6 VirtualBox Alternatives for Running a Virtual Machine on Your PC
Virtualization programs can be extremely helpful if you require an additional OS on your computer without dealing with the hassles of a dual boot system. Out of the myriad of programs available, VMware’s VirtualBox stands out thanks to its ease of use and free distribution.
However, depending on what you’re looking for, VirtualBox might not be the virtualization software for you. Besides, it’s far from perfect and can suffer from performance issues and a lack of features offered by other (often paid) alternatives.
Here are six VirtualBox alternatives that might be better options.
1.VMware Workstation Pro
VMware Workstation Pro is the company’s enterprise Type 2hypervisorwith support for DirectX 11 graphics, Kubernetes and containers, Hyper-V, Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) 2, and of course, a dark mode interface. It can run Windows, Linux, and Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) OSes and runs on most 64-bit Windows or Linux host OSes.
Workstation Pro is also packed with indispensable features for an enterprise environment. Its version 17, the latest release, adds support for TPM 2.0 virtual security devices, OpenGL 4.3 graphics, and faster encryption in addition to standard features like the ability to deploy Kubernetes environments and vGPU and Vulkan rendering engines. It also lets users create extremely powerful virtual machines (VMs) with up to 32 CPU cores, 128 GB RAM, and 8 GB VRAM.
The virtualization program is available in two formats at the time of writing:
2.VMware Fusion
For those in the Apple ecosystem, the company’s move to custom M-series silicon meant that the popular Apple virtualization program, Boot Camp, no longer let users run Windows on their Macs. However, VMware’s got your back with the Fusion, a virtualization program that can run Windows, Linux, containers, Kubernetes, and more without even rebooting your Mac.
If you want to keep using VMware, it’s the perfect VirtualBox alternative for macOS. You can create reasonably powerful VMs with up to 32 CPU cores, 128 GB RAM, 10 TB virtual disks, and 8 GB of vRAM per VM. There’s support for DirectX 11 and OpenGL 4.3, and yes, integrated GPUs are supported, although only on Intel-based Macs. It also adds TPM 2.0 virtual security and faster encryption allowing for support for modern guest OSes, including Windows 11.
Like VMware Workstation, it’s also available in two versions:
3. Microsoft Hyper-V
Microsoft’s Hyper-V is an excellent VirtualBox alternative, especially if you’re on Windows. For starters, it’s built into Windows as an additional feature, so there’s nothing to download. If you have the Pro or Enterprise versions of Windows, you can simply enable it using either the Control Panel, PowerShell, or the Deployment Imaging Servicing and Management tool (DISM).
Hyper-V specifically provides hardware virtualization, meaning each VM runs on virtual hardware. You can also create virtual hard drives, switches, and several other virtual devices that can be added to your VMs to increase functionality.
It is a bit more complicated to use than VMware’s simple interfaces, but having the feature built into Windows eliminates some friction. Besides,Microsoft’s guides on enabling Hyper-Vand making VMs are reasonably good.
QEMU stands for Quick Emulator and is an open-source and free virtualization program that’s quite powerful, but also the least user-friendly. That said,setting up a QEMU VM on an Ubuntumachine isn’t all that difficult. It does several things differently from other virtualization programs, though, such as using an integrated VNC server to show the guest OS screen instead of relying on the graphical interface of the host OS.
It can also be paired with KVM (Kernel-Based Virtual Machine) or Xen to run VMs almost as fast as they would run natively on the hardware, mimicking the performance of aType-1 Hypervisor. QEMU can emulate a complete machine in software without hardware virtualization support, meaning it’s compatible with just about any hardware and can run almost any OS in a virtual environment.
5.Parallels Desktop
Parallels is a virtualization program for macOS that rivals VMware Fusion in terms of functionality but beats it by a lot when it comes to price. It can run over 200,000 Windows programs, including Microsoft Office, and on both Intel and Apple silicon. It’s also one of the few programs providing virtualization capabilities on ChromeOS.
You also get a lot of ease-of-use features, such as the ability to seamlessly copy and paste text or drag and drop files between macOS and Windows. Since it supports TPM 2.0 virtualization, you can also run Windows 11. In fact, the program is optimized for Windows 11 and macOS Ventura, meaning performance is also good enough to run resource-intensive programs.
Finally, just because the program is optimized for Windows doesn’t mean it can’t emulate Linux machines. Parallels Desktop 18, the latest version, supports Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, Fedora 36, CentOS Linux 9 Stream, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Kali Linux 2022.2, and more.
It’s available in three variants, namely Standard, Pro, and Business, priced at $99.99, $119.99, and $149.99, respectively, although you might see slashed prices due to frequent sales. Parallels Desktop Standard and Pro variants offer a better deal than VMware Fusion if you don’t already have a macOS virtualization program.
6.KVM (Kernel-Based Virtual Machine)
Linux is often a guest host for VMs, but if you need to run a VM on Linux, you can try KVM. It’s a virtualization program for Linux on x86 hardware that contains virtualization extensions for Intel VT (Virtualization Technology) and AMD-V.
The hypervisor lets you run multiple VMs running unmodified Windows or Linux images. Additionally, each VM also gets private virtualized hardware, including a network making it an excellent option to set up a quickpenetration testing labon your Linux machine.
It is free to use and open-source. Besides, the kernel component of KVM is already included in mainline Linux, starting with version 2.6.20.
There’s Lots of Competition in the VM Space
Whether you’re on Windows, macOS, or Linux, several VirtualBox alternatives loaded with features will scratch your virtualization itch. These programs make it incredibly easy to get multiple OSes running on a single machine, and their varying capabilities make them the perfect fit for anything from a home lab to an enterprise deployment.
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