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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

"The most valuable feature of KVM is its superior real-time performance, which results in lower latency compared to alternatives like VMware and Microsoft."
"Our production servers are running in Linux, and this solution supports that environment well."
"The most valuable feature of KVM is its stability."
"The product is scalable."
"It is easy to use, stable, and flexible. It is a pretty mature product, and it is faster than VirtualBox."
"This solution is open source and easy to configure."
"I find the density of the product most valuable. It is density that a technologist can just assign page merging. This is what makes KVM one of the important players of the virtualization market."
"The product is really good...One can get good performance because of kernel-based virtualization."
"The scalability of the solution is very good."
"The solution has high performance and is easy to use."
"The initial setup was straightforward."
"I like that it is free and runs on Linux/Ubuntu - I wouldn't use any other solution. I am able to perform small developing tests."
"This product is extremely easy to install, use, has a great GUI and is incredibly stable."
"The flexibility and the closed platform, so it allows you to run in multiple platforms, Windows, Linux, Macintosh."
"I like that Oracle VM is safe and stable. It is also very easy to administer. For example, opening a VM or adding a host adapter is extremely easy."
"Oracle VM Virtualbox is easy to use and does not require much training."
"The features are good."
"VMware Workstation allows you to run a virtual machine."
"The tool’s GUI is very user-friendly."
"It is much more mature compared to Nutanix or SimpliVity when it's cross-platform based."
"Instead of relying on dual-boot operating systems, I can utilize open-source tools within my infrastructure. This approach allows me to create an in-house cloud platform suitable for testing. VMware Workstation enables me to perform tasks across various operating systems using a single device. It has helped me save time."
"The product works well."
"The most valuable features of VMware Workstation are the speed of access and quality of upgrade. Those are the more important and pertinent aspects as far as we were concerned. Functionality and features were relevant for the customers. What a customer chose, we had to make sure that it operated."
"VMware Workstation’s most valuable feature is virtualization technology."
 

Cons

"The stability of this solution is less than other products in the same category."
"I believe KVM offers a unified answer, while ProxMark addresses orchestration. KVM lacks orchestration. If the aim is to centrally oversee multiple KVMs – let's say to freeze them – a centralized management solution is absent."
"There are some issues with the graphics and some software that is very complex."
"In KVM, snapshots and cloning are areas where there could be a little more sophistication, like VMware."
"I have encountered difficulties in getting the tool's documentation."
"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."
"Some things are pretty basic, and they could be more robust with more detail."
"Business continuity features need to be added."
"The communications setup lags. It does not connect properly so the batching and networking is a bit slow."
"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."
"They could improve the graphics functionality of the product."
"Oracle’s support team should improve its response time."
"Basically, the GUI and command-line interface need improvement."
"The interface should be easier to comprehend"
"The technical support needs to improve."
"The solution needs to improve the methods used for starting and stopping the machine."
"The product's integration capabilities are an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required."
"It would be helpful if VMware Workstation included an in-built monitoring tool for monitoring things."
"The product is outdated."
"The product’s virtual machine data backup feature needs upgrading."
"For some virtual machine configurations, you have to go to the text editor and make the configuration changes, which could be improved."
"The support can be improved."
"The solution should provide a guide on its installation."
"The interface is a little wonky and needs to be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is extremely cheap in China."
"This solution is an open-source, free platform with paid support."
"​It is free and can be run from your laptop, if needed, unlike VMware.​"
"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."
"KVM 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."
"KVM is an open-source product that works well for us."
"It is a very cost-effective solution."
"It is an open-source solution."
"Pricing does not apply for us, we do not have to pay for the service."
"Everything is free within limitations. Once you go over a certain level of usage you have to license the product."
"Price wise, Oracle VM VirtualBox is a six on a scale from one to ten."
"The license I use is free."
"No licensing is required as it is open-source."
"This is an open-source product and it can be used free of charge."
"It is an expensive solution."
"VMware Workstation is an expensive solution in Asian countries."
"The cost differs depending on the customer's requirement."
"Licensing fees are paid on an annual basis."
"The pricing is a bit steep in my opinion for testing and there are other options."
"Licensing costs are paid on a yearly basis."
"With all its support and ease of use, VMware Player's pricing is fair."
"VMware Workstation is an expensive tool. I rate the product's price a three on a scale of one to ten, where one is a high price, and ten is a low or good price."
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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
15%
Educational Organization
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
University
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
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
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