Comparing VirtualBox and VMware Workstation Player
Virtual Shootout
VirtualBox and VMware Workstation Player are popular virtualization options that won't cost you a penny. Which is best for you?
For many users, virtualization is a daily part of the computing experience. Test an application? Switch to a different OS without shutting down? Run a program that only works in Windows? The possibilities are endless.
Several popular options exist for supporting virtualization on a Linux workstation; two of the most popular alternatives are VirtualBox and VMware. The common conception is that VirtualBox is a free tool and VMware is a commercial solution with a price tag. The reality is a bit more complicated. VMware does make a no-cost version of their VMware Workstation solution called VMware Workstation Player [1]. VMware Workstation Player is only free for non-commercial uses; if you want to use it for business, you'll need to buy a license.
VirtualBox [2] is indeed a free and open source virtualization solution, but certain advanced features are collected into an extension pack that you'll need to install separately [3]. You can use the extensions without cost for non-commercial purposes. The project website is a little vague on what to do if you want to use the VirtualBox extensions for commercial purposes, but the answer appears to be the VM VirtualBox package from VirtualBox parent company Oracle [4].
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
TuxCare Announces Support for AlmaLinux 9.2
Thanks to TuxCare, AlmaLinux 9.2 (and soon version 9.6) now enjoys years of ongoing patching and compliance.
-
Go-Based Botnet Attacking IoT Devices
Using an SSH credential brute-force attack, the Go-based PumaBot is exploiting IoT devices everywhere.
-
Plasma 6.5 Promises Better Memory Optimization
With the stable Plasma 6.4 on the horizon, KDE has a few new tricks up its sleeve for Plasma 6.5.
-
KaOS 2025.05 Officially Qt5 Free
If you're a fan of independent Linux distributions, the team behind KaOS is proud to announce the latest iteration that includes kernel 6.14 and KDE's Plasma 6.3.5.
-
Linux Kernel 6.15 Now Available
The latest Linux kernel is now available with several new features/improvements and the usual bug fixes.
-
Microsoft Makes Surprising WSL Announcement
In a move that might surprise some users, Microsoft has made Windows Subsystem for Linux open source.
-
Red Hat Releases RHEL 10 Early
Red Hat quietly rolled out the official release of RHEL 10.0 a bit early.
-
openSUSE Joins End of 10
openSUSE has decided to not only join the End of 10 movement but it also will no longer support the Deepin Desktop Environment.
-
New Version of Flatpak Released
Flatpak 1.16.1 is now available as the latest, stable version with various improvements.
-
IBM Announces Powerhouse Linux Server
IBM has unleashed a seriously powerful Linux server with the LinuxONE Emperor 5.