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Citrix XenServer vs Oracle VM VirtualBox comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 6, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.8
Citrix XenServer offers virtualization benefits, cost savings, improved management, and value with high availability despite higher licensing costs.
Sentiment score
4.0
Oracle VM VirtualBox boosts ROI by virtualizing servers, enhancing efficiency, and providing quick setups with significant financial returns.
My clients generally maintain their Citrix infrastructure without shifting, suggesting stability and reliable operation as Citrix XenServer is fully established.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.1
Citrix XenServer support is knowledgeable and helpful, but slow response times and accessibility challenges can affect user satisfaction.
Sentiment score
7.7
Many users find community support and comprehensive documentation sufficient, reducing the need for Oracle VM VirtualBox's customer service.
They do not provide adequate support for midsize businesses.
Since being acquired, Citrix's customer service has experienced delays in response time.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Citrix XenServer is praised for its scalability, seamless expansion, ease of use, and suitability for diverse deployment sizes.
Sentiment score
7.2
Oracle VM VirtualBox offers moderate to high scalability, efficiently supporting various environments despite some hardware limitation concerns.
Familiarity with Linux can enhance its performance and usability.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Citrix XenServer is praised for stability, effective updates, strong support, and minimal issues, supporting enterprises of all sizes.
Sentiment score
7.0
Oracle VM VirtualBox is stable for most users but can have issues with Windows, snapshots, and multiple monitors.
The snapshot functionality in Oracle VM VirtualBox is effective for management purposes.
 

Room For Improvement

Citrix XenServer needs enhancements in startup, memory, backup, support, interface, and community, with better integration and reduced costs.
Users desire improved network options, better integration, enhanced usability, stability, compatibility, and remote management features for virtual machines.
Although the product is technically competitive, it is not widely known or used due to poor marketing.
Citrix needs to improve the hypervisor, specifically in security and performance.
 

Setup Cost

Citrix XenServer offers free and paid versions, with paid providing enhanced features and support at a notable price.
Oracle VM VirtualBox is cost-effective and available for free, but licensing issues require careful enterprise evaluation.
It is cheaper compared to its competitors.
The pricing and licensing policy of Citrix XenServer is not transparent and quite confusing.
In the enterprise scenario, all software solutions, including Oracle VM VirtualBox, are expensive.
 

Valuable Features

Citrix XenServer is favored for its high availability, ease of use, affordability, and seamless integration with Citrix solutions.
Oracle VM VirtualBox is a versatile, user-friendly, open-source virtualization solution offering cross-platform support and advanced management features.
It provides secure access to applications and resources, which is crucial for us and our clients.
It is user-friendly and easy to deploy, making it an attractive option.
Its snapshot functionality helps with backup management.
 

Categories and Ranking

Citrix XenServer
Ranking in Server Virtualization Software
11th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
49
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Oracle VM VirtualBox
Ranking in Server Virtualization Software
7th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
64
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Server Virtualization Software category, the mindshare of Citrix XenServer is 5.0%, up from 4.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle VM VirtualBox is 6.9%, down from 10.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Server Virtualization Software
 

Featured Reviews

Tonatiuh Torres Zamorano - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers comprehensive solutions for small and medium businesses with a straightforward setup
I find Citrix XenServer valuable for small to medium-sized businesses. It is user-friendly and easy to deploy, making it an attractive option. When included with Citrix virtualization solutions, it provides a comprehensive package with existing licenses. Despite being effective for small to medium infrastructures, it may not be the best hypervisor for larger deployments.
Kopano  Ramaphoi - PeerSpot reviewer
A flexible and easy-to-deploy product that provides a great user experience
The product should improve its scalability. It should be more flexible to be used with desktops with different capacities. We do not have much storage on our desktops, and we must allocate a certain amount of memory to install the product. When we install a virtual machine, we have a limit that we cannot exceed 80% of RAM.
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Comparison Review

VL
Jan 13, 2015
vSphere vs. RHEV vs. Hyper-V vs. XenServer
We have used the following functions: 1. Hypervisor: to ensure that the virtual server provide web and email services to the company, thus providing a stable operation a with single sign-on integration of an AD server and vCenter. 2. Network and Storage: centralized data server…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
51%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
4%
Comms Service Provider
4%
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Citrix Hypervisor?
The core function enables multiple virtual machines to run on a single physical server. This maximizes hardware utilization and efficiency.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Citrix Hypervisor?
XenServer is considered cost-effective, as its licensing allows users to utilize the hypervisor as part of Citrix virtual app or desktop licenses. It is cheaper compared to its competitors.
What needs improvement with Citrix Hypervisor?
Citrix needs to improve the hypervisor, specifically in security and performance. Additionally, the response time from customer support has room for improvement, which could enhance the overall use...
How does KVM compare to Oracle VM VirtualBox?
KVM is easy to use, stable and flexible. It is mature and very fast. It is an affordable open-source solution that is easy to set up and manage. It offers very good security. It has a virtual manag...
What do you like most about Oracle VM VirtualBox?
The product’s most valuable feature is the ability to manage multiple operating systems through one application.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle VM VirtualBox?
The pricing is flexible. When Oracle bought VirtualBox, they introduced some licensing issues. However, it did not affect the terms of licenses and additional costs. The price is okay. I rate the p...
 

Also Known As

Hypervisor
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

U.S. Army Shared Services Center, SoftLayer, Educational Services of America, Independent Bank, and SK Telecom.
Airbus, Colorado State University, SCS Africa, Wolf Medical Systems.
Find out what your peers are saying about Citrix XenServer vs. Oracle VM VirtualBox and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
847,862 professionals have used our research since 2012.