We performed a comparison between KVM and Oracle VM VirtualBox based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison Results: Both KVM and Oracle VM VirtualBox have their strengths and weaknesses. Oracle VM VirtualBox seems to be the more favorable choice of the two, since it offers good scalability whereas scalability seems to be an ongoing issue for KVM users.
"Very cost-effective."
"The most valuable feature is hypervisor. I can host at the same time different operating systems in Linux Windows."
"What I like most about KVM is that it's very easy to use. Everything is built-in, even when writing command lines."
"This solution is open source and easy to configure."
"KVM has a rich options set which can be directly used or via wrappers, such as libvirt."
"Our production servers are running in Linux, and this solution supports that environment well."
"It is an easily scalable solution."
"I have found KVM to be scalable."
"Oracle VM VirtualBox is easy to use."
"It's very simple to use."
"The configuration and installation is pretty straightforward."
"The solution's most valuable feature is its stability."
"The cloning is a very useful tool."
"The product gives us the flexibility to try different machines."
"I like that Oracle VM is safe and stable. It is also very easy to administer. For example, opening a VM or adding a host adapter is extremely easy."
"Oracle VM Virtualbox is easy to use and does not require much training."
"One thing that maybe could be improved is making it easier to scale. It needs to be more clear on how to scale the storage space for virtual machines."
"Some things are pretty basic, and they could be more robust with more detail."
"The solution’s user interface could be improved and made more user-friendly."
"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."
"I have encountered difficulties in getting the tool's documentation."
"In KVM, snapshots and cloning are areas where there could be a little more sophistication, like VMware."
"We still occasionally build Interlaced Wireless Protection within our environment. The ecosystem entails areas, where we support agents, and release backup and security solutions. Collaboration with independent software vendors (ITOLs or ITOLED) is necessary to offer these solutions to customers. However, the scope of the ecosystem in KVM is not as extensive as that of VMware's. In contrast, VMware boasts a robust partner network, allowing for comprehensive customer solutions. On the other hand, KVM’s ecosystem is comparatively limited in comparison. I would like to see FT features in KVM."
"Lacks high availability across clusters as well as support for Apache CloudStack."
"The installation is difficult and could be improved."
"When I select the Ubuntu operating system from within the virtual machine, it sometimes hangs."
"Oracle VM VirtualBox doesn't work properly with an antivirus tool."
"Oracle’s support team should improve its response time."
"There are a few bugs that need to be updated."
"It could improve slightly with enhanced reporting capabilities that show the current status of the network."
"Having live migrations to move a running server to other hardware would be great."
"The solution needs to improve the methods used for starting and stopping the machine."
KVM is ranked 4th in Server Virtualization Software with 39 reviews while Oracle VM VirtualBox is ranked 5th in Server Virtualization Software with 61 reviews. KVM is rated 8.0, while Oracle VM VirtualBox is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of KVM writes "Delivers good performance because of kernel-based virtualization". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Oracle VM VirtualBox writes "The solution is versatile, simple to use, and stable". KVM is most compared with Proxmox VE, Hyper-V, VMware vSphere, VMware Workstation and Oracle VM, whereas Oracle VM VirtualBox is most compared with Proxmox VE, Hyper-V, Oracle VM, VMware Workstation and VMware vSphere. See our KVM vs. Oracle VM VirtualBox report.
See our list of best Server Virtualization Software vendors.
We monitor all Server Virtualization Software reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.