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.
"The initial setup was simple."
"I like that this is an open-source solution. It is very powerful, and it's easy."
"Our production servers are running in Linux, and this solution supports that environment well."
"KVM has a rich options set which can be directly used or via wrappers, such as libvirt."
"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."
"The product's scalability is good...It's a very stable product."
"If you prefer command-line, there are all kinds of command-line options."
"Oracle VM VirtualBox is easy to use."
"The pause feature is valuable. I can pause, which is something that not all hypervisors allow. The snapshot feature is also valuable."
"The scalability of the solution is very good."
"The solution is very convenient and easy to use."
"The flexibility and the closed platform, so it allows you to run in multiple platforms, Windows, Linux, Macintosh."
"It is a stable product."
"The configuration and installation is pretty straightforward."
"The initial setup was straightforward."
"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."
"The speed is around thirty percent slower than another competitor. This would be something to work on."
"The solution should be more user friendly. We are struggling with the command lines."
"I would like to see more focus on microservices and integration with Kubernetes or OpenShift."
"The virtual manager and the graphical QEMU for KVM need some improvement."
"In our setup, we do not have any dashboards or orchestration, and it is hard to manage. We have 25 gig network cards, but the software driver we have only supported 10 gigs."
"I have previously used VMware and KVM is easier to use. However, they both have their strengths depending on their use cases. They are mostly equal. One of VMware's advantages is it has better support."
"The product must provide better performance monitoring features."
"Oracle VM VirtualBox doesn't work properly with an antivirus tool."
"There are a few bugs that need to be updated."
"We're working with them to be able to allow the local USB ports to be ported over to the remote desktop, running VirtualBox."
"I find the solution to be incredibly unstable, constantly falling over and not working properly."
"The communications setup lags. It does not connect properly so the batching and networking is a bit slow."
"The memory and hardware usage could be a little bit lighter. Right now, it's quite heavy on the usage. The CPU usage should be lower."
"The solution has to do a better job of promoting the product and its licensing capabilities."
"The installation is difficult and could be improved."
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.