The Quick Emulator (QEMU) is a free and open-source machine emulator and virtualizer. As a Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM) it supports a number of hypervisors, including the Linux-based Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM), Xen, MacOS's HVF, Windows' Hyper-V and a number of others. It is also capable of emulating a number of instruction set architectures on any supported host through its JIT binary translator known as the Tiny Code Generator (TCG). This allows it to emulate full systems or run individual programs compiled for one processor architecture on any other. QEMU supports the emulation of x86, ARM, PowerPC, RISC-V, and many others.
QEMU is free software originally developed by Fabrice Bellard; the first preview release was in 2003. Different components of QEMU are licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL), BSD license, GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL), or other GPL-compatible licenses.
What is QEMU?
QEMU by QEMU Community (developed by Paolo Bonzini) is open-source Windows software in the virtualisation category. It ranks 7th by popularity among virtualisation in this catalogue. It is written in C. Besides Windows, it is available for GNU/Linux, BSD and macOS.
Installation and requirements
The publisher provides EXE (NSIS) installers for 64-bit and ARM64 Windows. Installation asks for administrator rights. A silent install is possible with the installer’s documented switches.
Updates and version history
The current version is 11.1.0, released on August 11, 2026. The version history goes back to June 3, 2021: 19 releases, all linked to the official files. That is about 3.7 releases a year.
Popularity and file types
The Chocolatey package has been downloaded 421,454 times. Wikipedia has an article about it in 22 of our languages. Similar programs include Oracle VirtualBox, Sandboxie and Vagrant.
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Open source: the code can be inspected and built by anyone
- Native ARM64 build for Windows on Arm
- Documented silent install
- Also runs on GNU/Linux, BSD and macOS
Cons
- Installation needs administrator rights
In short: QEMU is an open-source virtualisation tool for 64-bit and ARM64 PCs. Administrators can deploy it unattended.
Screenshots
Is QEMU safe to download?
- The file is served by qemu.weilnetz.de, the publisher’s own domain
- The download link uses HTTPS
- A SHA256 hash is published, so you can verify the file:
F98A8AEB5F7FAEA9765B6DEE28316C266CD179D80354A2FED8E50176F9A2E59F· Open the VirusTotal report for this hash - The link has not been checked yet
- The source code is public
- ExeAtlas does not host, wrap or modify installers
Related guide: How to check a file’s SHA256 hash on Windows
Recent versions
All 19 versions ›19 versions over 5 years · about 3.7 a year
| Version | Date | Size | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11.1.0Latest | August 11, 2026 | — | 64-bit EXE (NSIS)ARM64 EXE (NSIS) |
| 11.0.50 | May 1, 2026 | — | 64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 11.0.0 | April 22, 2026 | — | 64-bit EXE (NSIS)ARM64 EXE (NSIS) |
| 10.2.0 | December 24, 2025 | — | 64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 10.1.0 | August 26, 2025 | — | 64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 10.0.0 | April 22, 2025 | — | 64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 9.2.0 | December 20, 2024 | — | 64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 9.1.0 | September 3, 2024 | — | 64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id SoftwareFreedomConservancy.QEMU -echoco install Qemu -yscoop install main/qemuqemu-w64-setup-20260811.exe /SRelated guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Also for other systems
brew install qemuInformation
- Publisher
- QEMU Community
- Developer
- Paolo Bonzini and Richard Henderson
- Category
- Virtualisation
- Licence
- GPL-2.0
- Price
- Free
- Source code
- git.qemu.org
- Written in
- C
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10
- Architecture
- 64-bit, ARM64
- Installer
- EXE (NSIS)
- Other platforms
- GNU/Linux, BSD, macOS
- Version
- 11.1.0
- Released
- August 11, 2026
- Added to the catalogue
- June 3, 2021
- Versions listed
- 19
- Updates / year
- 3.7
- Chocolatey downloads
- 421,454
- Website
- qemu.weilnetz.de
- winget ID
- SoftwareFreedomConservancy.QEMU
- Chocolatey package
- Qemu
- Scoop package
- main/qemu
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
Alternatives to QEMU
See all ›-
Oracle VirtualBox7.2.22VirtualBox is a general-purpose full virtualization software for x86_64 hardware (with version 7.1 additionally for macOS/Arm), targeted at laptop, desktop, server and embedded use.Open source2.3M ↓ -
Sandboxie5.73.8Sandboxie is a sandbox-based isolation software for 32- and 64-bit Windows NT-based operating systems.Open source95K ↓ -
Proprietary8.9K ↓ -
Open source27.7K ↓ -
Proprietary19K ↓ -
Open source876 ↓ -
Windows Subsystem for Linux2.7.14A feature of Windows that allows you to run a Linux environment on your Windows machine, without the need for a separate virtual machine or dual booting.Open source★ 34.2K -
Omnissa Horizon Client8.20.0Connect to your Omnissa Horizon virtual desktop from your device of choice.Proprietary244.2K ↓
Frequently asked questions
Is QEMU free?
Yes. QEMU is open-source software under the GPL-2.0 licence.
Is QEMU safe to download?
The download comes from qemu.weilnetz.de, which belongs to the publisher; ExeAtlas does not host or change the file. Compare its SHA256 hash with the one shown here, or open the VirusTotal report for that hash.
How do I install QEMU with winget?
Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and run the winget command shown on this page. winget downloads the official installer and checks its SHA256 hash before running it.
Can QEMU be installed silently?
Yes. The silent install page lists the exact command for each installer.
Does QEMU run on ARM (Windows on Arm)?
Yes, there is a native ARM64 installer.
Where can I download an older version of QEMU?
The versions page lists all 19 versions with links to their official installer files, back to June 3, 2021.
What are alternatives to QEMU?
Oracle VirtualBox, Sandboxie, Vagrant, Multipass and BlueStacks. The alternatives page compares them.
