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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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
5.3
Oracle VM VirtualBox offers quick ROI by reducing costs and streamlining processes, with users reporting high satisfaction and time savings.
Sentiment score
1.0
VMware Workstation enhances cost savings, enabling efficient application testing and integration, resulting in improved job performance and satisfaction.
I did not perform any long-term stress tests, just for a couple of hours or days on every application.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.7
VirtualBox users prefer online documentation and community support over Oracle's support, which is seen as capable but slow.
Sentiment score
2.9
VMware Workstation's customer service is mixed, with varying responsiveness and reliance on community resources after HP acquisition.
Their forum and documentation is more than enough for technical support.
On a scale of one to 10, I would rate their support or customer service a two or three since they never did anything.
The documents provided for Workstation were not hard to understand.
It's a very special way of working with VMware Workstation.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
Oracle VM VirtualBox is valued for scalable environments, though hardware limitations and memory overhead can impede performance.
Sentiment score
6.7
VMware Workstation is versatile, supporting multiple VMs, though opinions vary on scalability for larger operations and single installations.
VMware Workstation is scalable enough for larger companies, though it requires some skills.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
Oracle VM VirtualBox is generally stable but faces occasional issues, especially on Windows, rated around eight for stability.
Sentiment score
7.8
VMware Workstation is highly reliable, with improved stability post-v6, though minor virtual network issues may occur in specific scenarios.
The snapshot functionality in Oracle VM VirtualBox is effective for management purposes.
The problem we are facing with stability is that the network adapter causes crashes of the VM when we're using it for developing purposes.
 

Room For Improvement

Oracle VM VirtualBox users desire better networking, stability, resource management, and enhanced integration with diverse hardware and remote solutions.
VMware Workstation needs performance, usability, and cost improvements, enhanced stability, better documentation, and streamlined integration and scalability.
Having some kind of API to maintain Oracle VM VirtualBox would be beneficial.
Eventually, we had to get some licenses with Broadcom, and all the costs went up dramatically.
We faced challenges with backup due to limitations in the free version, requiring us to switch to a paid version.
The problem we are facing with stability is that the network adapter causes crashes of the VM when we're using it for developing purposes.
 

Setup Cost

Oracle VM VirtualBox provides a free version popular for cost-effectiveness, with enterprise licensing seen as expensive by some.
VMware Workstation is pricey but offers integration benefits with cost-saving opportunities through sales and varies by user needs.
In the enterprise scenario, all software solutions, including Oracle VM VirtualBox, are expensive.
 

Valuable Features

Oracle VM VirtualBox is free, versatile, and easy to use, ideal for testing, education, and stable multi-platform virtualization.
VMware Workstation offers user-friendly virtualization, multi-OS operation, and superior testing flexibility, outperforming alternatives like Oracle VirtualBox.
The guest OS compatibility was tremendous because I used Oracle VM VirtualBox on Linux and ran Windows applications on top of that, working seamlessly.
Its snapshot functionality helps with backup management.
VMware will just create a new machine immediately if we have a problem.
VMware Workstation works correctly and has more features compared to Oracle VirtualBox.
Simply being able to run several Windows PCs with different development environments has had the largest impact on our operational efficiency.
 

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
5.7
Number of Reviews
57
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 6.0%, down 9.2% compared to last year.
VMware Workstation, on the other hand, focuses on Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), holds 14.5% mindshare, down 15.7% since last year.
Server Virtualization Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Oracle VM VirtualBox6.0%
VMware vSphere16.8%
Proxmox VE16.1%
Other61.099999999999994%
Server Virtualization Software
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
VMware Workstation14.5%
VMware Fusion Pro17.4%
Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service)13.7%
Other54.400000000000006%
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.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Educational Organization
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
11%
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 Enterprise17
 

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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Find out what your peers are saying about Broadcom, Proxmox, Microsoft and others in Server Virtualization Software. Updated: September 2025.
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