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KVM vs Oracle VM VirtualBox vs VMware Workstation comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Mindshare comparison

Server Virtualization Software
Server Virtualization Software
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
 

Featured Reviews

Lan Tuong - PeerSpot reviewer
Useful to manage the virtual environments
The most valuable features of KVM for us are the console, which allows us to build or clone VMs quickly, and the ability to take snapshots and recreate new VMs rapidly. That's one of the things we love about KVM. The built-in management console, Auto KVM, is the most valuable tool for managing our virtual environments. We use it most to create and fire up new VMs or clone them for customers based on requests. The migration tools have worked quite well for us. We're moving from an Oracle Solaris platform for KVM logical domains, upgrading, and using KVM from Red Hat. It's slightly different but very similar to Oracle Unbreakable Linux, which is basically a clone of Red Hat. Oracle's console is easier to use than Red Hat's, though.
Tomasz Pietas - PeerSpot reviewer
Good functionality and free to use with a useful snapshot feature
The functionality and productivity are very good. I can test and roll back features in my work. It's a big platform. It's very useful. I like that it has a snapshot feature. The virtual network is great. There are a lot of features. It has everything I need. The product is free to use. It's easy to set up.
Shambhu Narayan  Singh - PeerSpot reviewer
An easy-to-manage solution that has really good customer support compared to other market players
VMware Workstation makes it easy to manage all the resources that we are handling. VMware Workstation has reduced our infrastructure cost. If someone wants machines, I can create them easily using the solution. VMware Workstation is easier to manage than other workstations like Oracle Workstation. VMware Workstation is an easy-to-manage solution, and its support is really good compared to other market players. Overall, I rate VMware Workstation an eight out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"One of the best features of KVM is its user-friendly interface."
"The key aspect is that the KVM directly interacts with the Kronos. There's no clear indication of indirect communication with Kronos. It is not linked to Kronos, and interaction is straightforward without any intermediaries."
"The initial setup was simple."
"If you prefer command-line, there are all kinds of command-line options."
"What I like most about KVM is that it's very easy to use. Everything is built-in, even when writing command lines."
"It is easy to use, stable, and flexible. It is a pretty mature product, and it is faster than VirtualBox."
"It is an easily scalable solution."
"Our production servers are running in Linux, and this solution supports that environment well."
"I like that it has a snapshot feature."
"The cloning is a very useful tool."
"The product’s most valuable feature is the ability to manage multiple operating systems through one application."
"The configuration and installation is pretty straightforward."
"The snapshot feature is very powerful; it protects us from disaster."
"This is a good and easy solution for running virtual environments."
"It is a stable product."
"This solution can be used on many different platforms including Windows and Linux."
"Having ten people working off a single piece of hardware reduces costs."
"The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it is an easy-to-use product."
"The initial setup is simple and takes only five minutes to complete."
"I appreciate the ease of backup and snapshot creation. The ability to revert to previous versions without losing data is very useful for our team."
"The most valuable features of the VMware Workstation solutions are the ESXi and vCenter."
"VMware Workstation is great for migrating and patching operating systems."
"The tool’s GUI is very user-friendly."
"VMware Workstation allows multiple operating systems in the same physical machine."
 

Cons

"Some things are pretty basic, and they could be more robust with more detail."
"The solution overall is just okay."
"The main drawback in the solution is probably disaster recovery."
"One thing that maybe could be improved is making it easier to scale. It needs to be more clear on how to scale the storage space for virtual machines."
"I have previously used VMware and KVM is easier to use. However, they both have their strengths depending on their use cases. They are mostly equal. One of VMware's advantages is it has better support."
"The initial setup of this solution is more difficult than some of the competing products and it could be improved."
"Support for VF is needed, where you can, for example, export from VMware to KVM."
"Although KVM meets our expectations, it can be somewhat fragmented with numerous management tools available, making it difficult to determine which tool to use."
"The user interface needs to be improved."
"It could improve slightly with enhanced reporting capabilities that show the current status of the network."
"The solution lacks some open source remote administration tools. The reload of individual virtual machine definitions through the vboxweb service (via its API) without restarting it and the access to shared storage (to use teleport functions) need to be improved."
"This solution needs improvement with the business continuity planning, disaster and recovery management and using centralized data storage."
"There are a few bugs that need to be updated."
"The solution should have more enterprise features, like migration, high availability storage, disaster recovery, and the ability to deploy to enterprise-scale usage. They should not just offer desktop usage."
"The solution could be more user-friendly."
"It would be good if we could use Hyper-V Windows subsystems with Linux and VirtualBox on the same instance. Currently, to be able to use VirtualBox, we have to restart the machine into an instance of Windows where Hyper-V is disabled, which is understandably very inconvenient."
"The solution freezes sometimes."
"The solution should provide a guide on its installation."
"The interface is a little wonky and needs to be improved."
"The product is outdated."
"The dashboard can be improved."
"They could include official support for macOS virtualization within VMware Workstation."
"The price should be reduced."
"It would be helpful if VMware Workstation included an in-built monitoring tool for monitoring things."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"One only needs a subscription to Oracle Linux. So, it's cheaper with Oracle Linux's subscription. It is not very expensive. In short, the solution is open source, and you need only a subscription."
"I use KVM for free through Proxmox, which offers a free license alternative."
"The tool is free."
"The product's pricing is above average but cheaper than that of VMware. I can't provide specific licensing costs, but we have a contract with Red Hat for client support that covers everything. There are no additional costs beyond the standard licensing fees."
"I use the free version of KVM, and I'm not sure if there is a paid version."
"It is cheaper than other competitors like VMware or Hyper-V."
"This solution came with the Linux license."
"​It is free and can be run from your laptop, if needed, unlike VMware.​"
"The product is free to use."
"The tool is not as expensive as other products."
"Pricing does not apply for us, we do not have to pay for the service."
"This is an open-source product and it can be used free of charge."
"Available for free use"
"Price wise, Oracle VM VirtualBox is a six on a scale from one to ten."
"It is a very cost-effective solution."
"It is an open-source solution."
"The cost differs depending on the customer's requirement."
"The pricing is a bit steep in my opinion for testing and there are other options."
"With all its support and ease of use, VMware Player's pricing is fair."
"It has the best licensing modules."
"Licensing costs are paid on a yearly basis."
"The solution's pricing is almost the same as what Google Cloud, AWS, or Microsoft would charge you."
"I use the free version of VMware Workstation."
"The pricing is reasonable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software Company
16%
Educational Organization
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
University
8%
Computer Software Company
16%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Why KVM??? Help please!
KVM scales better, orchestration better, performs better and supports a wider range of hardware and, also, you can im...
Why KVM??? Help please!
Small support team, small cluster, low core count, use VMware products Large support team, large clusters with many c...
Why KVM??? Help please!
Far from being an expert, my opinion is that the positive sides of KVM are: Lower costs and open-source which gives ...
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...
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 af...
Which VMware solution would you go with - Workstation or vSphere?
VM Workstation’s setup is so easy, you can use it almost instantly, it works well with Windows and Linux. We like VM ...
What do you like most about VMware Workstation?
The product is stable, very easy to deploy, easy to use, easy to configure, and easy to set up.
What needs improvement with VMware Workstation?
The product's integration capabilities are an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required.
 

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Sample Customers

MediaWiki, Wikimedia Foundation, Wikipedia, Wikivoyage, Wikidata, Wikiversity, Commons
Airbus, Colorado State University, SCS Africa, Wolf Medical Systems.
Akademiska Hus
Find out what your peers are saying about Proxmox, VMware, Microsoft and others in Server Virtualization Software. Updated: November 2024.
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