Virtual Machine Software Compared: Best Tools for Running Multiple Operating Systems

Choosing the right virtual machine software can make it much easier to run multiple operating systems on the same computer. Developers, IT professionals, students, and everyday users can create isolated environments for testing software, learning Linux, running Windows applications, or experimenting without changing their main system.

The best virtualization tool depends on your computer, operating system, technical experience, and the type of workloads you plan to run.

Some platforms focus on simplicity, while others provide advanced networking, snapshots, cloning, resource management, and deeper integration with professional development environments.

What Is Virtual Machine Software?

Virtual machine software allows one physical computer to behave like several separate computers.

Your main operating system is called the host, while the operating system running inside the virtual machine is commonly called the guest.

For example, you might use a Windows computer as the host while running Ubuntu Linux inside a virtual machine.

A Mac user could run Windows alongside macOS without replacing the original operating system.

The virtual machine receives virtual hardware such as processors, memory, storage, networking, and display resources.

From the guest operating system's perspective, it behaves much like a separate physical computer.

Why Use a Virtual Machine?

Virtual machines are useful because they create isolated environments.

You can install software, change configurations, test operating systems, or experiment with settings without directly modifying your main computer.

Developers frequently use virtual machines to test applications across different operating systems.

IT professionals may use them to practice system administration, networking, security, or server configuration.

Virtualization can also be useful for running older software.

If an application requires a different version of Windows or Linux, a virtual machine may provide the environment needed without requiring a second physical computer.

VirtualBox: A Flexible Starting Point

Oracle VirtualBox is one of the most recognizable virtualization tools for desktop users.

It has long been popular with developers, students, technical users, and people who want to experiment with operating systems without purchasing specialized hardware.

VirtualBox can run multiple guest operating systems and provides tools for configuring processors, memory, virtual disks, networking, USB devices, and other virtual hardware.

One useful feature is Guest Additions.

When installed inside a supported guest system, Guest Additions can improve integration between the virtual machine and host, including features such as shared folders and improved display behavior.

Shared folders are particularly useful when you need to move files between the host computer and the guest environment without relying entirely on cloud storage or network transfers.

Why VirtualBox Appeals to Beginners

VirtualBox can be a practical starting point because creating a basic virtual machine does not require enterprise virtualization knowledge.

Users generally select an operating system, assign memory and processors, create a virtual disk, and attach an installation image.

The software then behaves similarly to a separate computer during installation.

There are still technical concepts to learn, especially around networking, shared folders, Guest Additions, and storage.

However, users can begin with a simple configuration and gradually explore more advanced features.

VMware Workstation Pro: Strong for Development and Testing

VMware Workstation Pro is another major desktop virtualization platform.

It is designed particularly for developers, IT professionals, labs, testing environments, and users who need more advanced virtual machine management.

Workstation Pro can run multiple virtual machines at the same time and provides features such as virtual networking, cloning, multiple VM tabs, and connections to VMware infrastructure.

This can make it useful when one project requires several virtual machines working together.

A developer, for example, might run one VM as a server, another as a database environment, and a third as a client machine.

That type of configuration goes beyond simply running another operating system in a window.

VMware Workstation Pro Is Now Free

Licensing is an important consideration when comparing virtualization platforms.

Broadcom currently states that VMware Workstation Pro and VMware Fusion Pro are available free for commercial, educational, and personal users on supported versions.

That represents a significant change from older licensing models, when Workstation Pro was primarily a paid professional product.

Users should still check the latest Broadcom documentation when downloading because distribution methods, account requirements, and supported versions can change.

The free licensing model makes Workstation Pro more accessible to students, independent developers, businesses, and people building home labs.

Parallels Desktop: Built Around Windows on Mac

Parallels Desktop takes a more specialized approach.

Its main focus is running Windows and other virtual environments on Mac computers while making the guest operating system feel closely integrated with macOS.

Parallels supports current Macs with Apple silicon and Intel processors. The company currently positions it as the Microsoft-authorized third-party solution for running Windows 11 in virtualized environments on Apple silicon Macs.

This makes Parallels particularly interesting for users who own a Mac but still depend on Windows applications.

Instead of keeping a separate PC, they can run Windows alongside macOS.

Running Windows Applications Alongside Mac Apps

One of the main attractions of Parallels is how closely Windows can integrate with the Mac desktop.

The software allows Windows applications to operate alongside macOS applications without requiring the user to restart the computer each time.

This can be useful for professionals who mainly work on macOS but occasionally need Windows-only accounting, engineering, business, or development software.

