# Alternatives to Docker Toolbox

Pre-Desktop Docker on Windows/Mac. Docker Toolbox has been discontinued; the active alternatives listed here are maintained products you can switch to.

None of its 10 checklist rows are verified yet.

Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/docker-toolbox/
Category: Container tools

## Overview

- **Who it's for**: Developers on older Windows (pre-Windows 10 Pro/without Hyper-V support) or older Mac systems that lacked the hardware virtualization or OS support required to run Docker natively.
- **What you get**: Docker Toolbox bundled Docker Engine, Docker Machine, Docker Compose, Kitematic (a GUI for managing containers), and Oracle VirtualBox into a single installer. It ran Docker inside a lightweight Linux VM managed by Docker Machine, since the host OS could not run the Docker daemon directly. It included a preconfigured Docker Quickstart Terminal to launch the VM and set up the shell environment automatically. It has since been deprecated in favor of Docker Desktop.
- **How it works**: The installer created a VirtualBox VM running a minimal Linux distribution with the Docker daemon inside it; users ran Docker CLI commands from their host terminal (via the Docker Quickstart Terminal), which communicated with the daemon in the VM over a configured connection, or used Kitematic for a graphical interface.

## Profile


## Ranked alternatives

| # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms |
|---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------|
| 1 | [Colima](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/colima.md) | building | MIT | macOS, Linux |
| 2 | [Docker Desktop](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/docker-desktop.md) | building | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| 3 | [k9s](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/k9s.md) | building | Apache-2.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| 4 | [Lens](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/lens.md) | building | Proprietary | ? |
| 5 | [OrbStack](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/orbstack.md) | building | Proprietary | macOS |
| 6 | [Podman](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/podman.md) | building | Apache-2.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| 7 | [Portainer](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/portainer.md) | building | Zlib | Windows, Linux, Web |
| 8 | [Rancher Desktop](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/rancher-desktop.md) | building | Apache-2.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux |

Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/

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Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/