Best Free Virtualization Software For macOS

Apple’s macOS is a great operating system. But even amazing operating systems have shortcomings, one of them being not being able to execute some important applications. In the case of macOS, there are software like Microsoft Access, Adobe Photoshop and other Windows based applications that demand Microsoft Windows for operation. However, Microsoft and Apple despite being competitors, have always tried to fill the gaps in terms of supporting each other’s applications. Virtualization has helped them achieve this task allowing Mac devices to run Windows applications and vice versa.

Hence, if you are a Mac user who also wants to run Windows operating system with macOS, this article will benefit you.

Free Virtualization Software For macOS:

In this article, we’ve discussed about the best and free virtualization software for Mac devices. Have a look at them!

Boot Camp

When talking about running another operating system on Mac, we cannot ignore Boot Camp, Apple’s own utility to run Windows on Mac computers. Even Though, Boot Camp is not a virtualization software, there’s no better software you can lean on when it comes to playing Windows-based games on Mac PC.

The software comes preloaded on Mac and permits Mac users to use both Windows and macOS on the same device. Additionally, as the operating system directly executed from the hard drive, it also renders better user experience compared to virtualization software.

The only disadvantage other than only being able to run Windows is that you need to restart the computer every time you want to switch to the other operating system. Therefore, like virtualization software, you can’t use both operating systems parallelly.

Note: – Many Mac users use both Boot Camp and a virtualization software for quick access and better performance. You can do that too if you’ve got enough resources on your Mac device.

QEMU

QEMU or Quick EMUlator is another great software that is open source and supports Linux, Windows and macOS. What it does is, it emulates (imitates) software and hardware types and controls administrative privileges in order to run the guest operating system.

The source code is directly injected into the host machine, which helps QEMU to offer near-native performance. QEMU is perfect if you want a pint-sized virtual machine that can be stored in a compact flash drive. However, you need some patience to install QEMU. Here’s how you can install QEMU on your Mac: –

• Download and install Homebrew. Visit the official website https://brew.sh/
• Open terminal on Mac
• Type “$ brew install qemu” in the terminal

Further, get an image file of the operating system you want to use on Mac (you can find it online) and run it until you’re bored!

VMWare

If you want things to be simple, use VMWare. The free version of VMWare allows its users to run all major operating systems on your Mac machine. VMWare is pretty old and popular in the game and hence over time evolved a lot according to user requirements. It offers three versions: The Free VMWare Workstation Player, VMWare Fusion ($79.99) and VMWare Workstation ($249.99).

The paid versions are generally used by professionals. But if you’re a home user, VMWare Free can cater your needs. Popular operating systems such as Linux and Windows are efficiently supported by VMWare.

The software is user-friendly and installs conveniently unlike QEMU. You can seamlessly switch the operating systems and can be called as one of the most dependable options available out there.

VirtualBox

VirtualBox is a skillful virtualization application that is entirely free! Yes, the source code of the software is owned by Oracle. VirtualBox is a powerful software that offers smooth switching capabilities on macOS. The software can be quickly installed and supports all major operating systems.

VirtualBox comes together with software packages that are specially created to benefit users to transfer files between the host and the guest operating systems. The program offers laudable hardware support, multi-screen resolution, 3D virtualization and many other features. Basically, VirtualBox deserves a thumbs up when it comes to the number of features for no money at all. Click here to download VirtualBox.

These are the best free Mac software that are stable and can be used to deploy various operating systems on your Mac. Use them and share your experience in the comments section below. Also, do not hesitate to ask any questions related to installation or usage.