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.
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

"It offers a high-availability environment."
"This solution is open source and easy to configure."
"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 scalable."
"What I like most about KVM is that it's very easy to use. Everything is built-in, even when writing command lines."
"The most valuable feature of KVM is its superior real-time performance, which results in lower latency compared to alternatives like VMware and Microsoft."
"The performance is great."
"The KVM service is well managed with a central policy interface."
"The snapshot feature is very powerful; it protects us from disaster."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that there is no cost because it is open source."
"This product is very user-friendly and easy to use."
"I like that it has a snapshot feature."
"The configuration and installation is pretty straightforward."
"The product gives us the flexibility to try different machines."
"Oracle VM VirtualBox has a platform where the support team responds to frequently asked questions by its users. Every time I have had issues with Oracle VM VirtualBox, I always get a solution from Oracle's online platform or GitHub."
"Oracle VM VirtualBox is easy to use."
"I have found this product excellent for test/dev environments. This is 90% of what I use this product for."
"The solution's customer service is good."
"The product is stable, very easy to deploy, easy to use, easy to configure, and easy to set up."
"The simplicity of the deployment and the implementation, and the footprint for the hardware are some of the solution's valuable features."
"VMware Player's best feature is the ability to run different OS's simultaneously."
"VMware Workstation is great for migrating and patching operating systems."
"Technical support is very good."
"VMware Workstation’s most valuable features are backup and data transfer from one server to another."
 

Cons

"I have encountered difficulties in getting the tool's documentation."
"KVM is very difficult to manage and run on daily operations."
"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 solution overall is just okay."
"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 solution should be more user friendly. We are struggling with the command lines."
"In KVM, snapshots and cloning are areas where there could be a little more sophistication, like VMware."
"Technical support could be better. In the next release, I would like to see an improved user interface and dashboard. This type of improvement will make it easy or help our engineers understand the solution from a requirement point of view."
"I find the solution to be incredibly unstable, constantly falling over and not working properly."
"The solution is not flexible."
"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."
"One valuable feature would be for it to work right the first time but it doesn't necessarily do that."
"Basically, the GUI and command-line interface need improvement."
"There are a few bugs that need to be updated."
"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."
"When I select the Ubuntu operating system from within the virtual machine, it sometimes hangs."
"The GUI interface could be improved."
"I would like to see more detailed reporting capabilities, particularly around snapshot activity. It would be helpful to have a summary of changes made prior to deploying an application, allowing us to provide comprehensive reports to our management on a regular basis."
"VMware Player isn't downgradable, so if you have a later set of VMs, you need to upgrade it or figure out a workaround."
"I need to buy a newer version of the tool to support Windows Server."
"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."
"Installing VMware Workstation isn't so easy. It's highly complex compared to Windows. I rate it four out of 10 for ease of installation. Setting up a remote desktop only takes a minute or so, but the Workstation itself takes some time."
"The product's integration capabilities are an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required."
"The tool can improve network storage technology."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"KVM is an open-source solution."
"We had some problems with the licensing."
"This solution came with the Linux license."
"KVM is free."
"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."
"I use the free version of KVM, and I'm not sure if there is a paid version."
"This solution is an open-source, free platform with paid support."
"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."
"No licensing is required as it is open-source."
"It is pretty good for the price, which is free."
"The tool is not as expensive as other products."
"There are no licensing fees."
"It is an open-source solution."
"Everything is free within limitations. Once you go over a certain level of usage you have to license the product."
"Available for free use"
"This is an open-source product and it can be used free of charge."
"The solution’s pricing is moderate."
"With all its support and ease of use, VMware Player's pricing is fair."
"It has the best licensing modules."
"I use the free version of VMware Workstation."
"The licensing costs are cheap. I pay approximately $100 per year."
"The solution's pricing is almost the same as what Google Cloud, AWS, or Microsoft would charge you."
"I would rate the pricing an eight out of ten, with ten being expensive."
"VMware Workstation is an expensive solution in Asian countries."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Server Virtualization Software solutions are best for your needs.
817,653 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

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

 

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.
817,653 professionals have used our research since 2012.