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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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Oracle VM VirtualBox
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
65
Ranking in other categories
Server Virtualization Software (8th)
VMware Workstation
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (1st)
 

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 6.1%, down 9.4% compared to last year.
VMware Workstation, on the other hand, focuses on Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), holds 14.5% mindshare, down 15.4% since last year.
Server Virtualization Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Oracle VM VirtualBox6.1%
Proxmox VE16.7%
VMware vSphere16.5%
Other60.7%
Server Virtualization Software
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
VMware Workstation14.5%
VMware Fusion Pro18.6%
Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service)13.0%
Other53.9%
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
 

Featured Reviews

Tanvir Siddique - PeerSpot reviewer
Easily accesses open solutions with seamless compatibility for testing and development
The most valuable feature is the seamlessness. When I install a Linux operating system, I can use Windows applications through Oracle VM VirtualBox seamlessly. There are many applications that work only on Windows. For desktop testing purposes, I used Oracle VM VirtualBox, and it works fine. The guest OS compatibility was tremendous because I used Oracle VM VirtualBox on Linux and ran Windows applications on top of that, working seamlessly.
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The scalability of the solution is very good."
"Oracle VM VirtualBox is easy to use."
"This solution can be used on many different platforms including Windows and Linux."
"The pause feature is valuable. I can pause, which is something that not all hypervisors allow. The snapshot feature is also valuable."
"The solution's most valuable feature is its stability."
"The most valuable feature is the seamlessness."
"I think VirtualBox has good stability because I use it in an environment with several resolutions."
"It's very simple to use."
"VMware Workstation allows you to run a virtual machine."
"The most valuable features of VMware Workstation are the DirectX support, you can run Microsoft Hyper-V in virtual environments which is good for me to test different installations. Additionally, you can set up different VLANs, and overall it is a complete solution."
"I appreciate the ease of backup and snapshot creation. The ability to revert to previous versions without losing data is very useful for our team."
"VMware Workstation works correctly and has more features compared to Oracle VirtualBox."
"Because the setup is so easy, this is a solution that can be used at a moment's notice."
"VMware Player helps you to virtualize and install Ubuntu or any other operating system, even on a Windows laptop."
"We initially intended to work with Hyper-V because we are selling a virtual appliance and thought our customers would want to run that on Hyper-V."
"Technical support is very good."
 

Cons

"Oracle needs to improve its hot virtual machine migration. It didn't work as intended. It should allow us to migrate between virtual machines, without stopping the database."
"The tool has some stability issues."
"Oracle’s support team should improve its response time."
"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."
"The solution has to do a better job of promoting the product and its licensing capabilities."
"I find the solution to be incredibly unstable, constantly falling over and not working properly."
"I think that this solution should be more user-friendly."
"There are a few bugs that need to be updated."
"The solution can be expensive."
"Its price could be better."
"VMware Workstation’s scalability could be improved."
"Lacks the ability to clone onto another system rather than starting from scratch."
"It could have more platforms and CPUs."
"The GUI interface could be improved."
"The dashboard can be improved."
"It would be better if software updates occur automatically."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This is an open-source product and it can be used free of charge."
"The license I use is free."
"Everything is free within limitations. Once you go over a certain level of usage you have to license the product."
"No licensing is required as it is open-source."
"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."
"Available for free use"
"VMware Workstation is an expensive solution in Asian countries."
"The product is expensive."
"The solution is moderately priced. I rate the pricing a six out of ten."
"The solution's pricing is almost the same as what Google Cloud, AWS, or Microsoft would charge you."
"The licensing costs are cheap. I pay approximately $100 per year."
"It is an expensive solution."
"The price of the solution per workstation is approximately 200 Francs annually. We pay a total of 800 francs. Everything is included in the price such as the support."
"It has the best licensing modules."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Educational Organization
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise17
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise16
 

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?
Maintenance is not necessary because I did not use it for heavy loads.
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.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Airbus, Colorado State University, SCS Africa, Wolf Medical Systems.
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