Oracle VM VirtualBox vs Proxmox VE comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Apr 5, 2022

We performed a comparison between Oracle VM VirtualBox and Proxmox VE based on our users’ reviews in four categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.

  • Ease of Deployment: Most Oracle VM VirtualBox users and Proxmox VE users felt that the setup and deployment of both solutions were relatively easy.
  • Features: Oracle VM VirtualBox reviewers thought the software was easy to use and had great monitoring capabilities. They also liked that you can easily switch over and use it in other environments after creating a virtual machine in one environment. However, users felt the solution overall was unstable.

    Users of Proxmox VE liked that the software was easy to use and had good performance and backup service. However, users didn’t like that specific processes weren’t automatic, like manually updating, and because it's a young solution, there were some bugs.
  • Pricing: Oracle VM Virtualbox reviewers were using the free version. Users of Proxmox VE found the solution very affordable.
  • Service and Support: Most users of Oracle VM VirtualBox used the free online community to solve their issues, though the few that used support were happy. Most users of Proxmox VE were happy with the support, though there were a few who thought it needed improvement.
  • ROI: Users of both Oracle VM VirtualBox and Proxmox VE reported seeing a great ROI.

Comparison Results: Oracle VM VirtualBox and Proxmox VE had a similar user rating regarding ease of deployment, pricing, service and support, and ROI. However, in terms of features, Oracle VM VirtualBox users felt the solution was unstable, whereas Proxmox VE users felt some bugs needed fixing.

To learn more, read our detailed Oracle VM VirtualBox vs. Proxmox VE Report (Updated: March 2024).
763,955 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Q&A Highlights
Question: How does Proxmox VE compare with Oracle VM VirtualBox?
Answer: Proxmox = professional environments (any size). VirtualBox = small environments or test purpose Sorry for the short response but it is exactly like that.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"The solution's most valuable feature is its stability.""It's very simple to use.""The product’s most valuable feature is the ability to manage multiple operating systems through one application.""The cloning is a very useful tool.""It is easy to use and does not require complex knowledge.""The flexibility and the closed platform, so it allows you to run in multiple platforms, Windows, Linux, Macintosh.""The product gives us the flexibility to try different machines.""Oracle VM Virtualbox is easy to use and does not require much training."

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"The whole solution is good. It has good tools that help me in managing the servers. It is also stable.""The solution is extremely scalable.""Proxmox VE has many containers. You need to download the image and do basic configuration, after which it is operational within a few minutes. The solution provides many containers that are light in use and don't use a lot of memory. You don't have to spend a lot of resources.""The ability to back up a host and keep it running is valuable.""Proxmox VE is simple to use and it is feature rich. The fact is that it performs,""It's very user-friendly.""I like that it's secure, and I find its Software RAID very useful. It's way better than the Hardware RAID I was used to. I'm really impressed by their Software RAID feature.""KVM hypervisor is a valuable part of the solution."

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Cons
"It could improve slightly with enhanced reporting capabilities that show the current status of the network.""We're working with them to be able to allow the local USB ports to be ported over to the remote desktop, running VirtualBox.""This solution needs improvement with the business continuity planning, disaster and recovery management and using centralized data storage.""They could improve the graphics functionality of the product.""The installation is difficult and could be improved.""We're working with them to be able to allow the local USB ports to be ported over to the remote desktop, running VirtualBox.""The solution lacks some open source remote administration tools. The reload of individual virtual machine definitions through the vboxweb service (via its API) without restarting it and the access to shared storage (to use teleport functions) need to be improved.""The solution should have more enterprise features, like migration, high availability storage, disaster recovery, and the ability to deploy to enterprise-scale usage. They should not just offer desktop usage."

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"The scalability could be better.""A feature which should be added is the ability to encrypt the main installation.""If this solution could import directly from OVS format then it would make migration much easier.""It is a good solution, but it is very complicated in some ways. It is not easy. You must have experience in the console mode to do some configurations. A lot of documentation and YouTube videos are available that you can use to learn about it.""I would like to see more monitoring in the next release of this solution.""It might be interesting to have the ability to integrate with other cloud solutions.""The product is still a little young so it is maturing, but new features are coming out all the time.""Its user interface can be improved. In the version that I am using, not all functions can be performed by using the UI. There can be some improvement on that. I'm assuming that it has already been improved in the latest version."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "It is a very cost-effective solution."
  • "Pricing does not apply for us, we do not have to pay for the service."
  • "The product is free to use."
  • "Everything is free within limitations. Once you go over a certain level of usage you have to license the product."
  • "It is pretty good for the price, which is free."
  • "This is an open-source product and it can be used free of charge."
  • "There are no licensing fees."
  • "The license I use is free."
  • More Oracle VM VirtualBox Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "An excellent choice for budget sensitive operations.​"
  • "The cost is excellent."
  • "Proxmox is free software, but if you prefer the support and a more rested repository then you can pay for it."
  • "Zero - this is a free solution."
  • "The only thing you pay for is support and it is between $2,500 and $3,000 a year. It depends on the support plan you choose. Support is optional."
  • "I am not aware of the licensing cost, but there is a cost for support."
  • "It's an open-source solution that can be used free of cost."
  • "Because I'm using Proxmox VE for personal use and it's an AGPL license project, I can use it at home for free."
  • More Proxmox VE Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Answers from the Community
    Netanya Carmi
    Janet Staver - PeerSpot reviewerJanet Staver
    Real User

