Parallels Desktop Alternatives

Parallels Desktop is described as 'Virtualization tool enabling seamless operation of Windows and Linux on Mac. Support for Windows 11 on Apple Silicon with resource customization' and is a very popular compatibility layer tool in the network & admin category. There are more than 50 alternatives to Parallels Desktop for a variety of platforms, including Linux, Mac, Windows, BSD and Android apps. The best Parallels Desktop alternative is VirtualBox, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Parallels Desktop are Wine, WinBoat, QEMU and Proton.

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Alternatives
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Alternatives list

  1. Darling icon

    Darling

     23 likes

    Darling is a macOS translation layer for Linux. It is designed to run macOS software directly without the need for a hardware emulator, making it fast and efficient.

    28 Darling alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Darling screenshot 1
    Good alternative?
     
  4. WinApps icon

    WinApps

     10 likes

    Allows use of Windows applications, such as Microsoft Office and Adobe software, directly within Linux desktops like GNOME or KDE, using background RDP virtualization and providing file right-click access, home directory mounting, and one-command setup.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    WinApps screenshot 1
    Good alternative?
     
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  6. Multipass icon

    Multipass

     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

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Snapcraft
    • GB flagUnited Kingdom
    Multipass screenshot 1
    Good alternative?
     
  7. AQEMU icon

    AQEMU

     14 likes

    Cross-platform GUI virtual machine manager using QEMU as backend. Support Linux/BSD/Windows 8/10/11

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    AQEMU screenshot 1
    Good alternative?
     
  9. 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.

    40 Portable Virtualbox alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • NO flagNorway
    Portable Virtualbox screenshot 1
    Good alternative?
     
  10. ProtonPlus icon

    ProtonPlus

     7 likes

    A simple Wine and Proton-based compatibility tools manager.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Arch Linux
    • Flathub
    • Fedora
    • Nix Package Manager
    • Wine
    • Flatpak
    • Vala
    • Proton
    • CA flagCanada
    ProtonPlus screenshot 1
    Good alternative?
     
  12. VirtualBuddy icon

    VirtualBuddy

     2 likes

    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.

    56 VirtualBuddy alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • BR flagBrazil
    VirtualBuddy screenshot 1
    Good alternative?
     
  13. QEMU Manager icon

    QEMU Manager

     8 likes

    Qemu Manager is an easy to use management tool for the open-source QEMU emulator. It has a wealth of features for creating, managing and running multiple virtual machines.

    50 QEMU Manager alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    QEMU Manager screenshot 1
    Good alternative?
     
  14. RVVM icon

    RVVM

     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

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Windows
    • Mac
    RVVM screenshot 1
    Good alternative?
     
  15. Lima icon

    Lima

     4 likes

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

    64 Lima alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Good alternative?
     
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