Are you seeking the best virtual machine for your Mac M1 or M2? A virtual machine is a software that creates a virtual computer environment. It will develop a hosting operating system and allow you to utilize Virtual CPU storage and memory network interface. It lets you use another operating system along with the one you already have, but it won’t be installed on your computer.
There are numerous virtual machine software programs available on the market, but only a few of them support the most recent Apple silicon chip, which is M1 or M2. As a result, we tried this virtual machine, which is both free and paid, but you can run it on your M1 check without any errors. Software developers regularly provide a friendly place for Mac M1 users.
In this article, we are going to review the best virtual machine software for Mac M1.
Are Virtual machines work fast like physically installed OS?
Virtual machines function similarly to real installations, but you can never achieve the same performance as a physically installed operating system because the virtual environment consumes more CPU load and physical memory, making virtual machine applications 95% slower than physical ones.
Using a Virtual machine is legal?
If you want to run an operating system on a virtual machine, you must have a license, but there are many free operating systems that you can test for free. For example, if we talk about Windows 10, there is a free version of Windows 10 available on Microsoft’s website that you can download and test on a virtual machine legally.
List Of The Top Virtual Machine Software for Mac
1. Virtual Box
There are many features in VirtualBox that make it a great tool for virtualization. Firstly, it is free and open-source software. This means that anyone can use it and contribute to its development. Secondly, it is very easy to use. It has a simple user interface, which makes it easy to create and manage virtual machines.
Thirdly, VirtualBox is very versatile. It supports a wide range of operating systems and hardware platforms. Fourthly, VirtualBox is very efficient. It uses very few resources and can run on both high-end and low-end hardware. Finally, VirtualBox is constantly being updated with new features and improvements.
Pros:
Let’s take a more in-depth look at each of these points.
As FOSS, VirtualBox is available at no cost and can be used by anyone without any licensing restrictions. This makes it an ideal choice for those who want to try out virtualization without spending any money.
VirtualBox is also cross-platform compatible. This means that you can install it on Windows, macOS, or Linux and use it to run virtual machines created for any of these platforms. This makes it very versatile and means that you’re not limited to using only one type of computer or operating system.
VirtualBox has a huge range of features, making it one of the most powerful virtualization tools available. It supports 64-bit guest operating systems, multiple CPU cores, USB 2.0 and 3.0 devices, networking, disk encryption, and much more. This makes it suitable for running almost any type of workload in a virtual machine.
Cons:
There are a few potential cons to using VirtualBox, which include:
1. It can be difficult to set up.
2. You may need to use the command line interface (CLI) to manage virtual machines, which can be daunting for some users.
3. It doesn’t support certain features that other virtualization software does, such as 3D graphics and USB passthrough.
Price: Free
Visit website: Virtual Box
2. QEMU
QEMU is a generic and open-source machine emulator and virtualizer. It is often used to develop and test operating systems and applications that run on real hardware. QEMU can also be used to provide virtualization for other purposes, such as running several virtual machines on a single server.
QEMU is available for many different platforms, including Linux, Windows, macOS, and BSD.
It can be used to emulate a wide variety of architectures, including x86, ARM, PowerPC, and MIPS. QEMU is typically used in conjunction with KVM ( Kernel-based Virtual Machine) to provide full virtualization on Linux systems. When used this way, QEMU can take advantage of special features of the processor that allow it to run multiple guest operating systems at near-native speeds.
QEMU has a number of features that make it very versatile and useful for both developers and users. For example, it supports live migration of guests from one host to another with no downtime. This makes it ideal for use in cloud environments where resources may need to be dynamically allocated between different users or workloads.
Pros:
- QEMU is available for a wide variety of platforms including Linux, Windows, BSD, and Mac OS X.
- It has a built-in debugger which can be used to debug guest operating system code.
- It supports KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) which allows it to use the hardware virtualization features of the host CPU to improve performance.
- QEMU can run a wide range of guest operating systems including Linux, Windows, Solaris and BSD.
- It supports a variety of CPU architectures including x86_64, ARM, PowerPC and SPARC.
Cons:
- QEMU can be slow when emulating certain guests operating systems such as Windows.
- The built-in debugger can be difficult to use for beginners.
- KVM requires a processor with hardware virtualization support which may not be available on all machines.
Visit website: QEMU
Price: Free
Also Read: 6 Best iOS Emulator for Mac M1 & M2: Run iOS Apps (2022)
3. Citrix Hypervisor
Citrix Hypervisor is a powerful and feature-rich hypervisor that enables businesses to virtualize their workloads and consolidate their server infrastructure. It offers a wide range of features and benefits, making it an ideal choice for businesses of all sizes.
If you’re looking for a powerful and reliable virtualization solution, Citrix Hypervisor is definitely worth considering. This platform offers a wide range of features and benefits that can really help simplify and streamline your IT infrastructure.
