Considering this topic has expanded a bit to talk about other VM Software, I’ll flesh out the list for macOS as the host including my own quick assessment of each:
- Parallels Desktop - Full Featured
- Generally the fastest, with the most features and on the bleeding edge.
- VMware Fusion - Full Featured
- Full PC end-to-end virtualization including BIOS/EFI. VMs are compatible with Workstation for Windows and vice versa.
- UTM - Core Features
- Excellent support across OSes including macOS, but limited support or technical setup needed for features such as clipboard sharing, file sharing, etc.
- VirtualBox - Core Features
- Good support across OSes but lacking much integration with host OS.
- VirtualBuddy - Limited Features
- A nice wrapper around Apple’s macOS virtualization features. Only virtualizes macOS guests and only runs on Apple Silicon Macs.
- Viable - Limited Features
- Another nice wrapper around Apple’s macOS virtualization features but with less UI refinement in comparison to VirtualBuddy. Only virtualizes macOS guests and only runs on Apple Silicon Macs.
Folks may disagree with these assessments and that’s fine. VM preference can very much be a controversial discussion similar to one’s computer choice (Mac, Windows, Linux, etc.), phone choice (iOS, Android, AOS, etc.), Linux distribution choice, political party preference, choice of programming language, tabs versus spaces, dogs versus cats, etc.
What other notable VM solutions for macOS, are missing from the list?