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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

"A very reliable solution which can be used for x86 architecture virtualization with reasonable overhead."
"The initial setup was simple."
"The most helpful aspect of KVM is the fact that the interface is so minimal. It includes just what you need to set up the VMs and manage them, and it's very simple to do so."
"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."
"Very cost-effective."
"The GUI interface makes the management of KVM easier than ever before."
"KVM is stable."
"KVM has a rich options set which can be directly used or via wrappers, such as libvirt."
"The solution is very stable."
"The cloning is a very useful tool."
"Compatible with almost any operating system"
"The versatility, simplicity, and stability of the product are it's most valuable features."
"The solution's most valuable feature is its stability."
"I think VirtualBox has good stability because I use it in an environment with several resolutions."
"VirtualBox provides an isolated, consistent environment"
"This product is extremely easy to install, use, has a great GUI and is incredibly stable."
"Technical support is very good."
"VMware Workstation is easy to manage and understand."
"The performance is good."
"Having ten people working off a single piece of hardware reduces costs."
"The most valuable features of VMware Workstation are the DirectX support, you can run Microsoft Hyper-V in virtual environments which is good for me to test different installations. Additionally, you can set up different VLANs, and overall it is a complete solution."
"We can undo some changes using the snapshot feature."
"It's stable."
"It is much more mature compared to Nutanix or SimpliVity when it's cross-platform based."
 

Cons

"Monitoring and resolution could be improved."
"I would like to see more focus on microservices and integration with Kubernetes or OpenShift."
"In KVM, snapshots and cloning are areas where there could be a little more sophistication, like VMware."
"Some things are pretty basic, and they could be more robust with more detail."
"The product must provide better performance monitoring features."
"I have encountered difficulties in getting the tool's documentation."
"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."
"There are a few bugs that need to be updated."
"The tool has some stability issues."
"This should have better support for multiple network cards and some parts of the GUI should be improved."
"Having live migrations to move a running server to other hardware would be great."
"The product lacks scalability since it is for desktops and not for servers."
"I think that this solution should be more user-friendly."
"The communications setup lags. It does not connect properly so the batching and networking is a bit slow."
"They could improve the graphics functionality of the product."
"The product is outdated."
"The tool can improve network storage technology."
"I need to buy a newer version of the tool to support Windows Server."
"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."
"The product’s virtual machine data backup feature needs upgrading."
"When you go to work on a server, it opens up the whole window, and that causes an error inside VMware Player."
"The dashboard can be improved."
"I have had issues with the virtual network adapters in the past that has taken some time to troubleshoot."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"The solution is extremely cheap in China."
"KVM is an open-source product that works well for us."
"I use the free version of KVM, and I'm not sure if there is a paid version."
"​It is free and can be run from your laptop, if needed, unlike VMware.​"
"I have no information on the cost of KVM because I downloaded it for the lab and not for production. It's free, but I don't know if that's the case for people using it in a production environment."
"KVM is priced reasonably."
"It is cheaper than other competitors like VMware or Hyper-V."
"Pricing does not apply for us, we do not have to pay for the service."
"It is an open-source solution."
"It is pretty good for the price, which is free."
"The tool is not as expensive as other products."
"Oracle should consider reducing the cost of the product."
"No licensing is required as it is open-source."
"There are no licensing fees."
"The product is free to use."
"With all its support and ease of use, VMware Player's pricing is fair."
"Licensing costs are paid on a yearly basis."
"VMware Workstation is an expensive tool. I rate the product's price a three on a scale of one to ten, where one is a high price, and ten is a low or good price."
"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."
"The tool is not the cheapest."
"VMware Workstation's costs are lifetime."
"The cost differs depending on the customer's requirement."
"It is an expensive solution."
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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
Find out what your peers are saying about Proxmox, VMware, Microsoft and others in Server Virtualization Software. Updated: November 2024.
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