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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

"There is a strong emphasis on availability, and they have numerous API interfaces for distributed storage and the solution is quite known for its openness."
"If you are a Linux desktop user, KVM is the solution to go with if you have to start virtual machines with Linux or other operating systems with almost zero extra configuration needed."
"It is an open ecosystem, and we see there is a benefit in open-source solutions."
"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 tool's most valuable feature is backup. The product makes it easy to manage virtual machines. Other tools require third-party applications like VMware and vSphere. However, KVM doesn't require these applications."
"I have found KVM to be scalable."
"Good screen and keyboard sharing feature."
"This solution is open source and easy to configure."
"This solution can be used on many different platforms including Windows and Linux."
"The pause feature is valuable. I can pause, which is something that not all hypervisors allow. The snapshot feature is also valuable."
"The flexibility and the closed platform, so it allows you to run in multiple platforms, Windows, Linux, Macintosh."
"The versatility, simplicity, and stability of the product are it's most valuable features."
"The product gives us the flexibility to try different machines."
"The flexibility as well as performance wise and as well as data volume, we have huge volume stored."
"The flexibility and the closed platform, so it allows you to run in multiple platforms, Windows, Linux, Macintosh."
"The product’s most valuable feature is the ability to manage multiple operating systems through one application."
"The product is stable, very easy to deploy, easy to use, easy to configure, and easy to set up."
"VMware Workstation is easy to manage and understand."
"VMware Workstation allows you to run a virtual machine."
"The tool’s GUI is very user-friendly."
"The platform’s most valuable feature is snapshot."
"It is much more mature compared to Nutanix or SimpliVity when it's cross-platform based."
"We can undo some changes using the snapshot feature."
"VMware Workstation is great for migrating and patching operating systems."
 

Cons

"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."
"The stability of this solution is less than other products in the same category."
"The virtual manager and the graphical QEMU for KVM need some improvement."
"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."
"We are not getting good support from KVM, and it is not that user-friendly."
"Some things are pretty basic, and they could be more robust with more detail."
"I would like to see more focus on microservices and integration with Kubernetes or OpenShift."
"The solution’s user interface could be improved and made more user-friendly."
"When I select the Ubuntu operating system from within the virtual machine, it sometimes hangs."
"This solution needs improvement with the business continuity planning, disaster and recovery management and using centralized data storage."
"It should have the functionality where if I move the mouse away from one screen, the context changes automatically."
"We're working with them to be able to allow the local USB ports to be ported over to the remote desktop, running VirtualBox."
"The installation is difficult and could be improved."
"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."
"The communications setup lags. It does not connect properly so the batching and networking is a bit slow."
"The solution needs to improve the methods used for starting and stopping the machine."
"The interface is a little wonky and needs to be improved."
"The tool can improve network storage technology."
"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."
"I would want to see features included that make deployment easier."
"It could have more platforms and CPUs."
"The GUI interface could be improved."
"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."
"They could include official support for macOS virtualization within VMware Workstation."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"KVM is an open-source solution."
"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.​"
"KVM is free."
"KVM is priced reasonably."
"This solution came with the Linux license."
"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."
"No licensing is required as it is open-source."
"It is a very cost-effective solution."
"Oracle should consider reducing the cost of the product."
"There are no licensing fees."
"Pricing does not apply for us, we do not have to pay for the service."
"The solution is free."
"The tool is not as expensive as other products."
"The product is free to use."
"With a VDI solution, there is always extra cost running a VDI solution but it's not for cost purposes anymore. In the beginning, it was to save money on hardware but at the moment it's other aspects that are more important why you should use a VDI solution."
"I use the free version of VMware Workstation."
"The solution’s pricing is moderate."
"It has the best licensing modules."
"The pricing is a bit steep in my opinion for testing and there are other options."
"VMware Workstation's costs are lifetime."
"VMware Workstation is an expensive solution in Asian countries."
"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
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

 

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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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