Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

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.
Phanindar Ada - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers ease of deployment and use along with a comfortable configuration process to be handled
The tool's performance is really good, so I can rate it a ten out of ten. The product did meet my expectations by allowing me to run multiple operating systems simultaneously. I recommend the product to those who plan to use it. The product is stable, very easy to deploy, easy to use, easy to configure, and easy to set up. I took care of the integration part of VMware Workstation with vSphere. I describe the product's documentation as a good area. My company gets complaints about technical notes from VMware. My company does face limitations with the product, and it is based on the licenses that we have purchased from VMware. I rate the overall product a ten 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 product's scalability is good...It's a very stable product."
"I like that it's easy to manage. It's also more powerful when it comes to security than others. That point of view is the one consideration. The other consideration is that it's cost-effective."
"The product is really good...One can get good performance because of kernel-based virtualization."
"Good screen and keyboard sharing feature."
"The initial setup was simple."
"The KVM service is well managed with a central policy interface."
"What I like most about KVM is that it's very easy to use. Everything is built-in, even when writing command lines."
"It's very simple to use."
"The pause feature is valuable. I can pause, which is something that not all hypervisors allow. The snapshot feature is also valuable."
"The product gives us the flexibility to try different machines."
"Oracle VM Virtualbox is easy to use and does not require much training."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that there is no cost because it is open source."
"Compatible with almost any operating system"
"The cloning is a very useful tool."
"The solution is very stable."
"VMware Workstation allows you to run a virtual machine."
"The features are good."
"The platform’s most valuable feature is snapshot."
"We are able to simultaneously run multiple operating systems in a single machine and have virtually no performance hit."
"It's really easy to build testing environments with VMware Player."
"I have found this product excellent for test/dev environments. This is 90% of what I use this product for."
"The product's initial setup phase was simple."
"It will not harm any of the computer settings to run a specific program. For example, if a program needs a specific security policy, we don't have to use the shared configuration. We have an individual copy of Windows installed on the virtual machine, so anybody can access that. It helps us a lot."
 

Cons

"The initial setup of this solution is more difficult than some of the competing products and it could be improved."
"The product must provide better performance monitoring features."
"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 solution should be more user friendly. We are struggling with the command lines."
"The speed is around thirty percent slower than another competitor. This would be something to work on."
"In our setup, we do not have any dashboards or orchestration, and it is hard to manage. We have 25 gig network cards, but the software driver we have only supported 10 gigs."
"KVM is very difficult to manage and run on daily operations."
"One problem I have is that it's not very scalable when it comes to resizing the VM disk dimensions. For example, if you have initially set a virtual drive to 10 GB and you want to upgrade it to 15 GB, it's not that easy."
"We're working with them to be able to allow the local USB ports to be ported over to the remote desktop, running VirtualBox."
"Having live migrations to move a running server to other hardware would be great."
"The product lacks scalability since it is for desktops and not for servers."
"The memory and hardware usage could be a little bit lighter. Right now, it's quite heavy on the usage. The CPU usage should be lower."
"Oracle VM VirtualBox is not flexible, It's not like VMware."
"The solution has to do a better job of promoting the product and its licensing capabilities."
"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 AI and the UI could be improved. The user interface is a little outdated and the AI is not very attractive."
"VMware Workstation could improve the export and import of virtual machines."
"The GUI interface could be improved."
"The dashboard can be improved."
"The product’s virtual machine data backup feature needs upgrading."
"Performance could be improved, it's somewhat clunky."
"VMware Workstation has some network limitations which could improve, it is not as flexible as VMware NSX. Additionally, it could support operating systems better. I only run some Linux versions and Windows at the moment but it would be nice to be able to take whatever operating system you want and run it."
"When you go to work on a server, it opens up the whole window, and that causes an error inside VMware Player."
"It would be great if VMware Workstation had more networking options and compatibility, that would be great. I would like to deploy virtual switches and play around with networking a bit more. Otherwise, I have to deploy ESXi Virtual Edition and emulate it, which is painful and clunky."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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 have no information on the cost of KVM because I downloaded it for the lab and not for production. It's free, but I don't know if that's the case for people using it in a production environment."
"It is cheaper than other solutions out there on the market."
"It is free for everyone."
"The price is fair compared to others. But in our local market, it's a problem to get budget approval from management. That's why they are trying to get those products so we can give them the price benefit. But if you consider the international market or other products, it's sometimes better than their price."
"It is cheaper than other competitors like VMware or Hyper-V."
"​It is free and can be run from your laptop, if needed, unlike VMware.​"
"We had some problems with the licensing."
"The solution is free."
"Pricing does not apply for us, we do not have to pay for the service."
"It is a very cost-effective solution."
"The product is free to use."
"It is pretty good for the price, which is free."
"This is an open-source product and it can be used free of charge."
"Price wise, Oracle VM VirtualBox is a six on a scale from one to ten."
"It is an open-source solution."
"VMware Workstation has a high price than competitors in the market."
"The product has a moderate price."
"The price of the solution per workstation is approximately 200 Francs annually. We pay a total of 800 francs. Everything is included in the price such as the support."
"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."
"The solution’s pricing is moderate."
"Licensing costs are paid on a yearly basis."
"I would rate the pricing an eight out of ten, with ten being expensive."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Server Virtualization Software solutions are best for your needs.
817,852 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
11%
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.
 

Comparisons

 

Learn More

Video not available
 

Overview

 

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.
817,852 professionals have used our research since 2012.