eliminates the need for virtual machines and reboots, delivering efficient compatibility layer operation.
License model
- Paid • Proprietary
Application type
Country of Origin
- United States
Platforms
- Mac
- Linux
- Android
- Chrome OS
CrossOver Features
CrossOver VS Wine
Comments about CrossOver as an Alternative to Wine
Kelson VCrossOver is a commercial distribution of Wine that contributes to the upstream version - and it has much better install tools!
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
Country of Origin
Germany- EU
Platforms
- Linux
- Flathub
Bottles VS Wine
56 Parallels Desktop alternativesVirtualization 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.
License model
- Paid • Proprietary
Application types
Country of Origin
- United States
Platforms
- Mac
- Chrome OS
Parallels Desktop Features
Parallels Desktop VS Wine
Comments about Parallels Desktop as an Alternative to Wine
Parallels Desktop is a virtualization software, Wine is a compatibility layer. They're not even remotely the same and do completely different things.
Putting on a price for something incredible like this is not a surprise. It runs perfectly well on Mac, unlike VirtualBox that requires a lot of space and Wine as well. There's a 14-day free trial so there is no harm trying it. No credit card info, nothing. Just a bit of clearing up space and finding your Windows OS and you're good to go. It's pretty incredible I must say. Anyone who gave Wine a shot MUST try this one!
33 Whisky alternativesWhisky provides a clean and easy to use graphical wrapper for Wine built in native SwiftUI. You can make and manage bottles, install and run Windows apps and games, and unlock the full potential of your Mac with no technical knowledge required.
DiscontinuedWhisky is no longer actively maintained. Apps and games may break at any time.
Whisky VS Wine
5 Winlator alternativesIn this digital age, our smartphones and tablets have become indispensable tools for both work and play. While Android offers a vast ecosystem of apps, it has often left users longing for the convenience of their favorite Windows applications. But fear not!
DiscontinuedThe development has been paused for now.
Winlator VS Wine
48 Mythic alternativesAn open-source Epic Games Launcher alternative and normal game launcher for macOS written in Swift. We started this project to create a GUI frontend for Legendary and to play Windows games using game porting toolkit by Apple.
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application type
Country of Origin
- United States
Platforms
- Mac
Mythic VS Wine
34 WineBottler alternativesWineBottler is an App to manage and wrap your Windows apps into convenient OS X apps. WineBottler helps you with running Windows programs on OS X.
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application type
Country of Origin
- Germany
- EU
Platforms
- Mac
- Wine
DiscontinuedThe application has not been updated for almost three years: https://bitbucket.org/winebottler/winebottler/src/master/, https://bitbucket.org/winebottler/winebottler/src/master/It also does not support the latest versions of macOS: https://www.reddit.com/r/winehq/comments/j43ziq/comment/g7gqpk5/
WineBottler Features
WineBottler VS Wine
Comments about WineBottler as an Alternative to Wine
I've used it for many apps
WineGUI Features
WineGUI VS Wine
Steam have build in proton so you can run your games with steam on linux.