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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

"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."
"KVM has a rich options set which can be directly used or via wrappers, such as libvirt."
"A very reliable solution which can be used for x86 architecture virtualization with reasonable overhead."
"The performance is great."
"It is an easily scalable solution."
"It offers a high-availability environment."
"If you prefer command-line, there are all kinds of command-line options."
"I appreciate the network passcode feature in KVM, as it provides a convenient way to manage DNS and cloud hosting."
"The flexibility and the closed platform, so it allows you to run in multiple platforms, Windows, Linux, Macintosh."
"Oracle VM Virtualbox is easy to use and does not require much training."
"The pause feature is valuable. I can pause, which is something that not all hypervisors allow. The snapshot feature is also valuable."
"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 flexibility as well as performance wise and as well as data volume, we have huge volume stored."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that there is no cost because it is open source."
"I think VirtualBox has good stability because I use it in an environment with several resolutions."
"The versatility, simplicity, and stability of the product are it's most valuable features."
"I would rate the stability a ten out of ten."
"I haven't faced any inconveniences working with this solution. It is very easy to use."
"VMware Workstation allows you to run a virtual machine."
"Great at solving connection problems."
"The solution's technical support team is excellent."
"The most valuable features of VMware Workstation are the speed of access and quality of upgrade. Those are the more important and pertinent aspects as far as we were concerned. Functionality and features were relevant for the customers. What a customer chose, we had to make sure that it operated."
"The product is really easy to use."
"The product is stable, very easy to deploy, easy to use, easy to configure, and easy to set up."
 

Cons

"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."
"KVM is very difficult to manage and run on daily operations."
"I have encountered difficulties in getting the tool's documentation."
"The solution should be more user friendly. We are struggling with the command lines."
"Monitoring and resolution could be improved."
"The initial setup of this solution is more difficult than some of the competing products and it could be improved."
"We would like to have a software lifecycle solution included in this solution. We can handle the software needed for KVM, but also the software that we provide. A lifecycle component would be very beneficial."
"Technical support is not top-notch."
"The solution has to do a better job of promoting the product and its licensing capabilities."
"Oracle needs to improve its hot virtual machine migration. It didn't work as intended. It should allow us to migrate between virtual machines, without stopping the database."
"The technical support needs to improve."
"Oracle’s support team should improve its response time."
"Oracle VM VirtualBox is not flexible, It's not like VMware."
"When I select the Ubuntu operating system from within the virtual machine, it sometimes hangs."
"The product lacks scalability since it is for desktops and not for servers."
"This solution needs improvement with the business continuity planning, disaster and recovery management and using centralized data storage."
"VMware Player isn't downgradable, so if you have a later set of VMs, you need to upgrade it or figure out a workaround."
"The solution should provide a guide on its installation."
"The tool can improve network storage technology."
"VMware Workstation uses more resources like CPU and disk space, especially the CPU, which is a shortcoming that needs improvement."
"It could have more platforms and CPUs."
"One improvement is mouse emulation. Some people in the office want to use a five—or seven-button mouse like they're used to at home, but they can't with the workstation setup."
"The product is outdated."
"They could include official support for macOS virtualization within VMware Workstation."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"​It is free and can be run from your laptop, if needed, unlike VMware.​"
"We had some problems with the licensing."
"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."
"I use KVM for free through Proxmox, which offers a free license alternative."
"There is no cost involved in the use of KVM, as it is open source."
"The tool is free."
"This solution came with the Linux license."
"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."
"It is a very cost-effective solution."
"Everything is free within limitations. Once you go over a certain level of usage you have to license the product."
"It is an open-source solution."
"Price wise, Oracle VM VirtualBox is a six on a scale from one to ten."
"The product is free to use."
"Available for free use"
"There are no licensing fees."
"The license I use is free."
"Licensing costs are paid on a yearly basis."
"The product has a moderate price."
"The cost differs depending on the customer's requirement."
"It has the best licensing modules."
"The licensing costs are cheap. I pay approximately $100 per year."
"I use the free version of VMware Workstation."
"With all its support and ease of use, VMware Player's pricing is fair."
"The solution's pricing is almost the same as what Google Cloud, AWS, or Microsoft would charge you."
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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
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.
817,694 professionals have used our research since 2012.