Parallels Desktop vs VirtualBox

Overview

VirtualBox

Stacks31.1K

Followers25.6K

Votes1.1K

Parallels Desktop

Stacks39

Followers76

Votes2

Parallels Desktop vs VirtualBox: What are the differences?

Parallels Desktop and VirtualBox are both popular virtualization software that allows users to run multiple operating systems on a single machine. However, there are key differences between the two that make each unique and suitable for different use cases.

Performance: Parallels Desktop is known for its superior performance compared to VirtualBox. It offers better graphics acceleration and overall speed, making it a great choice for resource-intensive tasks such as gaming or running software that requires a lot of processing power.
Ease of Use: VirtualBox, on the other hand, is known for its simplicity and user-friendly interface. It is relatively easier to set up and navigate, making it a suitable choice for beginners or users who prefer a straightforward virtualization experience.
Integration with Host OS: Parallels Desktop offers seamless integration with the host operating system, allowing users to easily share files and access peripherals as if they were using the native OS. VirtualBox, while still capable of integrating with the host, may require additional configurations and settings to achieve the same level of integration.
Cost: Parallels Desktop is a commercial software that requires a paid license, whereas VirtualBox is an open-source software that is free to use. This difference in cost may be a significant factor for users who are on a budget or prefer open-source solutions.
Virtual Machine Management: Parallels Desktop provides a more polished and feature-rich virtual machine management interface. It offers advanced features such as snapshots, easy cloning, and the ability to configure virtual machine resources with greater flexibility. Although VirtualBox also provides these features, they may not be as intuitive or comprehensive as in Parallels Desktop.
Cross-Platform Support: VirtualBox shines when it comes to cross-platform compatibility. It can run on various operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Linux, and Solaris. Parallels Desktop, on the other hand, is primarily designed for macOS but also supports Windows and Linux. This difference makes VirtualBox a more versatile choice for users who work across different platforms.

In summary, Parallels Desktop offers superior performance, seamless host OS integration, and advanced virtual machine management features at a cost. On the other hand, VirtualBox is known for its ease of use, cross-platform compatibility, and open-source nature. The choice between the two depends on factors such as specific use case, budget, familiarity with the software, and preferred OS environment.

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Detailed Comparison

VirtualBox	Parallels Desktop
VirtualBox is a powerful x86 and AMD64/Intel64 virtualization product for enterprise as well as home use. Not only is VirtualBox an extremely feature rich, high performance product for enterprise customers, it is also the only professional solution that is freely available as Open Source Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL) version 2.	Parallels Desktop for Mac allows you to seamlessly run both Windows and MacOS applications side-by-side with speed, control and confidence.
Portability;No hardware virtualization required;Guest Additions: shared folders, seamless windows, 3D virtualization;Great hardware support;Multigeneration branched snapshots;VM groups;Clean architecture; unprecedented modularity;Remote machine display	Seamless;Easy Setup;Lightning Fast;Coherence mode;Retina Display Support;Touch Bar;Office 365 Integration;Automatic resolution change;Drag and drop;Picture-in-Picture;macOS guest support
Statistics
Stacks 31.1K	Stacks 39
Followers 25.6K	Followers 76
Votes 1.1K	Votes 2
Pros & Cons
Pros 358 Free 231 Easy 169 Default for vagrant 110 Fast 73 Starts quickly	Pros 1 Retina support 1 Works out of the box with zero config
Integrations
No integrations available	Vagrant Chef Docker

What are some alternatives to VirtualBox, Parallels Desktop?

Proxmox VE

It is a complete open-source platform for all-inclusive enterprise virtualization that tightly integrates KVM hypervisor and LXC containers, software-defined storage and networking functionality on a single platform, and easily manages high availability clusters and disaster recovery tools with the built-in web management interface.

VMware vSphere

vSphere is the world’s leading server virtualization platform. Run fewer servers and reduce capital and operating costs using VMware vSphere to build a cloud computing infrastructure.

KVM

KVM (for Kernel-based Virtual Machine) is a full virtualization solution for Linux on x86 hardware containing virtualization extensions (Intel VT or AMD-V).

Qemu

When used as a machine emulator, it can run OSes and programs made for one machine (e.g. an ARM board) on a different machine (e.g. your own PC). By using dynamic translation, it achieves very good performance. When used as a virtualizer, it achieves near native performance by executing the guest code directly on the host CPU. it supports virtualization when executing under the Xen hypervisor or using the KVM kernel module in Linux. When using KVM, it can virtualize x86, server and embedded PowerPC, 64-bit POWER, S390, 32-bit and 64-bit ARM, and MIPS guests.

Parallels

It is an application and desktop virtualization software vendor that offers management and delivery platforms for Apple macOS and Microsoft Windows desktop deployments.

VMware Fusion

It gives Mac users the power to run Windows on Mac along with hundreds of other operating systems side by side with Mac applications, without rebooting. It is simple enough for home users and powerful enough for IT professionals, developers and businesses.

Xen

It is a hypervisor using a microkernel design, providing services that allow multiple computer operating systems to execute on the same computer hardware concurrently. It was developed by the Linux Foundation and is supported by Intel.

VMware vSAN

It is enterprise-class, storage virtualization software that, when combined with vSphere, allows you to manage compute and storage with a single platform. You can reduce the cost and complexity of traditional storage and take the easiest path to hyperconverged infrastructure and hybrid cloud. Evolve to an integrated hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) solution with vSAN to improve business agility, all while speeding operations and lowering costs.

Oracle VM Server

It is a zero license cost server virtualization and management solution that makes enterprise applications easier to deploy, manage, and support. Backed worldwide by affordable enterprise-quality support for both Oracle and non-Oracle environments, it reduces operations and support costs while increasing IT efficiency and agility.

Virtuozzo

It is an operating system-level server virtualization solution designed to centralize server management and consolidate workloads, which reduces overhead by reducing the number of physical servers required. Organizations use it for server consolidation, disaster recovery, and server workload agility.

Related Comparisons

Parallels Desktop vs VirtualBox: What are the differences?

Performance: Parallels Desktop is known for its superior performance compared to VirtualBox. It offers better graphics acceleration and overall speed, making it a great choice for resource-intensive tasks such as gaming or running software that requires a lot of processing power.
Ease of Use: VirtualBox, on the other hand, is known for its simplicity and user-friendly interface. It is relatively easier to set up and navigate, making it a suitable choice for beginners or users who prefer a straightforward virtualization experience.
Integration with Host OS: Parallels Desktop offers seamless integration with the host operating system, allowing users to easily share files and access peripherals as if they were using the native OS. VirtualBox, while still capable of integrating with the host, may require additional configurations and settings to achieve the same level of integration.
Cost: Parallels Desktop is a commercial software that requires a paid license, whereas VirtualBox is an open-source software that is free to use. This difference in cost may be a significant factor for users who are on a budget or prefer open-source solutions.
Virtual Machine Management: Parallels Desktop provides a more polished and feature-rich virtual machine management interface. It offers advanced features such as snapshots, easy cloning, and the ability to configure virtual machine resources with greater flexibility. Although VirtualBox also provides these features, they may not be as intuitive or comprehensive as in Parallels Desktop.
Cross-Platform Support: VirtualBox shines when it comes to cross-platform compatibility. It can run on various operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Linux, and Solaris. Parallels Desktop, on the other hand, is primarily designed for macOS but also supports Windows and Linux. This difference makes VirtualBox a more versatile choice for users who work across different platforms.

Parallels Desktop vs VirtualBox

Overview