The 5 Best VirtualBox Alternatives for Windows in 2019

1

VirtualBox

VirtualBox is a great piece of virtualization software from Oracle. It is free, easy to use and brings the potential of virtual machines to the home. It is used in enterprise but the free version is most often used at home to host different operating systems within your Windows installation. VirtualBox isn’t the only show in town though. Here are what I think are the best VirtualBox alternatives for Windows in 2019.

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2

Workstation Player

VMware Workstation Player is a pro-level virtualization product owned by VMWare. The company runs many of the busiest enterprise virtual machine operations around and VMware Workstation Player is a very competent product. It does everything VirtualBox does like allow multiple guest installations, manage multiple operating system types and work with portable installations.

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3

QEMU

QEMU is free and open source and works with most host and guest operating systems. The name apparently stands for Quick Emulator and does live up to its name. QEMU is available for Linux, MacOS and Windows hosts and will work with the same guest OS. It’s a straightforward install and fairly straightforward to set up. Once done, you have full control over your VM.

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4

microsoft.com Windows Virtual PC

The interface looks a little like Windows Media Player and setup is very straightforward. Designed for Windows 7 and not updated much since, it does still work in Windows 10. It isn’t the most powerful offering or the most flexible but if you’re staying within Windows and just want to play around, Windows Virtual PC should do the trick.

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5

Parallels

Parallels was originally designed to run Windows guests within MacOS hosts. That expanded to include all host operating systems and should now run on any Intel-based computer. I didn’t find this as intuitive to use as VirtualBox or VMWare but it makes short work of installing guest OS. It is easy to set up too which is always good.

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XenServer may be a little much for the average home user but if you’re learning about VMs for work or want to develop your skills for the workplace, XenServer comes a close second to VMWare in terms of power and ubiquity. It is free for home use and open source and is very powerful indeed.