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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

"KVM is stable."
"The initial setup was simple."
"It is an easily scalable solution."
"I appreciate the network passcode feature in KVM, as it provides a convenient way to manage DNS and cloud hosting."
"It is an open ecosystem, and we see there is a benefit in open-source solutions."
"If you prefer command-line, there are all kinds of command-line options."
"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 most valuable feature is hypervisor. I can host at the same time different operating systems in Linux Windows."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that there is no cost because it is open source."
"Oracle VM Virtualbox is easy to use and does not require much training."
"The snapshot feature is very powerful; it protects us from disaster."
"Technical support is good."
"This product is extremely easy to install, use, has a great GUI and is incredibly stable."
"The product is very easy to use."
"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."
"The features are good."
"The solution's customer service is good."
"The platform’s most valuable feature is snapshot."
"Having ten people working off a single piece of hardware reduces costs."
"I like that it's easy to use. It's easy to deploy virtual machines. You have to insert your ISO and the image of your OS and configure it. They provide a step-by-step guide, and you have to follow it. In the end, you have to start the machine, and that's all you have to do. I liked that they synchronized the mouse, keyboard, and everything. When you finish the installation, it directly links to your laptop. This makes copying and pasting things from my laptop inside the virtual machine easy."
"The product works well."
"I have found this product excellent for test/dev environments. This is 90% of what I use this product for."
"Because the setup is so easy, this is a solution that can be used at a moment's notice."
 

Cons

"The product must provide better performance monitoring features."
"We are not getting good support from KVM, and it is not that user-friendly."
"The initial setup of this solution is more difficult than some of the competing products and it could be improved."
"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."
"I have encountered difficulties in getting the tool's documentation."
"Some things are pretty basic, and they could be more robust with more detail."
"The networking with wireless devices needs improvement."
"Monitoring and resolution could be improved."
"One valuable feature would be for it to work right the first time but it doesn't necessarily do that."
"The solution needs to improve its flexibility. It's not as flexible as VMware."
"When I select the Ubuntu operating system from within the virtual machine, it sometimes hangs."
"We're working with them to be able to allow the local USB ports to be ported over to the remote desktop, running VirtualBox."
"Oracle’s support team should improve its response time."
"The solution is a bit less stable than I would like."
"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."
"The solution needs to improve the methods used for starting and stopping the machine."
"VMware Player isn't downgradable, so if you have a later set of VMs, you need to upgrade it or figure out a workaround."
"They could bring in many different features from VMware vSphere to Workstation."
"Lacks the ability to clone onto another system rather than starting from scratch."
"The tool can improve network storage technology."
"I need to buy a newer version of the tool to support Windows Server."
"The big issue that we've always had with VMware, was the disparity between what was presented for a Windows-based client and a Linux-based client. The Windows client was always two or three releases ahead of the Linux client. We always wanted VMware to change and improve the feature sets between the client connector on Linux and on Windows."
"The solution can be expensive."
"VMware Workstation could improve the export and import of virtual machines."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool is free."
"We had some problems with the licensing."
"KVM is free."
"KVM is priced reasonably."
"There is no cost involved in the use of KVM, as it is open source."
"​It is free and can be run from your laptop, if needed, unlike VMware.​"
"It is free for everyone."
"I use KVM for free through Proxmox, which offers a free license alternative."
"The license I use 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."
"Pricing does not apply for us, we do not have to pay for the service."
"The solution is free."
"Price wise, Oracle VM VirtualBox is a six on a scale from one to ten."
"This is an open-source product and it can be used free of charge."
"Oracle should consider reducing the cost of the product."
"You need to pay for a license, but I don't think it costs that much. I think it's a one-time payment."
"The cost differs depending on the customer's requirement."
"The solution's pricing is almost the same as what Google Cloud, AWS, or Microsoft would charge you."
"VMware Workstation is an expensive solution in Asian countries."
"The solution is moderately priced. I rate the pricing a six out of ten."
"The product is expensive."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"The tool is not the cheapest."
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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
16%
Educational Organization
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
University
8%
Computer Software Company
16%
Government
9%
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
Find out what your peers are saying about Proxmox, VMware, Microsoft and others in Server Virtualization Software. Updated: November 2024.
817,457 professionals have used our research since 2012.