    Proxmox VE is a very fast and powerful solution. It offers feature-rich virtualization, has open-standards compliance, and also includes redundancy and failover capabilities. What I like about Proxmox VE is that it lets you rack and stack two or more nodes and enables you to be up and running with a one-node failure tolerance in very little time. Proxmox VE’s integration with ZFS is also fantastic. It allows you to create pools to store your VM images and data on very easily and their great web UI makes it easy to check drive health, ZFS scrub status, and other things. I think the best part of the web UI is that everything is configurable from the web user interface without having to use the command line. It also has graphs and additional visualizations so you can evaluate the performance of everything. Beyond that, even though you can use Proxmox VE on a single server, the solution makes it easy to set up a high availability cluster on multiple hosts if needed.


    Regarding Oracle VM VirtualBox, I would say its most valuable features are its virtualization, its compatibility with older OSes, and its testing of environments without causing interruptions or any harm to production. Besides making it possible to run multiple VMs on a laptop or desktop, its ease of deployment makes the solution appealing. Not only is it easy to set up, but the software is free. Moreover, it has a nice interface. However, I think Oracle VM VirtualBox could use some improvements on its reporting as well as on its network settings for VMs, which can sometimes be hard for the average user to find and understand.



    Conclusion: While Oracle is a safe and excellent option when it comes to virtualizing an operating system, I would suggest Proxmox VE because it is newer, has a lot of powerful features, and is a very reliable and stable solution.

    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer: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 manager… more »
    Top Answer:The product’s most valuable feature is the ability to manage multiple operating systems through one application.
    Top Answer:For me the biggest impact is the cost of licensing in the case of VMware despite its overall intuitiveness and ease of handling and management. However, KVM-based Open Source solutions are becoming… more »
    Top Answer:One of the best things about Proxmox VE is that it is open-source and very inexpensive. You get all of the same features as with the more well-known products. Proxmox VE is very easy to deploy - it… more »
    Top Answer:I use Proxmox VE and have been very happy with it. In my opinion, it is a complete and stable solution with excellent tools for managing servers. It has a lot of different features, and I also love… more »
    Ranking
    Views
    34,038
    Comparisons
    22,769
    Reviews
    10
    Average Words per Review
    356
    Rating
    8.4
    Views
    63,421
    Comparisons
    41,688
    Reviews
    23
    Average Words per Review
    408
    Rating
    8.5
    Comparisons
    Learn More
    Overview

    Oracle VM VirtualBox is a robust AMD64/Intel64 and x86 next-generation virtualization solution that functions well for home use and is also powerful enough to handle the needs of a busy enterprise organization. This professional solution is open source and provides super-fast high performance in addition to many outstanding value-added features. VirtualBox functions effectively on Windows, macOS, Solaris, Linux, and more. Users can benefit from VirtualBox's dedication to continually developing the product and providing continual progressive updates and releases. The solution is supported by a trusted dedicated professional community and is backed by Oracle, which guarantees that the product is able to consistently meet and exceed quality controls and protocols at all times.

    Oracle VM VirtualBox Features

    Oracle VM Virtual Box provides many value-added features.  Some of these features include:

    • Consolidation: Oracle VM VirtualBox makes it easy for users to seamlessly run numerous virtual machines on a small number of hosts and will also facilitate comprehensive balancing of the loads between VMs. This helps to minimize and consolidate the hardware needed throughout the organization.
    • Diagnostics: VirtualBox provides excellent testing and disaster recovery. Users can use the virtual hard disk like a container. This container can be copied, frozen, backed up, or transported between hosts. Using the virtual machines (VMs), users can easily test multi-node network services for any networking, software configuration, or operating system issues.
    • Snapshots: Using snapshots, users are able to save or freeze a specific state of a VM and choose to revert back to the protected state if/when they desire. Users are able to make changes or experiment within the computing space. Should a problem arise, users can revert back to the selected snapshot; this makes the need for frequent backups and restores unnecessary.
    • Flexibility: The solution makes it easy to run different operating systems (OSes) at the same time. Users can run software designed for one OS on another OS. For example, users can easily run Windows on a MAC and not have to perform a reboot. As users can configure the kinds of virtual hardware to be presented with each OS, there is greater flexibility on which OS can be selected, and users can even choose older OSes or ones that are not currently supported by the original OS.
    • Cost-effective: Virtualization with Oracle VM VirtualBox enables users to considerably minimize overall costs by reducing the amount of hardware needed and the associated expenses of running the physical machines throughout an organization. This tremendous cost savings results in ROI being achieved in a very short period of time.

