Best Parallels Desktop Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 apps from virtual machine software ranked against Parallels Desktop on the same published basis.
- 1Parallels Desktop vs Proxmox VE
- 2Parallels Desktop vs VMware Workstation Pro
- 3Parallels Desktop vs QEMU
- 4Parallels Desktop vs Oracle VirtualBox
- 5Parallels Desktop vs KVM
- 6Parallels Desktop vs Xen Project Hypervisor
- 7Parallels Desktop vs Multipass
- 9Parallels Desktop vs virt-manager
- 10Parallels Desktop vs GNOME Boxes
- 11Parallels Desktop vs oVirt
- 12Parallels Desktop vs Citrix XenServer
- 13Parallels Desktop vs OpenNebula
- 14Parallels Desktop vs UTM
- 15Parallels Desktop vs Scale Computing Platform
- 16Parallels Desktop vs Citrix Secure Private Access
- 17Parallels Desktop vs IBM z/VM
- 18Parallels Desktop vs XenServer
- 19Parallels Desktop vs Proxmox Backup Server
- 20Parallels Desktop vs IBM PowerVM
- 21Parallels Desktop vs Cloud Hypervisor
Parallels Desktop alternatives compared
| # | App | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Proxmox VE | 9.5 | Free plan | €10/mo | Android, API, Linux, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 2 | VMware Workstation Pro | 8.8 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted, Windows |
| 3 | QEMU | 8.7 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 4 | Oracle VirtualBox | 8.5 | No | — | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 5 | KVM | 8.4 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted |
| 6 | Xen Project Hypervisor | 8.3 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted |
| 7 | Multipass | 8.2 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 9 | virt-manager | 7.8 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted |
| 10 | GNOME Boxes | 7.5 | Free plan | Free | Linux |
| 11 | oVirt | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | API, Linux, self-hosted, Web |
| 12 | Citrix XenServer | 7.0 | No | — | — |
| 13 | OpenNebula | 6.9 | No | — | API, Linux, self-hosted, Web |
| 14 | UTM | 6.8 | Free plan | Free | iOS, Mac |
| 15 | Scale Computing Platform | 6.6 | No | — | Web |
| 16 | Citrix Secure Private Access | 6.5 | No | — | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 17 | IBM z/VM | 6.2 | No | — | — |
| 18 | XenServer | 6.2 | No | — | Windows, Linux |
| 19 | Proxmox Backup Server | 6.2 | No | €46.67/mo | Linux, Web |
| 20 | IBM PowerVM | 6.1 | No | — | — |
| 21 | Cloud Hypervisor | 6.1 | No | — | Linux |
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Questions about Parallels Desktop alternatives
What is the best alternative to Parallels Desktop?
Proxmox VE, number 1 in virtual machine software with a score of 9.5 out of 10. The others here: VMware Workstation Pro, QEMU, Oracle VirtualBox and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to Parallels Desktop?
Proxmox VE is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 10 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
How are these alternatives ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes: documentation depth, a free tier and the platforms it runs on.