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Oracle VM VirtualBox vs VMware ESXi comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 6, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
4.0
Oracle VM VirtualBox boosts ROI by virtualizing servers, enhancing efficiency, and providing quick setups with significant financial returns.
Sentiment score
5.7
VMware ESXi saves time and money initially but may result in higher long-term costs despite improved efficiency.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.7
Many users find community support and comprehensive documentation sufficient, reducing the need for Oracle VM VirtualBox's customer service.
Sentiment score
7.8
VMware ESXi support is responsive and effective, but some users note delays post-Broadcom acquisition, affecting satisfaction.
In the last three or four years, we did not require any support from VMware engineers, indicating its high reliability.
I rate the technical support from VMware as nine or ten out of ten.
Their technical support is good, and I am satisfied with it.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
Oracle VM VirtualBox offers moderate to high scalability, efficiently supporting various environments despite some hardware limitation concerns.
Sentiment score
7.9
VMware ESXi offers scalable solutions, efficiently managing virtual environments with excellent vertical scalability, despite some licensing challenges.
My customers are highly satisfied with its scalability.
vCenter Server can manage up to 1,000 ESXi servers within a single UI interface, allowing extensive deployment and management capabilities.
The solution is scalable, allowing us to scale up or down regardless of infrastructure size.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.0
Oracle VM VirtualBox is stable for most users but can have issues with Windows, snapshots, and multiple monitors.
Sentiment score
8.5
VMware ESXi is praised for stability and reliability, with most users rating it highly despite occasional performance issues.
The snapshot functionality in Oracle VM VirtualBox is effective for management purposes.
ESXi is stable, and our business operations depend on it year after year.
 

Room For Improvement

Users desire improved network options, better integration, enhanced usability, stability, compatibility, and remote management features for virtual machines.
VMware ESXi requires simpler licensing, improved usability, cost reduction, enhanced support, better scalability, and features like remote access.
The cost of VMware ESXi is very high, especially after the acquisition by Broadcom, which led to price increases.
It's not cost-effective for small users and creates a gap for alternatives, while favoring larger clients.
Providing a mobile application for remote access to ESXi servers would be beneficial.
 

Setup Cost

Oracle VM VirtualBox is cost-effective and available for free, but licensing issues require careful enterprise evaluation.
VMware ESXi is often seen as expensive, with high initial and annual costs and a confusing licensing model.
In the enterprise scenario, all software solutions, including Oracle VM VirtualBox, are expensive.
The product is very cost-effective, though not fixed, as pricing tends to fluctuate over time.
Changes have made it cost-prohibitive for smaller users.
The pricing is expensive, with the cost for customers ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 yearly.
 

Valuable Features

Oracle VM VirtualBox is a versatile, user-friendly, open-source virtualization solution offering cross-platform support and advanced management features.
VMware ESXi is highly regarded for its reliability, user-friendliness, resource optimization, and efficient management of virtual machines.
Its snapshot functionality helps with backup management.
As a level one or bare metal hypervisor, its unmatched scalability depends on underlying hardware, capable of managing large numbers of physical servers with one management platform.
Its capability to move virtual machines to physical machines is very efficient for our live environment.
All the features of VMware ESXi are very beneficial, particularly for virtualizing our infrastructure.
 

Categories and Ranking

Oracle VM VirtualBox
Ranking in Server Virtualization Software
7th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
64
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
VMware ESXi
Ranking in Server Virtualization Software
8th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Server Virtualization Software category, the mindshare of Oracle VM VirtualBox is 6.9%, down from 10.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware ESXi is 0.6%. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Server Virtualization Software
 

Featured Reviews

Kopano  Ramaphoi - PeerSpot reviewer
A flexible and easy-to-deploy product that provides a great user experience
The product should improve its scalability. It should be more flexible to be used with desktops with different capacities. We do not have much storage on our desktops, and we must allocate a certain amount of memory to install the product. When we install a virtual machine, we have a limit that we cannot exceed 80% of RAM.
Syed Ali Waqas - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficiently manages development environments with robust network integration
I recommend new users download and evaluate the free version from VMware's website. Once satisfied, they should purchase the professional version for a smooth and secure IT infrastructure. The professional version is cost-effective, allowing one to create multiple servers on a single server. I'd rate the solution ten out of ten.
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847,772 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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 easy to set up and manage. It offers very good security. It has a virtual manag...
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 affect the terms of licenses and additional costs. The price is okay. I rate the p...
What do you like most about VMware ESXi?
My customers are satisfied with the solution’s performance.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware ESXi?
VMware is shifting to Broadcom, and their prices are becoming more expensive nowadays. The management is considering whether to continue with VMware or switch to other products. I am not sure exact...
What needs improvement with VMware ESXi?
Pricing is a major issue with VMware ESXi as it is becoming more expensive. Many financial companies use VMware, so they should consider working on their pricing model to make it more affordable.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Airbus, Colorado State University, SCS Africa, Wolf Medical Systems.
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Oracle VM VirtualBox vs. VMware ESXi and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
847,772 professionals have used our research since 2012.