Parallels also offers different editions depending on the workload.

Its Pro edition supports more demanding environments and higher virtual CPU and memory limits than the Standard edition.

For Mac users whose main goal is Windows compatibility, this polished integration can be more important than having the lowest-cost virtualization platform.

Hyper-V: Virtualization Built Into Windows

Microsoft Hyper-V is another important option, especially for Windows users.

Hyper-V is Microsoft's virtualization platform and is available on supported Professional and Enterprise editions of Windows 10 and Windows 11.

It allows users to create and manage virtual machines directly inside Windows.

Microsoft provides Hyper-V Manager as a graphical management interface, while more technical users can also create and control virtual machines using PowerShell.

This makes Hyper-V attractive in Windows-focused development, testing, administration, and lab environments.

Hyper-V Has Specific Hardware Requirements

Not every Windows computer can run Hyper-V.

Microsoft requires a compatible 64-bit processor with Second Level Address Translation, virtualization support enabled in BIOS or UEFI, and sufficient memory.

Microsoft recommends at least 4 GB of memory as a baseline, although realistic virtual machine workloads often need considerably more.

The host computer must have enough memory for both Windows and every virtual machine running at the same time.

This is an important concept regardless of which virtualization platform you choose.

Virtual machines share the physical resources of the host computer.

RAM Is One of the Most Important Resources

Memory is often the first limitation users encounter.

If your computer has 8 GB of RAM and you assign 4 GB to a virtual machine, the remaining memory still needs to support the host operating system and other applications.

Running several VMs increases the problem.

A development environment with three virtual machines may require significantly more memory than a single Linux test VM.

Do not assign all available RAM to the guest system.

The host still needs enough memory to function comfortably.

If both systems compete heavily for memory, performance may decline quickly.

CPU Allocation Also Matters

Virtual machines use virtual processors that are mapped to resources on the host CPU.

Assigning more virtual CPUs can improve some workloads.

However, more is not automatically better.

The host operating system still needs processing power.

Assigning too many virtual CPUs to a guest can sometimes reduce overall performance rather than improve it.

Start with a reasonable configuration and increase resources only when the workload actually needs them.

This approach makes it easier to balance performance between the host and guest systems.

Storage Can Grow Quickly

Virtual machines also consume significant disk space.

A guest operating system may require tens of gigabytes before you install development tools, updates, applications, project files, or databases.

Running several VMs can therefore consume hundreds of gigabytes.

Virtual disks can often be created dynamically so they grow as data is added rather than immediately occupying their maximum configured size.

Even then, storage planning matters.

Keeping enough free space on the host can help prevent performance and reliability problems.

SSDs Can Improve VM Performance

Virtual machines perform many storage operations.

The guest system needs to boot, load applications, read system files, install updates, and write data.

Running a VM from a fast SSD usually provides a smoother experience than running it from a slow mechanical hard drive.

This becomes even more noticeable when several virtual machines operate simultaneously.

Storage speed is not the only performance factor, but it can have a large impact on how responsive the guest system feels.

Users building development labs should consider storage alongside RAM and CPU capacity.

What Are Virtual Machine Snapshots?

Snapshots allow you to preserve the state of a virtual machine at a particular moment.

This can be extremely useful when testing something risky.

Imagine you have a clean development environment.

Before installing experimental software or changing an important configuration, you create a snapshot.

If the experiment breaks the operating system, you may be able to return to the earlier state rather than reinstall everything.

Snapshots are especially useful for testing, development, training, and software demonstrations.

However, they should not automatically be treated as a complete backup strategy.

Cloning Can Save Setup Time

Cloning creates another virtual machine based on an existing system.

This can save considerable time.

Instead of installing Windows or Linux repeatedly, you can prepare one clean environment and create additional copies when needed.

Developers might create different clones for separate projects.

IT students might create multiple machines for networking exercises.

Testing teams may need identical environments with different software versions.

VMware Workstation Pro includes cloning capabilities as part of its broader professional feature set.

For frequent testing, cloning can be one of the most useful virtualization features.

Virtual Networking Opens More Possibilities

Virtual machines can communicate through virtual networks.

A simple configuration may give the guest internet access through the host computer.

More advanced configurations can create isolated networks between several virtual machines.

This is useful for learning networking, testing server environments, building development stacks, and simulating business infrastructure.

VMware Workstation Pro provides configurable virtual networking options for these types of environments.

Hyper-V also supports virtual switches that can connect virtual machines to different network environments.

Networking is one of the areas where virtualization becomes much more powerful than simply running another operating system.