    Reviews from Real Users

    “Oracle VM VirtualBox is easy to use and does not require much training. It uses fewer resources. Teams using new operating system releases can quickly test and implement. This would make the development of new software releases faster and easier. It also helps users to write the program, test, and support it on multiple platforms. It has a good community as it is open-source.” - Satishbabu G., Oracle ACE

    “It is easy to use and does not require complex knowledge. It uses less resources, which is a requirement as it is used to onboard hardware with very little resources available.” - A PeerSpot user who is an IT Architect - AI at CGI

    Proxmox VE is a complete virtualization management solution for servers. It is a powerful open-source platform and supports two virtualization technologies - KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) for virtual machines and LXC for containers. Proxmox VE has a central user interface that allows you to manage not only VMs and containers, but also storage resources, network configuration, and high availability for clusters. It is enterprise-ready and is valued for its scalability and maximum flexibility, enabling you to virtualize very demanding workloads. Proxmox VE makes it possible for you to easily install, manage, and monitor hyper-converged (HCI) data centers.

    Proxmox VE Key Features

    The Proxmox VE platform has many powerful features, including:

    pen-source software, high-available clusters, command line, fencing, a web-based management interface, flexible storage options, REST API, live/online migration, storage replication stack, software defined storage, virtualized networking, backup and restore, two-factor authentication, role-based administration, and VM templates and clones.

    Proxmox VE Benefits

    Some of the biggest benefits of Proxmox VE are:

    • Central management: To manage all tasks of your virtual data center, you can use the central, web-based management interface.

    • Unique multi-master design: Proxmox VE allows you to carry out maintenance tasks cluster wide, from any node.

    • Minimize downtime: With the integrated live/online migration feature, you can move running virtual machines from one Proxmox VE cluster node to another, without any downtime or noticeable effect from the end-user side.

    • Granular access: Using Proxmox VE’s role-based permission management system helps you define granular access to all objects.

    • Multiple authentication sources: Proxmox VE supports multiple authentication sources, including Linux PAM, an integrated Proxmox VE authentication server, LDAP, Microsoft Active Directory, and OpenID Connect.

    • Several storage options: The Proxmox VE storage model is very flexible and the web interface allows you to add multiple storage types (LVM Group, iSCSI target, NFS Share, SMB/CIFS, Ceph RBD, Direct to iSCSI LUN, GlusterFS, CephFS).

    • Collaboration with Ceph: Proxmox VE fully integrates Ceph, giving you the ability to run and manage Ceph storage directly from any of your cluster nodes.

    • Scheduled backups: With Proxmox VE, backups can be scheduled so that they automatically run on specific days and times, for selectable nodes and guest systems.

    • IT infrastructure protection: Proxmox VE has a built-in firewall that works to protect your IT infrastructure. The firewall is completely customizable, allowing complex configurations via the GUI or CLI.

    Reviews From Real Users

    Here is some feedback from some of our users who are currently using the solution:

    A PeerSpot user who is a director at a tech services company says, “The most valuable features of Proxmox VE are the ease of containerization. Overall the solution is generic, feature-rich, and has compatibility.”

    Another PeerSpot user who is a head of IT operations at a tech services company mentions that "In addition to the virtualization, the firewall and the routing functions that it provides are valuable."

    Deepen D., director and CTO at TechnoInfotech, expresses that "The feature that I have found most valuable is that its storage container, LVM, and everything else work out of the box."


    Sample Customers
    Airbus, Colorado State University, SCS Africa, Wolf Medical Systems.
    Municipality of Trento, SwitchMIA, inDenova, Valmeita City Council, Alpha IT AS, Grupo Inversor Veracruzano S.A.P.I. de C.V. (GRIVER), Laut und Schoen, IT-Services - Hamburg e.K., KMI Learning, Dynacom Tankers Management Ltd., Serwise AG
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm16%
    University13%
    Manufacturing Company10%
    Computer Software Company10%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company15%
    Comms Service Provider10%
    Educational Organization8%
    Government8%
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company13%
    Retailer13%
    Government13%
    University8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company15%
    Comms Service Provider14%
    Government8%
    Educational Organization7%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business48%
    Midsize Enterprise27%
    Large Enterprise24%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business25%
    Midsize Enterprise17%
    Large Enterprise58%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business68%
    Midsize Enterprise15%
    Large Enterprise17%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business30%
    Midsize Enterprise19%
    Large Enterprise51%
    Buyer's Guide
    Oracle VM VirtualBox vs. Proxmox VE
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Oracle VM VirtualBox vs. Proxmox VE and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    763,955 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Oracle VM VirtualBox is ranked 5th in Server Virtualization Software with 10 reviews while Proxmox VE is ranked 1st in Server Virtualization Software with 24 reviews. Oracle VM VirtualBox is rated 8.2, while Proxmox VE is rated 8.6. The top reviewer of Oracle VM VirtualBox writes "Simple to use, easy to configure, and reliable". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Proxmox VE writes "An open-source server management platform with a useful Software RAID feature, but backup and recovery could be better". Oracle VM VirtualBox is most compared with Hyper-V, KVM, Oracle VM, VMware Workstation and VMware vSphere, whereas Proxmox VE is most compared with VMware vSphere, KVM, Hyper-V, Nutanix AHV Virtualization and Citrix Hypervisor. See our Oracle VM VirtualBox vs. Proxmox VE 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.