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Oracle VM VirtualBox vs VMware Workstation comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.7
Oracle VM VirtualBox users often prefer community resources over official support, though some praise Oracle's knowledgeable assistance.
No sentiment score available
VMware's support varies, praised for issue resolution but criticized for slow responses; smaller businesses prefer pay-as-you-go options.
 

Room For Improvement

Sentiment score
4.5
Users find Oracle VM VirtualBox challenging due to outdated UI, networking issues, and required command-line configurations, seeking improvements.
Sentiment score
4.7
VMware Workstation needs enhanced performance, easier configuration, better compatibility, and improved pricing, usability, and support for greater user satisfaction.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Oracle VM VirtualBox scalability receives mixed reviews, with some praising efficiency while others cite hardware constraints and resource management challenges.
Sentiment score
7.1
VMware Workstation is praised for scalability, handling many users, but efficiency and resource constraints highlight areas needing improvement.
 

Setup Cost

Sentiment score
8.1
Oracle VM VirtualBox is favored for free access, appealing to smaller users, with variable costs for larger enterprises.
No sentiment score available
VMware Workstation pricing is seen as both affordable and expensive, varying by licensing, user needs, and region.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.0
Oracle VM VirtualBox is generally stable, with Linux favored for reliability, and users rate it highly for functionality.
Sentiment score
8.4
VMware Workstation is praised for stability and performance, despite high RAM usage and minor issues in virtual networks.
 

Valuable Features

Sentiment score
8.1
Oracle VM VirtualBox provides cost-free, multi-platform virtualization, offering ease of use, high performance, and versatile open-source features.
Sentiment score
8.3
VMware Workstation offers easy installation, supports multiple OS, powerful snapshots, hardware compatibility, and an intuitive interface for efficient VM management.
 

Categories and Ranking

Oracle VM VirtualBox
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
63
Ranking in other categories
Server Virtualization Software (6th)
VMware Workstation
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
54
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Virtualization solutions, they serve different purposes. Oracle VM VirtualBox is designed for Server Virtualization Software and holds a mindshare of 9.3%, down 11.2% compared to last year.
VMware Workstation, on the other hand, focuses on Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), holds 16.9% mindshare, up 14.4% since last year.
Server Virtualization Software
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
 

Featured Reviews

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.
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816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Educational Organization
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
University
7%
Computer Software Company
16%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
7%
 

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...
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 Workstation primarily to test environments to determine how well a solution will...
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.
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Airbus, Colorado State University, SCS Africa, Wolf Medical Systems.
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816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.