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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

"I think nine out of the ten supercomputers in the world use Linux KVM, so I think that attests to the fact that it is a scalable product."
"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."
"I have found KVM to be scalable."
"This solution is open source and easy to configure."
"KVM is stable."
"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."
"I like that this is an open-source solution. It is very powerful, and it's easy."
"The KVM service is well managed with a central policy interface."
"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."
"This product is very user-friendly and easy to use."
"The snapshot feature is very powerful; it protects us from disaster."
"VirtualBox provides an isolated, consistent environment"
"Oracle VM VirtualBox is easy to use."
"Compatible with almost any operating system"
"The solution is very convenient and easy to use."
"Oracle VM Virtualbox is easy to use and does not require much training."
"I would rate the stability a ten out of ten."
"I have found this product excellent for test/dev environments. This is 90% of what I use this product for."
"We can undo some changes using the snapshot feature."
"The most valuable features of the VMware Workstation solutions are the ESXi and vCenter."
"It's really easy to build testing environments with VMware Player."
"The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it is an easy-to-use product."
"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 is easy to manage and understand."
 

Cons

"Business continuity features need to be added."
"We are not getting good support from KVM, and it is not that user-friendly."
"Lacks high availability across clusters as well as support for Apache CloudStack."
"The grid interface of KVM needs improvement. It could be more beautiful, especially when compared to VMware."
"The speed is around thirty percent slower than another competitor. This would be something to work on."
"Some things are pretty basic, and they could be more robust with more detail."
"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."
"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."
"Oracle’s support team should improve its response time."
"It's not as robust as server platforms, nor does it need to be."
"There are a few bugs that need to be updated."
"I find the solution to be incredibly unstable, constantly falling over and not working properly."
"It could improve slightly with enhanced reporting capabilities that show the current status of the network."
"The solution is a bit less stable than I would like."
"Oracle VMs don't have a solid web interface of their own. This is an area where Oracle is lagging behind. Now, we use headless servers, install Oracle VMs, and manage them remotely. We could use phpVirtual Box, but it is a third-party solution. A lot of people contribute to it, and it's not authenticated by Oracle. As a result, I don't find it to be a good option. Therefore, I would like to see Oracle offer an extension pack or a licensed version that fixes this problem."
"Oracle VM VirtualBox doesn't work properly with an antivirus tool."
"I need to buy a newer version of the tool to support Windows Server."
"The tool can improve network storage technology."
"When you go to work on a server, it opens up the whole window, and that causes an error inside VMware Player."
"The solution freezes sometimes."
"The interface is a little wonky and needs to be improved."
"Its price could be better."
"The price should be reduced."
"The price of VMware Workstation is an area of concern where improvements are needed."
 

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."
"The tool is free."
"There is no cost involved in the use of KVM, as it is open source."
"KVM is an open-source solution."
"KVM is free."
"This solution is an open-source, free platform with paid support."
"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."
"KVM is an open-source product that works well for us."
"The license I use is free."
"It is pretty good for the price, which is free."
"Available for free use"
"Everything is free within limitations. Once you go over a certain level of usage you have to license the product."
"Oracle should consider reducing the cost of the product."
"It is an open-source solution."
"There are no licensing fees."
"No licensing is required as it is open-source."
"You need to pay for a license, but I don't think it costs that much. I think it's a one-time payment."
"VMware Workstation has a high price than competitors in the market."
"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 product has a moderate price."
"The licensing costs are cheap. I pay approximately $100 per year."
"It has the best licensing modules."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"I would rate the pricing an eight out of ten, with ten being expensive."
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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.
 

Comparisons

 

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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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