The Best UTM Alternatives for Virtualization on Your Devices
UTM is a remarkable full-featured virtual machine host for iOS, enabling users to run Windows, Android, and various other operating systems directly on their iPhone and iPad. With support for 30+ processors, fast native graphics via SPICE, and JIT-based acceleration, UTM offers powerful virtualization without requiring a jailbreak. However, due to Apple's policies regarding interpreted or generated code, UTM isn't available on the App Store, requiring sideloading. If you're looking for similar functionality on other platforms, or simply exploring different virtualization options, there are several excellent UTM alternative solutions available.
Top UTM Alternatives
Whether you're a developer, a power user, or someone simply looking to experiment with different operating systems, these virtualization tools offer robust features and broad compatibility. Let's explore some of the leading contenders.
VirtualBox
VirtualBox is a powerful, free, and open-source x86 and AMD64/Intel64 virtualization product. It's an excellent UTM alternative for users on Mac, Windows, Linux, BSD, and Solaris. Key features include robust virtualization capabilities, the ability to open VMDK files, and support for multiple languages, making it a versatile choice for both enterprise and home use.
QEMU
QEMU, short for "Quick EMUlator," is a free and open-source hosted hypervisor that performs hardware virtualization. As a backend for UTM itself, QEMU is a strong UTM alternative, particularly for those comfortable with command-line interfaces. It's highly portable and scriptable, supporting virtualization, operating system emulation, and user-mode emulation across Mac, Windows, Linux, and BSD platforms.
VMware Workstation Pro
VMware Workstation Pro is a commercial hypervisor that stands as a powerful UTM alternative for Windows and Linux users. It allows for the creation and running of multiple virtual machines on a single computer, offering robust virtualization features, support for Android Things, and bundled options with macOS, along with multi-language support.
VMware Workstation Player
Building on the robust foundation of Workstation Pro, VMware Workstation Player provides a streamlined user interface for creating and running operating systems in a virtualized environment. It's a free personal-use UTM alternative for Windows and Linux, focusing on ease of use while still delivering core virtualization capabilities for running various operating systems.
KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine)
KVM is a full virtualization solution for Linux on x86 hardware with virtualization extensions. It's a free and open-source UTM alternative that integrates directly into the Linux kernel, offering high performance and scalability. KVM supports emulation, is extensible via plugins, and provides strong virtualization for Linux-based systems and Android.
Parallels Desktop
Parallels Desktop is a popular commercial UTM alternative specifically for Mac users. It seamlessly enables running Windows, Linux, or other operating systems alongside macOS, making it ideal for those who need to run Windows software on their Apple device. Features include excellent operating system integration and robust virtualization.
virt-manager
The virt-manager application is a free and open-source desktop user interface for managing virtual machines through libvirt. Primarily targeting KVM VMs, it also manages Xen and LXC (Linux Containers). It's a solid UTM alternative for Linux and BSD users, offering features like a VNC Viewer, SSH connectivity, live migration, and comprehensive virtual machine management.
Xen
Xen.org, home of the Xen hypervisor, is a powerful open-source industry standard for virtualization. As a native (bare-metal) hypervisor, it provides services that allow multiple operating systems to run on a single machine. It's a high-performance UTM alternative for Linux users who require robust hypervisor capabilities and advanced virtualization.
VMware Fusion
VMware Fusion is a commercial UTM alternative designed specifically for Mac users. It provides a seamless way to run favorite Windows applications and devices on any Intel-based Mac. Built from the ground up for the Mac, it's known for its ease of use and efficient virtualization, making the switch between operating systems effortless.
Portable Virtualbox
Portable Virtualbox is a free and open-source software tool that allows you to run any operating system from a USB stick without a separate installation. It unpacks and adjusts VirtualBox for portable use on Windows. This makes it a unique and flexible UTM alternative for those who need a portable virtualization solution, offering GNU/Linux-libre support and convenient portability.
The world of virtualization offers a rich array of tools beyond UTM, each with its strengths and target audience. From powerful open-source options like VirtualBox and QEMU to commercial solutions like VMware and Parallels, you have plenty of choices to run your desired operating systems. Explore these alternatives to find the best fit for your specific needs, whether you prioritize platform compatibility, specific features, or open-source availability.