The best virtual machine tools, according to hackers
19 virtual machine tools recommended in Hacker News comments over the past year, ranked by how many separate people recommend each one.
- Most recommendedQEMU114 people recommend it
- Built to lastVirtualBoxowners report a median of 18 years
- Least regretmicrovm.nix14 recommend, 0 criticize
All virtual machine tools
- QEMUA free emulator and VM tool for running other CPU architectures, Windows and disposable test machines, though emulation is slow, setup is fiddly and older operating systems run poorly.114recommend
- UTMFree open-source app for running Linux and Windows virtual machines on Apple silicon Macs, with near-native speed. Common caveats: Windows slower than in Parallels, and some guests lack graphics acceleration.49recommend
- VirtualBoxFree, cross-platform virtual machine app that runs the same on Linux, Windows and Mac and is easy to set up. Common caveat: graphics, clipboard and guest-integration bugs.34recommend
- LimaFree tool for running Linux virtual machines on Mac and Linux, often used as a Vagrant replacement or for quick throwaway VMs. Caveat: defaults and folder mounting may not suit everyone.31recommend
- Parallels DesktopMac virtualization app for running Windows, Linux and macOS guests, valued for near-native speed and GPU acceleration. Critics point to the subscription pricing and limited copy-and-paste.26recommend
- VagrantPeople recommend Vagrant for building repeatable, disposable VM environments from a Vagrantfile, with quick up and destroy cycles. Critics say HashiCorp has mostly abandoned it.25recommend
- Tart by Cirrus LabsRuns macOS and Linux virtual machines on a Mac, well suited to disposable CI and sandboxed dev environments. Critics note it is source-available, not open source.20recommend
- virt-managerRecommended as a fast, lightweight GUI for KVM/QEMU virtual machines, with easy GPU and USB passthrough. Main caveat: critics find the interface unintuitive.17recommend
- libvirtFree tool for scripting and managing KVM/QEMU virtual machines, with a backwards-compatible interface. Critics cite XML-heavy configuration and flaky USB passthrough.14recommend
- microvm.nixA NixOS framework for running lightweight microVMs with stronger isolation than containers, often used for agent sandboxes. People recommend it as a free, declarative option.14recommend
- LumeRecommended for running macOS VMs with unattended setup and an MCP server for agents. Critics say it is weak for GPU-intensive work.12recommend
- VMware WorkstationPeople recommend it for solid USB passthrough, multi-monitor support and snapshots, and it is now free on Linux and Windows.10recommend
- VMware FusionPeople recommend it for stable macOS virtualization and GPU paravirtualization for Linux and Windows guests. The most common caveat is Broadcom's changed download access and licensing.8recommend
- CrostiniFree Linux environment built into ChromeOS for Linux apps and dev tools; critics call it unreliable and restricted.8recommend
- QuickemuPeople recommend Quickemu as a quick way to create and run Linux, Windows and macOS virtual machines with ssh, VNC and SPICE access built in. Some warn that macOS and Windows guests do not always boot.7recommend
- User Mode LinuxRuns the Linux kernel as an ordinary userspace program; people praise it as cool technology that works well.7recommend
- MultipassFree tool for running local VMs on macOS, Windows and Linux, installed with apt or brew. Main caveat: no clear guide to building it as a standalone program.5recommend
- ChromeOS Linux (Crostini)Recommended for running a full Linux desktop with working window management and virtual desktops on a Chromebook, set up from the settings menu. One critic finds graphical apps unpleasant to use there.5recommend
- coLinuxFree software that ran Linux alongside Windows. People recommend it as a technical feat that worked well for students and for people stuck working on Windows.5recommend