QEMU vs UTM

QEMU is a free, open-source machine emulator and virtualizer. System emulation models an entire machine, including its CPU, memory and devices, so it can run a guest operating system. User-mode emulation runs processes built for one CPU architecture on another. The package also includes qemu-img, a command-line utility for creating, converting and modifying disk images. QEMU can work with KVM, Xen and Hypervisor.Framework so guests can run directly on the host CPU. Supported build platforms include Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD and Windows. Windows support is limited to 64-bit, while macOS requires the newest version currently available; support for the prior version is eventually dropped. For complex networking and storage configurations, the project recommends management tools such as virt-manager. Its security guidance distinguishes virtualization with an accelerator and listed machine type from TCG non-virtualization use, which does not provide guest-isolation or security guarantees. QEMU is released under GNU GPL version 2, with some components under specific licenses.

UTM is a system emulator and virtual-machine host for macOS and iOS that can run Windows, Linux, and other operating systems. Its QEMU backend supports more than 30 processor types, including x86_64, ARM64, ARM32, MIPS, PPC, and RISC-V. On Apple Silicon, UTM uses Apple’s Hypervisor framework for ARM64 systems; Intel Macs can virtualize x86/x64, while Apple Silicon can emulate those architectures at lower performance. Apple Virtualization is also available for macOS and Linux on Apple Silicon. Virtual machines can run with a graphical display, terminal console, or headless, and support snapshots, nested virtualization, and multiple displays. The Mac app supports USB devices, bridged or shared networking, and external-drive storage; iOS supports shared directories, clipboard sharing, and port forwarding. macOS guests are limited to ARM-based Macs running macOS Monterey or later. Windows GPU acceleration is unavailable, and Linux hardware OpenGL acceleration is experimental. The GitHub version is free; the Mac App Store version costs 9.99 USD once and adds automatic updates.