Best Parallels Desktop Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 platforms from virtual machine software ranked against Parallels Desktop on the same published basis.
- 1Parallels Desktop vs Proxmox VE
- 2Parallels Desktop vs QEMU
- 3Parallels Desktop vs VMware Workstation Pro
- 4Parallels Desktop vs KVM
- 5Parallels Desktop vs Oracle VirtualBox
- 6Parallels Desktop vs Xen Project Hypervisor
- 7Parallels Desktop vs virt-manager
- 9Parallels Desktop vs Citrix XenServer
- 10Parallels Desktop vs oVirt
- 11Parallels Desktop vs Multipass
- 12Parallels Desktop vs UTM
- 13Parallels Desktop vs OpenNebula
- 14Parallels Desktop vs XenServer
- 15Parallels Desktop vs GNOME Boxes
- 16Parallels Desktop vs Scale Computing Platform
- 17Parallels Desktop vs Citrix Secure Private Access
- 18Parallels Desktop vs Proxmox Backup Server
- 19Parallels Desktop vs IBM z/VM
- 20Parallels Desktop vs Cloud Hypervisor
- 21Parallels Desktop vs IBM PowerVM
Parallels Desktop alternatives compared
| # | Platform | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Proxmox VE | 9.0 | Free plan | €10/mo | Android, API, Linux, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 2 | QEMU | 8.3 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 3 | VMware Workstation Pro | 8.2 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted, Windows |
| 4 | KVM | 8.1 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted |
| 5 | Oracle VirtualBox | 8.0 | No | — | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 6 | Xen Project Hypervisor | 7.8 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted |
| 7 | virt-manager | 7.5 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted |
| 9 | Citrix XenServer | 7.3 | No | — | — |
| 10 | oVirt | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | API, Linux, self-hosted, Web |
| 11 | Multipass | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 12 | UTM | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | iOS, Mac |
| 13 | OpenNebula | 6.8 | No | — | API, Linux, self-hosted, Web |
| 14 | XenServer | 6.7 | No | — | Windows, Linux |
| 15 | GNOME Boxes | 6.5 | No | — | Linux |
| 16 | Scale Computing Platform | 6.5 | No | — | Web |
| 17 | Citrix Secure Private Access | 6.3 | No | — | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 18 | Proxmox Backup Server | 6.3 | No | €46.67/mo | Linux, Web |
| 19 | IBM z/VM | 6.1 | No | — | — |
| 20 | Cloud Hypervisor | 6.1 | No | — | Linux |
| 21 | IBM PowerVM | 6.0 | No | — | — |
Make your platform an alternative to Parallels Desktop
See the priceThe sponsored alternative slot on this page is labelled and never changes the order above.
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 9.0 out of 10. The others here: QEMU, VMware Workstation Pro, KVM and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to Parallels Desktop?
Proxmox VE is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 9 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
How are these alternatives ranked?
Ranked on how quickly a newcomer can get going: documentation depth, a free tier or trial, and the platforms it runs on. Paid placements never change a rank.