Best virtualenv Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 apps from Python package managers ranked against virtualenv on the same published basis.
- 1virtualenv vs ActiveState Platform
- 2virtualenv vs Hatch
- 3virtualenv vs pip
- 4virtualenv vs pip-tools
- 5virtualenv vs Pixi
- 6virtualenv vs uv
- 7virtualenv vs Astral
- 8virtualenv vs conda-lock
- 9virtualenv vs Miniconda
- 10virtualenv vs Anaconda Notebooks
- 11virtualenv vs conda
- 12virtualenv vs Miniforge
- 13virtualenv vs PDM
- 14virtualenv vs Poetry
- 15virtualenv vs Spack
- 16virtualenv vs Twine
- 17virtualenv vs build
- 18virtualenv vs Mamba
- 19virtualenv vs Maturin
- 20virtualenv vs Nox
virtualenv alternatives compared
| # | App | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ActiveState Platform | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | API, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 2 | Hatch | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 3 | pip | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 4 | pip-tools | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 5 | Pixi | 6.6 | Free plan | €42/mo | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 6 | uv | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 7 | Astral | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 8 | conda-lock | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 9 | Miniconda | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 10 | Anaconda Notebooks | 6.4 | Free plan | $15/mo | Web |
| 11 | conda | 5.6 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 12 | Miniforge | 5.6 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 13 | PDM | 5.6 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 14 | Poetry | 5.6 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 15 | Spack | 5.4 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 16 | Twine | 5.4 | No | — | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| 17 | build | 5.3 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 18 | Mamba | 5.3 | No | — | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| 19 | Maturin | 5.3 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 20 | Nox | 5.3 | No | — | Windows, Mac, Linux |
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Questions about virtualenv alternatives
What is the best alternative to virtualenv?
ActiveState Platform, number 1 in Python package managers with a score of 6.6 out of 10. The others here: Hatch, pip, pip-tools and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to virtualenv?
ActiveState Platform is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 10 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
How are these alternatives ranked?
Ranked free-and-open first: a usable free tier and open-source code, then the platforms it runs on and its documentation.