KVM vs Multipass

KVM is an open-source virtualization solution for Linux hosts with Intel VT or AMD-V extensions. It runs multiple virtual machines using unmodified Linux or Windows images, each with virtualized hardware such as a network card, disk, and graphics adapter. The documented capabilities include live migration, nested guests, CPU and PCI hotplug, virtio devices, and device assignment; snapshots and GPU acceleration are also listed. KVM’s kernel component is part of mainline Linux, while its userspace component is part of mainline QEMU. Linux distributions commonly package the required modules and tools, and Windows guest drivers are available separately. Documented processor coverage includes Intel, AMD, ARM, PowerPC, and 64-bit S390 systems. KVM can be used with upper layers including QEMU, libvirt, OpenStack, and oVirt. It is available for Linux and self-hosted use, and the listed plan is free. The host must have Intel VT or AMD-V virtualization extensions.

Multipass runs cloud-style virtual machines on Linux, macOS, and Windows workstations. It is intended for prototyping cloud deployments locally and creating customized Linux development environments. Instances can use cloud-init metadata, including custom definitions for configured servers, and local workflows can model deployments for AWS, Azure, Google, IBM, and Oracle. Multipass fetches Ubuntu images from Canonical and offers a growing catalogue of images with pre-installed applications. Users can share host files and folders with instances; the primary instance integrates with the native filesystem and has dedicated hot-key access. Both command-line and graphical interfaces are available, and the documentation covers Windows Terminal integration and running Docker containers in an instance. Host hypervisors are Host Compute System on Windows, Apple Virtualization on macOS, and QEMU on Linux. The product is free; the listed plan costs nothing, with host requirements varying by operating system. Anyone with access to the Multipass daemon socket can fully control the software, including mounting host filesystems and changing instance security features. Canonical advises limiting daemon access to trusted users. Its access controls begin with group membership and can later use a user TLS certificate.