Citrix Hypervisor is a popular bare‑metal hypervisor for delivering virtual desktops and apps. Below is a curated list of 20 alternative hypervisors, VDI platforms, and cloud‑based virtualization solutions that can run Citrix Virtual Apps (formerly XenApp) and provide comparable VDI capabilities.
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Enterprise‑class bare‑metal hypervisor with robust VM management, high‑availability, and seamless integration with Citrix Virtual Apps via the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops connector.
Microsoft’s built‑in hypervisor for Windows Server and Windows 10/11, offering live migration, replication, and native support for Citrix Virtual Apps through the Citrix Hypervisor connector.
Acropolis Hypervisor (AHV) is a fully‑integrated, enterprise‑grade hypervisor that works with Nutanix Prism and supports Citrix Virtual Apps via the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops connector.
Open‑source virtualization platform combining KVM and LXC containers, with a web‑based UI and API that can host Citrix Virtual Apps workloads when paired with the Citrix connector.
Enterprise KVM‑based virtualization platform built on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, offering centralized management and compatibility with Citrix Virtual Apps via the standard connector.
Free, cross‑platform desktop hypervisor that can be used for small‑scale VDI labs and testing Citrix Virtual Apps deployments.
Open‑source cloud operating system that orchestrates compute, storage, and networking resources; can provision VMs for Citrix Virtual Apps using the Nova compute service.
Complete VDI solution that includes a hypervisor (vSphere) and delivery agents; fully supports publishing Citrix Virtual Apps alongside Horizon desktops.
Microsoft’s DaaS platform that delivers Windows 10/11 multi‑session VMs; can host Citrix Virtual Apps workloads using the Citrix Cloud connector.
Fully managed DaaS service on AWS; supports installing Citrix Virtual Apps on the Windows or Linux WorkSpace images for hybrid delivery.
Scalable IaaS offering that can run VMs for Citrix Virtual Apps; integrates with Citrix Cloud for seamless app delivery.
VDI and application delivery platform that competes directly with Citrix; can also host Citrix Virtual Apps as a secondary delivery method.
Enterprise cloud operating system with KVM‑based hypervisor, offering high‑performance VDI and support for Citrix Virtual Apps via standard connectors.
Hyper‑converged infrastructure powered by VMware vSphere; provides a ready‑to‑run VDI environment that can host Citrix Virtual Apps workloads.
Hyper‑converged platform using a proprietary hypervisor built on KVM; supports VDI workloads and can run Citrix Virtual Apps VMs.
Enterprise hypervisor for IBM Power Systems, offering high‑performance virtualization; compatible with Citrix Virtual Apps when deployed on AIX or Linux VMs.
Oracle’s cloud compute service that can host VMs for Citrix Virtual Apps, with fast networking and integrated security.
Container‑based virtualization platform that also supports KVM VMs; can be used for lightweight VDI and Citrix Virtual Apps deployments.
Open‑source fork of Citrix Hypervisor (XenServer) that adds community‑driven enhancements; fully compatible with Citrix Virtual Apps.
Kubernetes extension that enables running VMs alongside containers; can host Citrix Virtual Apps in a cloud‑native environment.