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.
Phanindar Ada - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers ease of deployment and use along with a comfortable configuration process to be handled
The tool's performance is really good, so I can rate it a ten out of ten. The product did meet my expectations by allowing me to run multiple operating systems simultaneously. I recommend the product to those who plan to use it. The product is stable, very easy to deploy, easy to use, easy to configure, and easy to set up. I took care of the integration part of VMware Workstation with vSphere. I describe the product's documentation as a good area. My company gets complaints about technical notes from VMware. My company does face limitations with the product, and it is based on the licenses that we have purchased from VMware. I rate the overall product a ten 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

"What I like most about KVM is that it's very easy to use. Everything is built-in, even when writing command lines."
"It is an easily scalable solution."
"The most valuable feature is hypervisor. I can host at the same time different operating systems in Linux Windows."
"The scalability part should be better."
"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."
"The performance is great."
"The initial setup was very easy."
"Our production servers are running in Linux, and this solution supports that environment well."
"This product is extremely easy to install, use, has a great GUI and is incredibly stable."
"The scalability of the solution is very good."
"The solution is very stable."
"The flexibility and the closed platform, so it allows you to run in multiple platforms, Windows, Linux, Macintosh."
"This solution creates a snapshot of virtual machines so you can create test environments."
"This is a good and easy solution for running virtual environments."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to copy bidirectionally between the desktop and the virtual machine."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that there is no cost because it is open source."
"The technical support is good."
"It's really easy to build testing environments with VMware Player."
"The most valuable feature of VMware Player is the ability to snapshot with or without memory."
"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."
"It's stable."
"The performance is good."
"VMware is incredible and is designed for simple use. They help with efficiency."
"Technical support is very good."
 

Cons

"Its resource usage can be improved."
"The initial setup of this solution is more difficult than some of the competing products and it could be improved."
"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 speed is around thirty percent slower than another competitor. This would be something to work on."
"We are not getting good support from KVM, and it is not that user-friendly."
"There are some issues with the graphics and some software that is very complex."
"Technical support is not top-notch."
"Some things are pretty basic, and they could be more robust with more detail."
"The solution needs to improve its flexibility. It's not as flexible as VMware."
"Oracle’s support team should improve its response time."
"Oracle VM VirtualBox is not flexible, It's not like VMware."
"It should have the functionality where if I move the mouse away from one screen, the context changes automatically."
"The solution needs to improve the methods used for starting and stopping the machine."
"We're working with them to be able to allow the local USB ports to be ported over to the remote desktop, running VirtualBox."
"It would be good if we could use Hyper-V Windows subsystems with Linux and VirtualBox on the same instance. Currently, to be able to use VirtualBox, we have to restart the machine into an instance of Windows where Hyper-V is disabled, which is understandably very inconvenient."
"It's not as robust as server platforms, nor does it need to be."
"It would be helpful if VMware Workstation included an in-built monitoring tool for monitoring things."
"Its price could be better."
"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."
"I need to buy a newer version of the tool to support Windows Server."
"I would want to see features included that make deployment easier."
"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."
"It could have more platforms and CPUs."
"VMware Workstation uses more resources like CPU and disk space, especially the CPU, which is a shortcoming that needs improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is no cost involved in the use of KVM, as it is open source."
"It is free for everyone."
"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."
"We had some problems with the licensing."
"KVM is an open-source solution."
"It is cheaper than other competitors like VMware or Hyper-V."
"KVM is free."
"This solution came with the Linux license."
"This is an open-source product and it can be used free of charge."
"The tool is not as expensive as other products."
"It is pretty good for the price, which is free."
"The license I use is free."
"The product is free to use."
"It is an open-source solution."
"Price wise, Oracle VM VirtualBox is a six on a scale from one to ten."
"The solution is free."
"The solution's pricing is almost the same as what Google Cloud, AWS, or Microsoft would charge you."
"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."
"You need to pay for a license, but I don't think it costs that much. I think it's a one-time payment."
"With all its support and ease of use, VMware Player's pricing is fair."
"VMware Workstation is an expensive solution in Asian countries."
"The tool is not the cheapest."
"The pricing is a bit steep in my opinion for testing and there are other options."
"VMware is expensive. Licensing can be tricky. For example, I recently had a client running VMware vSphere Essentials and wanted to migrate to a more scalable solution. However, they had no choice but to purchase a completely new license and deploy a completely new instance of VMware."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Server Virtualization Software solutions are best for your needs.
817,751 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software Company
16%
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

 

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.
817,751 professionals have used our research since 2012.