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Virtual machine software

Alternatives to Proxmox VE

Proxmox VE is an open-source server virtualization platform that puts KVM virtual machines and Linux Containers under one management layer. Its web interface, command line, and REST API administer guests, clusters, high availability, live migration, disaster recovery, and varied storage. It supports Linux and Windows application workloads, directory and single-sign-on integrations, granular access controls, encrypted backups, and automation through REST API, Ansible, Terraform, and OpenTofu. Intel 64/AMD64 and newer 64-bit Arm hosts are supported.

  1. 01 QEMU

    QEMU suits users who need machine or user-mode emulation across CPU architectures.

    Free plan Open source Windows · macOS · Linux · API
    9.0 Visit Specs
  2. 02 Oracle VirtualBox
    Free plan Windows · macOS · Linux · Self-hosted
    8.9 Visit Specs
  3. 03 KVM

    KVM suits Linux users who need to host Linux or Windows virtual machines and can provide a compatible host processor.

    Free plan Open source Linux · API · Self-hosted
    8.7 Visit Specs
  4. 04 VMware Workstation Pro

    It suits developers, IT professionals, students, and enthusiasts who need to run virtual machines locally on Windows or Linux.

    Free plan Windows · Linux · Self-hosted
    8.6 Visit Specs
  5. 05 oVirt

    oVirt suits administrators managing self-hosted enterprise virtualization infrastructure.

    Free plan Open source Web · Windows · macOS · Linux
    8.5 Visit Specs
  6. 06 Xen Project Hypervisor

    Xen suits infrastructure, embedded, automotive, security-sensitive, and safety-critical systems.

    Free plan Linux · Self-hosted
    8.3 Visit Specs
  7. 07 Citrix XenServer

    XenServer suits organizations running virtual machines on dedicated 64-bit x86 servers that need high availability, live migration, or GPU features.

    Free trial Windows · Linux · Self-hosted
    8.2 Visit Specs
  8. 08 Multipass

    Multipass suits developers who want local Linux environments or cloud-style deployment prototypes on a workstation.

    Free plan Windows · macOS · Linux
    8.2 Visit Specs
  9. 09 UTM

    UTM suits Mac and iOS users who need to run virtual machines or emulate other processor architectures.

    Free plan macOS · iOS
    8.2 Visit Specs
  10. 10 Parallels Desktop

    Parallels Desktop suits Mac users who need Windows or Linux virtual machines, including users of listed Windows applications.

    Windows · macOS · Linux
    8.1 Visit Specs
  11. 11 virt-manager

    It suits Linux or OpenBSD users who need a desktop interface for managing KVM, Xen, or LXC virtual machines across local and remote hosts.

    Free plan Linux · Self-hosted
    8.1 Visit Specs
  12. 12 Cloud Hypervisor

    It suits operators who need a free virtual machine monitor for Linux hosts and modern Linux or Windows guests.

    Free plan Linux · API · Self-hosted
    7.9 Visit Specs
  13. 13 GNOME Boxes

    It suits Linux users who want to create and manage virtual machines on their local computer.

    Free plan Linux
    7.8 Visit Specs
  14. 14 Firecracker

    It suits teams running isolated multi-tenant containers or functions on Linux infrastructure.

    Free plan Linux · API · Self-hosted
    7.8 Visit Specs
  15. 15 JamaicaVM
    Free trial Windows · macOS · Linux
    7.7 Visit Specs
  16. 16 VergeOS
    Free trial Web · API · Self-hosted
    7.6 Visit Specs
  17. 17 IBM z/VM
    Self-hosted
    7.4 Visit Specs
  18. 18 IBM PowerVM

    IBM positions PowerVM for enterprises modernizing legacy systems, deploying AI workloads or building hybrid clouds across AIX, IBM i and Linux.

    Linux · Self-hosted
    7.3 Visit Specs
  19. 19 OpenNebula

    OpenNebula suits organizations building enterprise clouds or AI infrastructure across hybrid-cloud and edge deployments.

    Web · Linux · API · Self-hosted
    7.3 Visit Specs
  20. 20 HipHop Virtual Machine (HHVM)
    Free plan Linux · Self-hosted
    7.3 Visit Specs
  21. 21 Scale Computing Platform

    It suits distributed enterprises and edge deployments that need centralized management with limited local IT staffing.

    Web · Linux · API · Self-hosted
    7.2 Visit Specs
  22. 22 XenServer
    Free trial Windows · Linux
    6.8 Visit Specs
  23. 23 XCP-ng Center
    Windows
    6.5 Visit Specs

Choosing instead of Proxmox VE

Alternatives become relevant when you need cloud services, tenant isolation, broader networking, different container tooling, or a desktop hypervisor. Community use is free, while paid subscriptions start at €120/yr per occupied physical CPU socket; every cluster server needs matching coverage. The bare-metal installer also takes over the selected server and removes existing disk data. Compare workload types, storage and networking, management interfaces, deployment model, migration needs, and whether the platform should run infrastructure or provide a larger cloud control plane.

Proxmox VE, head to head