Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Porting Kit VS CodeWeavers CrossOver

Compare Porting Kit VS CodeWeavers CrossOver and see what are their differences

Porting Kit logo Porting Kit

Install Windows Games in Mac OS X natively and easily and for free with Wineskin technology

CodeWeavers CrossOver logo CodeWeavers CrossOver

Don't buy a Windows license, don't reboot and don't use a Virtual Machine. Try a free trial of CrossOver to run your Windows software on Mac, Linux and Chrome OS.
  • Porting Kit Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-03-23
  • CodeWeavers CrossOver Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-02-09

Porting Kit features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Porting Kit offers a simple and intuitive interface that makes it easy for users to port Windows games and applications to macOS.
  • Compatibility
    It supports a wide range of Windows applications and games, providing macOS users with access to software that otherwise wouldn't be available on their operating systems.
  • Cost-Effective
    Porting Kit is a cost-effective solution compared to purchasing a separate Windows machine, as it allows users to run Windows apps directly on their Mac.
  • Community Support
    Being supported by an active community, users can find tutorials, guides, and troubleshooting tips to enhance their experience with the tool.

Possible disadvantages of Porting Kit

  • Performance Issues
    Some applications and games may not run at optimal performance levels due to the emulation layer between Windows software and macOS.
  • Compatibility Limitations
    While it supports a wide range of applications, there are still some Windows programs and games that might not work as expected or at all.
  • Technical Knowledge Requirement
    Users might need a certain level of technical knowledge to troubleshoot issues and fully utilize the software’s capabilities.
  • Potential Stability Concerns
    Since Porting Kit operates as an intermediary layer, there can be stability issues leading to crashes or unexpected behavior in some applications.

CodeWeavers CrossOver features and specs

  • Compatibility
    CrossOver enables users to run many Windows applications on macOS, Linux, and Chrome OS without requiring a Windows license or virtual machine.
  • Performance
    Applications generally run faster and consume fewer resources as compared to running them in a virtual machine because CrossOver eliminates the overhead associated with a full Windows OS.
  • Ease of Use
    The interface is user-friendly, allowing even non-technical users to install and run Windows applications with relative ease.
  • Cost
    CrossOver is generally less expensive than purchasing a Windows license and a virtual machine software, offering a cost-effective solution for running Windows applications.
  • Official Support
    CrossOver provides official technical support and frequent updates, which can be an advantage over community-supported tools like Wine.
  • Integration
    Windows applications run more seamlessly within your native operating system environment, making them appear like native applications.

Possible disadvantages of CodeWeavers CrossOver

  • Limited Compatibility
    While CrossOver supports many Windows applications, it does not support all of them. Some applications may not run perfectly or may have performance issues.
  • Subscription Model
    CrossOver operates on a subscription model, which might be a con for users looking for a one-time purchase option.
  • Dependency on Wine
    CrossOver is based on Wine, an open-source project, meaning your experience is partially dependent on the progress and limitations of the Wine project.
  • Performance Overhead
    Although less resource-intensive than virtual machines, there's still some performance overhead associated with translating Windows API calls to the host OS.
  • Initial Setup
    While easier than some alternatives, initial setup and configuration can still be complex for users unfamiliar with compatibility layers or Windows applications.
  • Licensing Restrictions
    Certain commercial or enterprise licenses may have restrictions or limitations that can complicate using CrossOver in a business environment.

Porting Kit videos

How to play Windows games on your Mac with Porting Kit

More videos:

  • Review - Porting Kit Diaries: Anno 1404 for Mac and M1 Apple Silicon

CodeWeavers CrossOver videos

Crisis on Infinite Earths: Crossover Review

More videos:

  • Review - Top 10 New Crossover Cars with Updated Looks, Prices and Specifications in 2019
  • Review - 2019 Compact Crossover Challenge | MotorWeek Comparison Test

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Porting Kit and CodeWeavers CrossOver)
Group Chat & Notifications
Cloud Computing
42 42%
58% 58
Gaming
37 37%
63% 63
Tool
40 40%
60% 60

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Porting Kit and CodeWeavers CrossOver

Porting Kit Reviews

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CodeWeavers CrossOver Reviews

15 Lutris Alternatives
CrossOver is a compatibility layer for Windows that lets the program run natively on Linux, macOS, and Chrome OS, among others. This free and open-source program has many useful features and functions that make it easy to link your Windows programs together. The business edition is excellent for large organizations because it has better support and more powerful features....

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Porting Kit seems to be a lot more popular than CodeWeavers CrossOver. While we know about 33 links to Porting Kit, we've tracked only 1 mention of CodeWeavers CrossOver. 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.

Porting Kit mentions (33)

  • Help installing wine 7.0 on mac
    Not sure what your goals are with wine, but if it just to play some games, let me suggest that you take a look at portingkit, which does a lot of the wine heavy lifting for you. Maybe that'll meet your needs. https://portingkit.com. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Porting kit Skyrim issues on M1 Mac mini (low settings)
    Thanks for your reply, it's basically a way to have a library of wine wrappers: https://portingkit.com. Source: over 3 years ago
  • I have a 2020 MacBook Air and I’ve literally tried everything, GeForce is laggy for me parallels and bootcamp need an intel processor, and crossover has issues🤦🏽‍♂️ Is there anything else to try?
    Porting kit is a free wine based solution. Doesn’t work as well as crossover but it’s free https://portingkit.com/. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Age of Mythology crashes after 5 minutes
    It's running fine for me with https://portingkit.com on my M1 Air 8GB. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Help
    Your options include: Parallels with Windows 11 ARM Insider Preview, Crossover 21, WineSkin, PlayOnMac, or Porting Kit. Source: over 3 years ago
View more

CodeWeavers CrossOver mentions (1)

  • Anyone try V Rising on Parallels or Crossover?
    Here you go https://codeweavers.com/crossover. Source: almost 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Porting Kit and CodeWeavers CrossOver, you can also consider the following products

Wine - Open Source Software for running Windows applications on other operating systems.

PlayOnLinux - PlayOnLinux will allow you to play your favorite games on Linux easily

WineBottler - WineBottler is an App to manage and wrap your Windows apps into convenient OS X apps.

Turbo.net for Mac - Turbo.net for Mac runs PC and other apps on Mac without VMs.

Proton - Compatibility tool for Steam Play based on Wine and additional components

QEMU - QEMU (short for "Quick EMUlator") is a free and open-source hosted hypervisor that...