Software Alternatives & Reviews

OSBoxes VS Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)

Compare OSBoxes VS Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) and see what are their differences

OSBoxes logo OSBoxes

OSBoxes offers ready-to-use VMware and VirtualBox Linux/Unix guest operating systems.

Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) logo Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)

Learn more about how the Windows Subsystem for Linux works.
  • OSBoxes Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-29
  • Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-17

OSBoxes videos

Using pre-built Virtual Machines from osboxes.org

Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) videos

Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) Tutorial & How To

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to OSBoxes and Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL))
Control Panels
100 100%
0% 0
Web And Application Servers
Terminal Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Development Tools
17 17%
83% 83

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) seems to be a lot more popular than OSBoxes. While we know about 121 links to Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), we've tracked only 10 mentions of OSBoxes. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

OSBoxes mentions (10)

  • Can't change keyboard layout on androidx86 - Lineage OS
    I installed a Lineage OS image from osboxes.org in QEMU, and can't set up a physical keyboard. I added the desired languages in the AOSP keyboard, but no shortcut works for me. On a pure android x86 I changed the layout with Ctrl + Space, but now it won't work. In the shortcut info, the shortcut for switching input method is Search + Space, but what is that search button? Checked Alt, Ctrl, Super -> No result. It... Source: about 1 year ago
  • If There Only Was a Simple Way To Test Software Without Installing It... Oh, There Is?
    For say, over a decade now, it is possible to have a PC within a PC. Computer as a service, is an appropriate term. For example, you could download ready-made virtual PC's from OS Boxes for a lot of Linux operating systems. Granted, though, there aren't many that boast specific applications. For example, I'd love to be able to download a "developer PC" that comes with things like MySQL Workbench, SQL Server... - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • how to import strata from virtual hard disk?
    I went on https://osboxes.org and downloaded a virtual hard disk of opensuse, and when I did brl import I got. Source: about 2 years ago
  • FreeBSD Audio
    I downloaded a version of FreeBSD from osboxes.org to give it a try in VirtualBox. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Can't install OpenSUSE on Oracle VM Virtualbox Manager
    I always download from osboxes.org a premade image, then boot on an install cd and upgrade. It's the only way I've ever gotten OpenSUSE to work via VirtualBox. Source: over 2 years ago
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Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) mentions (121)

  • Attempted to setup windows-linux dual boot on my PC and screwed it all up - please help
    Dual boot is ssooo previous decades. Let me introduce you to WSL, Windows Subsystem for Linux, now you can run Linux (including GUI) seamlessly from within windows. No dual boot, no sacrifice to security with legacy boot, no restarting to use apps and tools from the other OS, use windows and Linux truly side by side. Source: 9 months ago
  • Discussion Thread
    You can ease into it by using Windows Subsystem for Linux. It's quite good at this point. Source: 10 months ago
  • Linux or Windows for coding??
    You can probably get by with wsl. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/about. Source: 12 months ago
  • Connecting python to a scanner
    SANE is Linux-only so it will likely only work on Windows inside of the WSL. Source: about 1 year ago
  • How I installed OctoPrint in WSL and Connected to my Ender 6
    To start with installing OctoPrint within WSL, you will need to install or already have WSL installed. If you do not have WSL installed, navigate to the Microsoft Store (If you're not sure where to find this, see https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/about ). Source: about 1 year ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing OSBoxes and Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), you can also consider the following products

Cloudron - The Cloudron platform helps you effortlessly run web apps on your server.

SSH of Windows' Linux subsystem - Installation instructions for the Windows Subsystem for Linux on Windows 10.

BitNami Application Stacks - BitNami Stacks make it incredibly easy to deploy your favorite open source software.

Laragon - All in one web server.

Termux - Terminal emulator and Linux environment for Android

XAMPP - XAMPP is a free and open-source cross-platform web server that is primarily used when locally developing web applications.