Best free option: UTM (Strong). Switching saves about $100 USD a year.
$99.99 USDa year
$129.99 CAD
Every pick below has a free version.
4 alternatives
Covers most of the same work, with trade-offs noted on each card.
Best for free, open-source VMs on Apple silicon
Free and open source from GitHub. The Mac App Store copy costs US$9.99 and is identical. Uses Apple's Hypervisor framework and QEMU. Needs macOS 12 or later. Free version: The GitHub download is free. The Mac App Store copy costs US$9.99 and has the same features.
Best for a free hypervisor with Windows 11 Arm support
Free for personal, commercial and educational use since Nov 2024. Downloads need a free Broadcom account. Support is by documentation and community forums only.
Right for specific needs, or not yet mature enough to recommend widely.
Best for open-source VMs across Windows, Linux and Mac
The base package is GPL-3.0. The Extension Pack uses a separate license that is free for personal and educational use only. Apple silicon hosts can only run Arm guests.
Best for command-line control and unusual guests
A command-line emulator and virtualizer. UTM is built on it. Most Mac users get the same engine with a graphical interface from UTM.
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How each alternative covers what people use Parallels Desktop for. Numbers link to editor notes.
| Feature | UTM | VMware Fusion Pro | VirtualBox | QEMU |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guests | ||||
| Windows 11 on Apple silicon | PartialNote 1Runs Windows 11 Arm, but setup is manual with a driver ISO and SPICE guest tools | YesNote 2Runs Windows 11 Arm guests on Apple silicon | PartialNote 3Windows 11 Arm guests run on Apple silicon hosts since 7.2, but the Arm port is new | PartialNote 4Boots Windows 11 Arm with Apple's Hypervisor acceleration, but every step is manual |
| macOS and Linux guests | YesNote 5Linux and macOS guests on Apple silicon | PartialNote 6Arm Linux guests are supported; macOS guest support was not checked | PartialNote 7Arm Linux guests run on Apple silicon; macOS guests do not | PartialNote 8Runs Linux and many other Arm guests; macOS guests do not run on Apple silicon |
| Integration | ||||
| Windows apps beside Mac apps (Coherence) | NoNote 9No seamless window mode | NoNote 10Unity mode is not available for Windows 11 Arm guests | NoNote 11No seamless window mode is listed for the Apple silicon build | NoNote 12No seamless window mode |
| Shared folders and clipboard | PartialNote 13Shared folders and clipboard need extra guest tools in Windows | PartialNote 14Shared folders work for Linux guests but not for Windows 11 Arm guests | YesNote 15Shared folders and clipboard come with Guest Additions | PartialNote 16Shared folders need manual setup, for example an SMB share |
| Performance | ||||
| 3D graphics and DirectX acceleration | PartialNote 17Limited 3D acceleration; no DirectX acceleration for Windows guests | PartialNote 18DirectX 11 apps run through Windows on Arm emulation; 3D support is narrower than Parallels | PartialNote 193D acceleration on Apple silicon hosts is experimental | NoNote 20No DirectX acceleration for Windows guests |
| Management | ||||
| Snapshots and clones | PartialNote 21Snapshots work for QEMU-backend VMs only | Yes | Yes | YesNote 22qcow2 snapshots from the command line |
| Parity score | 50% | 58% | 58% | 42% |
Not covered by any free alternative yet: Windows apps beside Mac apps (Coherence), 3D graphics and DirectX acceleration. See all feature gaps
Switching saves about $100 USD / $130 CAD a year. Prices checked .
Based on Parallels Desktop Standard, annual subscription. Price source.
Last verified . Ranking: tier first, then the published score.
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Parallels Desktop is a product of Parallels, named here for comparison only. Platforms listed for Parallels Desktop: macOS.