Shared Folders Make File Transfers Easier

Moving files between the host and guest can become annoying if every transfer requires email, cloud storage, or external devices.

Shared folders solve this problem.

VirtualBox supports shared folders through Guest Additions, allowing selected host folders to become accessible inside supported guest systems.

This makes development workflows easier because project files can remain on the main computer while still being available to the virtual machine.

However, shared folders also reduce isolation between the systems.

For security testing or untrusted software, users may prefer stricter separation.

Virtual Machines Are Useful for Software Testing

One of the strongest use cases for virtualization is testing.

Suppose you develop an application that needs to work on several versions of Windows and Linux.

Buying a separate physical computer for every environment would be expensive and inconvenient.

Virtual machines make it possible to create several test systems on one powerful host.

You can keep each environment independent and reset them when necessary.

This also makes it easier to reproduce bugs.

A specific operating system configuration can remain available as a dedicated virtual machine whenever testing is needed.

Developers Can Create Reproducible Environments

Development environments often become complicated over time.

Projects may require different versions of programming languages, databases, libraries, or operating systems.

Installing everything directly on one computer can create conflicts.

Virtual machines provide stronger isolation.

One project might run inside Ubuntu while another uses Windows.

Each environment can have its own dependencies without changing the host configuration.

Developers can also clone or distribute prepared virtual machines so team members start from similar environments.

Containers may be more efficient for some modern development workflows, but VMs remain useful when full operating-system isolation is required.

Virtual Machines Are Helpful for Learning Linux

Many people interested in Linux hesitate because they do not want to remove Windows or change disk partitions.

A virtual machine provides a safer starting point.

You can install Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, or another distribution inside Windows or macOS and experiment without replacing the host operating system.

If something goes wrong, deleting the virtual machine is usually much easier than repairing a damaged dual-boot setup.

Snapshots can make experimentation even safer.

This makes virtualization particularly useful for students learning system administration or software development.

Virtual Machines Can Improve Isolation

Virtual machines create stronger separation than simply running applications directly on the host.

This can be useful when evaluating unfamiliar software or creating disposable test environments.

However, virtualization should not be treated as perfect security.

Hypervisors and guest systems can still contain vulnerabilities.

Shared folders, network connections, clipboard sharing, USB passthrough, and other integration features create communication paths between host and guest.

For higher-risk testing, users should understand these connections and disable unnecessary integration features.

Isolation is strongest when the virtual environment has only the access it actually needs.

What About Windows 11 in a Virtual Machine?

Windows 11 has additional requirements when installed as a guest operating system.

Microsoft states that supported Windows 11 virtual machines need at least 4 GB of memory, two virtual processors, 64 GB of storage, and appropriate security features such as Secure Boot and virtual TPM in Hyper-V environments.

These requirements mean older virtual machine configurations may need adjustment.

Users should check compatibility before creating the VM.

This is particularly important when testing Windows 11 on older hardware or migrating older virtual machines.

VirtualBox vs. VMware Workstation Pro

VirtualBox remains attractive for users who want a familiar cross-platform virtualization environment with a large community and straightforward access to features such as shared folders.

VMware Workstation Pro goes further in areas such as multi-VM workflows, cloning, advanced virtual networking, and professional development environments.

The licensing gap between the two has also narrowed because Workstation Pro is now available free for supported personal, educational, and commercial uses.

For simple experiments, either may work well.

For more complex labs involving several VMs, VMware's advanced management features may become more valuable.

Parallels vs. Other Virtualization Tools on Mac

Mac users have different priorities.

Parallels focuses heavily on making Windows applications feel integrated with macOS.

On current Apple silicon Macs, it supports Windows 11 and is positioned as the Microsoft-authorized third-party virtualization solution for that environment.

That makes it especially practical for users who need Windows applications as part of their everyday Mac workflow.

Developers running multiple experimental operating systems may value other tools depending on their requirements.

But for someone whose main question is simply "How can I run Windows applications on my Mac?", Parallels offers a particularly streamlined experience.

Hyper-V vs. Third-Party Virtualization

Hyper-V has one major advantage for supported Windows users: it is integrated directly into the operating system.

There is no separate commercial virtualization platform required.

It also works well with Windows administration tools and PowerShell.

However, Hyper-V is available only on supported Professional and Enterprise editions rather than Windows Home.

Third-party tools may provide interfaces or cross-platform workflows that some users find more convenient.

The right option depends on whether your priority is Windows integration, ease of use, advanced testing, or cross-platform flexibility.

