Alternatives to Quickemu
Downloads an operating system and builds a properly configured QEMU virtual machine from one short config file. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Quickemu
Downloads an operating system and builds a properly configured QEMU virtual machine from one short config file.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Quickemu.
Multipass
Canonical's tool for launching a fresh Ubuntu virtual machine with one command, on Windows, macOS or Linux.
Multipass launches Ubuntu virtual machines with one command and also runs on Windows hosts, but it focuses on Ubuntu rather than many operating systems.
VirtualBox
The free desktop hypervisor most people start with: run Windows, Linux or BSD in a window on the machine you already have.
VirtualBox provides a graphical interface on Windows, macOS and Linux with snapshots and shared folders, instead of Quickemu's command line and config files.
Virtual Machine Manager
The standard desktop front end for KVM on Linux, plus the command line tools that go with it.
Virtual Machine Manager gives a Linux desktop interface for KVM machines managed through libvirt, including remote hosts over SSH, but it runs on Linux only.
Lima
Launches Linux virtual machines from the command line on macOS, Linux and Windows, with file sharing and port forwarding set up automatically.
Lima launches Linux virtual machines from the command line with automatic file sharing and port forwarding and supports Windows hosts, but only runs Linux guests.
Vagrant
Builds reproducible development virtual machines from a single file.
Vagrant reproduces development machines from one file across several hypervisor providers, but it needs a hypervisor installed and uses the Business Source License.
UTM
Runs Windows, Linux and other systems in a virtual machine on a Mac, iPhone or iPad.
UTM offers a native graphical interface for virtual machines on macOS and iOS, including macOS guests, but it does not run on Linux hosts.
GNOME Boxes
A simple GNOME desktop app for creating and running virtual machines on Linux.
GNOME Boxes is a graphical Linux app that downloads and installs common operating systems automatically, with snapshots and USB redirection, but runs only on Linux hosts.
Also worth comparing
These listings name Quickemu as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
Docker-OSX
Runs a macOS virtual machine inside a Docker container using KVM on Linux.
Quickemu builds a QEMU virtual machine for macOS and many other systems from a short config file, runs on Linux and macOS hosts, and needs no Docker.
macOS (dockur)
A Docker container that runs a macOS virtual machine through QEMU with KVM acceleration.
Quickemu downloads macOS images and builds a QEMU virtual machine from a config file on Linux or macOS hosts, run from the command line rather than a container.
OSX-KVM
Scripts, OpenCore files and firmware images for running macOS in a QEMU/KVM virtual machine on Linux.
Quickemu builds a configured QEMU virtual machine for macOS guests and many other systems from one short config file, running on Linux or macOS hosts without root.
VirtualBuddy
Run macOS virtual machines on an Apple Silicon Mac.
Quickemu builds QEMU machines for macOS, Windows and BSD guests on Linux and macOS hosts, but macOS guests need Apple's images and it is command line only.
VMware Workstation Pro
Type-2 hypervisor for running virtual machines on Windows and Linux desktops.
Quickemu builds QEMU virtual machines from a short config file and downloads images for you, but it is command line only and has no Windows host.
Windows (dockur)
A Docker container that downloads, installs and runs Windows inside a KVM-accelerated virtual machine.
Quickemu downloads Windows and builds a QEMU virtual machine from a short config file on Linux or macOS, run from the command line rather than through Docker.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
