virtual machine program · Canonical

Multipass

Command-line tool that launches Ubuntu and other Linux virtual machines with a single command on Windows, macOS and Linux.

65/100

#6 of 12 virtual machine programs
Facts checked 9 Oct 2026

In short

Multipass is free¹⁴ and open source under GPL-3.0¹¹.
It supports Windows 10 or 11 Home, Pro and Enterprise, from build 1809, with the Virtual Machine Platform feature on².
Guests are Linux only: the image list shows Ubuntu, Ubuntu Core, Debian and Fedora¹⁰.
Version 1.16.4 was released on September 8, 2026¹³.
GitHub lists three published security advisories, two dated May 28, 2026¹².

Multipass suits developers who want a fresh Linux machine in one command¹, on Windows Home or Pro². It is free, open source and recently updated^11,13,14. The catch: it runs Linux guests only¹⁰, and its docs do not describe TPM, GPU, USB or clipboard sharing^3,4,5.

Best for: Developers who want quick Linux virtual machines on a Windows PC.

Where the points come from

Systems13 of 17

Virtual machines14 of 27

Devices6 of 24

Openness and upkeep14 of 14

Price18 of 18

Systems 13 of 17 points

Rule	What is published	Points
Guest systems	LinuxThe find command lists Ubuntu, Debian and Fedora images; no Windows image appears¹⁰.	4 / 8
Also runs on other hosts	macOS, LinuxThe install guide has macOS and Linux (snap) installs; drivers are listed for each^2,3.	4 / 4
Works on Windows Home	YesInstall guide: 'Multipass supports Windows 10 or 11 on Home, Pro, and Enterprise editions'².	5 / 5

Virtual machines 14 of 27 points

Rule	What is published	Points
Snapshots	YesA snapshot records an instance and can be restored; the Apple Virtualization driver lacks it^3,6.	8 / 8
Virtual TPM and Secure Boot	Not publishedNot published on the driver, platform or instance pages^3,4,5.	0 / 5
Network modes	BridgedExtra interfaces attach to a host network, such as a bridge. NAT and host-only are not named as modes⁸.	2 / 6
Nested virtualization	Not publishedNot published on the driver, platform or instance pages^3,4,5.	0 / 4
Starts from a ready-made image	Yesmultipass launch creates an instance from an image; images come from Ubuntu sources and find lists them^9,10,16.	4 / 4

Devices 6 of 24 points

Rule	What is published	Points
3D graphics for guests	Not publishedNot published on the driver, platform or instance pages^3,4,5.	0 / 8
USB devices in the guest	Not publishedNot published on the driver, platform or instance pages^3,4,5.	0 / 6
Shared folders	YesA mount maps a host directory into an instance; on Windows it is off until local.privileged-mounts is set to true^7,15.	6 / 6
Shared clipboard	Not publishedNot published on the driver, platform or instance pages^3,4,5.	0 / 4

Openness and upkeep 14 of 14 points

Rule	What is published	Points
Open source	YesThe repository code is under the GNU General Public License v3.0¹¹.	6 / 6
Security advisories published	YesThe GitHub security tab lists three published advisories, with a security policy¹².	4 / 4
Updated in the last 12 months	YesVersion 1.16.4 was published on September 8, 2026¹³.	4 / 4

Price 18 of 18 points

Rule	What is published	Points
Free edition	YesCanonical's install page says you can use Multipass for free; the code is GPL-3.0 and no paid edition is listed^11,14.	6 / 6
Cheapest licence for work use	$0Free for any use; the install page says 'for free' and the code is GPL-3.0^11,14.	12 / 12

The rule behind each line: how we score virtual machine programs.

Plans and prices

As the vendor lists them, before tax. Prices are in US dollars unless the plan shows euros; the points use US dollars, with euros converted at the ECB rate.

Plan	Price as listed	Per month	Notes
Multipass1 person	Free^11,14	$0	GPL-3.0; no paid edition listed

Strengths

Free under GPL-3.0, with the source on GitHub¹¹.
Works on Windows 10 and 11 Home as well as Pro and Enterprise².
multipass find lists ready-made Ubuntu, Debian and Fedora images to launch¹⁰.
Snapshots record an instance so you can restore it later⁶.
Mounts share a host folder with an instance⁷.

Limits

No Windows guests: the image list shows Linux distributions only¹⁰.
On Windows, mounts are off by default, and mounts run as the SYSTEM account⁷.
The snapshot command works only on stopped instances⁶.
The docs do not describe TPM, Secure Boot, GPU, USB or clipboard sharing^3,4,5.

Concerns on record

Multipass's GitHub security page lists two high-severity advisories published May 28, 2026: a local privilege escalation and an SFTP server VM escape¹².

Other virtual machine programs

1
Oracle VirtualBoxPeople who want a free, open-source virtual machine app on Windows
92/100
$0cheapest licence for work use
2
VMware Workstation ProWindows users who want a free hypervisor with snapshots and shared folders
79/100
$0cheapest licence for work use
3
NanaBoxWindows users who want a light Hyper-V front end with GPU and TPM options
74/100
$0cheapest licence for work use
4
Microsoft Hyper-VWindows Pro users who want virtual machines without extra software
73/100
$0cheapest licence for work use

All 12 virtual machine programs

Sources

Multipass: orchestrate virtual Ubuntu instances, Canonical. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
How to install Multipass, Canonical. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
Driver, Canonical. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
Platform, Canonical. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
Instance, Canonical. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
Snapshot, Canonical. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
Mount, Canonical. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
Set up custom networking, Canonical. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
Image, Canonical. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
find command, Canonical. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
canonical/multipass, GitHub. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
canonical/multipass security, GitHub. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
Multipass latest release, GitHub. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
Install Multipass, Canonical. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
local.privileged-mounts, Canonical. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
launch command, Canonical. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.

Website: canonical.com/multipass · Markdown version · We are not affiliated with Canonical.