Which Virtual Machine Software Is Best for Beginners?

Beginners should focus on simplicity rather than advanced features.

VirtualBox can be a good starting point for users who want to experiment with Linux, learn virtualization concepts, or create a basic test environment.

Parallels is particularly approachable for Mac users whose main goal is running Windows applications without repeatedly restarting the computer.

Windows Pro users may also prefer Hyper-V because it is already part of the operating system.

The best beginner platform is the one that lets you create a useful VM without forcing you to understand every virtualization concept immediately.

Which Tool Is Best for Developers?

Developers often need more advanced capabilities.

VMware Workstation Pro is strong for multi-machine labs, cloning, networking, and repeated testing.

VirtualBox also works well for many development environments and is familiar to users working across different host platforms.

Hyper-V is particularly useful for developers already working deeply inside Windows and Microsoft environments.

Parallels is attractive to developers using Macs who still need Windows tools alongside macOS development software.

There is no universal winner because development workflows vary significantly.

Which Tool Is Best for Running Windows on a Mac?

For most users who want a polished Windows-on-Mac experience, Parallels Desktop is one of the strongest options.

It is optimized around running Windows applications alongside macOS and supports current Apple silicon Macs.

The ability to run Windows without rebooting is especially convenient for people who switch between Mac and Windows applications throughout the day.

Its main trade-off is cost.

Unlike some free virtualization alternatives, Parallels is a commercial product.

For users who depend heavily on Windows applications, the convenience may justify that expense.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is virtual machine software?

Virtual machine software creates virtual computers inside a physical computer, allowing users to run separate operating systems with their own memory, processors, storage, and networking.

What is the best virtual machine software?

The best option depends on your needs. VirtualBox is useful for general virtualization, VMware Workstation Pro for advanced development and testing, Parallels for Windows on Mac, and Hyper-V for supported Windows environments.

Is VirtualBox free?

VirtualBox is widely available as a desktop virtualization platform, although users should review Oracle's current licensing terms for specific components and extensions before business deployment.

Is VMware Workstation Pro free?

Broadcom currently makes supported versions of VMware Workstation Pro available free for commercial, educational, and personal users.

Can I run Windows inside a virtual machine?

Yes. Windows can run as a guest operating system on compatible virtualization platforms when licensing, hardware, and system requirements are satisfied.

Can I run Windows 11 on a Mac?

Yes. Parallels Desktop supports Windows 11 on current Macs, including Apple silicon models.

Does Hyper-V work on Windows Home?

Microsoft states that Hyper-V is available on Windows 10 and Windows 11 Professional or Enterprise editions, not the Home editions.

How much RAM do I need for virtual machines?

It depends on the guest operating system and workload. Your computer needs enough memory for both the host and every running VM, so 16 GB or more can be more comfortable for heavier virtualization.

What is a VM snapshot?

A snapshot preserves the state of a virtual machine at a particular point, allowing users to return to that state after testing or configuration changes.

Are virtual machines safe?

Virtual machines provide useful isolation, but they are not perfectly isolated under every configuration. Shared folders, networking, clipboard sharing, USB access, and software vulnerabilities can create connections between host and guest systems.

Can I run several virtual machines at once?

Yes, if your virtualization platform supports it and your computer has enough CPU, memory, and storage resources. VMware Workstation Pro, for example, is designed to support multiple VMs simultaneously.

Conclusion

Choosing the right virtual machine software depends on what you want to accomplish rather than which platform has the longest feature list.

VirtualBox remains a practical choice for learning, general virtualization, Linux experimentation, and simple development environments.

VMware Workstation Pro provides stronger tools for multi-VM labs, advanced networking, cloning, and professional testing, and its current free licensing makes it considerably more accessible than in the past.

Parallels Desktop is particularly attractive for Mac users who want Windows applications to work closely alongside macOS, especially on modern Apple silicon hardware.

Hyper-V is a strong option for supported Windows Professional and Enterprise systems, particularly when users already work inside Microsoft's development and administration ecosystem.

Hardware should also influence your decision.

Virtual machines require CPU resources, memory, disk space, and fast storage, and running several operating systems simultaneously can place significant demands on the host computer.

Start with a simple configuration and increase resources only when necessary.

For learning and occasional testing, a basic VM may be enough.

For development, infrastructure labs, professional Windows-on-Mac workflows, or complex testing environments, advanced networking, snapshots, cloning, and multi-VM management become much more valuable.

The best virtualization platform is ultimately the one that gives you the isolation and flexibility you need without adding unnecessary complexity to your workflow.