Some of the key features of Citrix Hypervisor include:
- Support for a wide range of operating systems and workloads
- Comprehensive management capabilities
- Flexible networking options
- High performance and scalability
- Reduced server hardware costs
- Reduced power and cooling costs
- Increased server utilization and consolidation ratios
- Improved business continuity and disaster recovery
Visit website: Citrix Hypervisor
Price: Only those who use Citrix Virtual Apps can use this service at no cost. Application Virtualization using Citrix: Every monthly user will cost you $10.
4. VMware Fusion
VMware Fusion is a desktop virtualization solution from VMware that allows users to run Windows and other operating systems on a Mac without rebooting. It’s designed for individuals and businesses who need to use both Mac and Windows applications side-by-side. Fusion provides a simple and intuitive interface that makes it easy to get started with virtualization. Unlike other virtualization solutions, Fusion doesn’t require users to have any knowledge of virtualization or experience with setting up virtual machines.
Fusion 13 supports macOS 12 Monterey and macOS 13 Ventura.
Pros:
• Seamless integration with Mac environment
• Robust and stable virtualization platform
• Excellent performance
• Comprehensive set of features
• Easy to use
Cons:
• Limited to running only two virtual machines at a time on the standard edition
• Can be expensive for enterprise use
• Some users have reported stability issues
Visit website: VMware Fusion
Price: $149 – $241/Trial: Yes | 30 days
5. Xen Project
The Xen Project is a free and open-source hypervisor that is being made by developers from all over the world. The goal of the project is to make a secure, scalable, and fast virtualization platform that is the best in the business.
With Xen Project software, companies can put more work on fewer servers and save money while keeping security and flexibility at a high level. The project also gives developers the tools and technologies they need to make new platforms and services for cloud computing.
The Xen Project hypervisor has been used by Amazon, IBM, Oracle, Microsoft, and many other leaders in their fields. It is also what cloud platforms like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and OpenStack are built on.
Pros:
• Open source
• Scalable
• Cross-platform
• High performance
• Secure
Cons:
• Difficult to install
• Not user friendly
• Limited documentation
Price: Free
Visit website: Xen Project
6. Google Cloud Compute Engine
Google Cloud Compute Engine is a cloud-based computing service that provides users with on-demand access to virtual machines (VMs), which they can use to run applications and store data. VMs are created from images stored in Google’s globally distributed image repositories. Google Cloud Compute Engine enables users to launch as many or as few VMs as they need, and they only pay for the resources they consume.
Google Cloud Compute Engine offers a number of advantages over other cloud-based computing services, including its price and performance. In terms of price, Google Cloud Compute Engine is very competitive, offering customers a variety of pricing options that are designed to meet their specific needs. In terms of performance, Google Cloud Compute Engine consistently delivers high levels of performance, making it a good choice for businesses that need fast and reliable access to their applications and data.
Pros:
- Google Cloud Compute Engine is a powerful and reliable cloud computing platform.
- It is easy to use and manage.
- It offers a wide range of features and services.
- It is affordable.
- It is backed by Google, a trusted name in the industry.
Cons:
- There have been some reports of performance issues with Google Cloud Compute Engine.
- Some users have found the learning curve to be steep.
- There is a limited number of applications and services available on the platform.
Price: 90 free trial
Visit website: Google Cloud Compute Engine
7. Microsoft Hyper-V
If you want to install Microsoft Hyper-V on macOS, you won’t be able to do so because it was developed specifically for Windows users.
Microsoft Hyper-V is a hypervisor-based virtualization system for x86-64 systems. It was originally developed by Microsoft for Windows Server 2008 and has since been included in all subsequent Windows Server releases. Hyper-V allows for the creation of virtual machines (VMs) on a single physical server and provides a platform for running multiple operating systems (OSes) simultaneously.
Hyper-V features include:
- Virtual machine migration: It supports live migration of VMs from one host to another, with no downtime. This enables easy load balancing and ensures high availability of VMs.
- Storage replication: Hyper-V can replicate VM storage between hosts, allowing for quick recovery in the event of host failure.
- Network virtualization: Hyper-V allows for the creation of virtual networks, which are isolated from the physical network. This enables better control and security of network traffic.
- Dynamic memory: Hyper-V can dynamically allocate memory to VMs based on need, making efficient use of server resources.
- RemoteFX: RemoteFX is a Microsoft technology that allows for rich graphical experiences in remote desktops and apps. It makes use of GPUs to render graphics locally, while sending only compressed images over the network.
Price: $24.95 Cloud per month
Visit website: Hyper-V
These are the best free and paid Virtual machines for Mac. We hope this guide helped to find the best option for you. If you have any suggestions then let us know via comment.
Related Apple Silicon:
Great review, thanks! I’m on Mac and need to have additional software from other platforms 😉