Qemu vs VirtualBox

Overview

VirtualBox

Stacks31.1K

Followers25.6K

Votes1.1K

Qemu

Stacks105

Followers131

Votes3

Qemu vs VirtualBox: What are the differences?

Introduction

Qemu and VirtualBox are two popular open-source virtualization software that allow users to run multiple operating systems on a single host machine. While both have similar functions, there are key differences that set them apart.

Architecture: Qemu is an emulator, which means it emulates the entire hardware of a guest operating system. On the other hand, VirtualBox is a hypervisor, which means it provides a virtualization layer on top of the host hardware and allows guest operating systems to run directly on the underlying hardware. This difference in architecture affects their performance and compatibility with different operating systems.
Supported Guest Operating Systems: Qemu supports a wide range of guest operating systems, including various versions of Windows, Linux, BSD, and even some exotic ones. VirtualBox, on the other hand, supports a similar range of guest operating systems but has better support for desktop operating systems like Windows, macOS, and Linux distributions.
Ease of Use: VirtualBox offers a user-friendly graphical user interface (GUI) that makes it easy to create, configure, and manage virtual machines. Qemu, on the other hand, is mainly command-line driven and requires more technical knowledge to use. However, Qemu provides more flexibility in terms of customization and configuration options.
Performance: Qemu's emulation approach makes it slower compared to VirtualBox, which uses hardware-assisted virtualization for better performance. Qemu can be resource-intensive and may not provide the same level of performance as VirtualBox, especially for CPU and memory-intensive tasks.
Networking: VirtualBox provides a range of networking options, including NAT, bridged networking, and host-only networking, allowing virtual machines to communicate with the host and other virtual machines. Qemu also supports similar networking options but may require more manual configuration.
Snapshot and Cloning: VirtualBox has a built-in snapshot feature that allows users to take snapshots of a virtual machine's state at a specific point in time. This feature is useful for creating backups and experimenting without risking the stability of the virtual machine. Qemu does not have a built-in snapshot feature, although it is possible to achieve similar functionality with external tools.

In summary, Qemu and VirtualBox differ in architecture, supported guest operating systems, ease of use, performance, networking capabilities, and snapshot functionality. The choice between the two depends on specific requirements and priorities, such as the desired guest operating system support, performance needs, and level of technical expertise.

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Detailed Comparison

VirtualBox	Qemu
VirtualBox is a powerful x86 and AMD64/Intel64 virtualization product for enterprise as well as home use. Not only is VirtualBox an extremely feature rich, high performance product for enterprise customers, it is also the only professional solution that is freely available as Open Source Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL) version 2.	When used as a machine emulator, it can run OSes and programs made for one machine (e.g. an ARM board) on a different machine (e.g. your own PC). By using dynamic translation, it achieves very good performance. When used as a virtualizer, it achieves near native performance by executing the guest code directly on the host CPU. it supports virtualization when executing under the Xen hypervisor or using the KVM kernel module in Linux. When using KVM, it can virtualize x86, server and embedded PowerPC, 64-bit POWER, S390, 32-bit and 64-bit ARM, and MIPS guests.
Portability;No hardware virtualization required;Guest Additions: shared folders, seamless windows, 3D virtualization;Great hardware support;Multigeneration branched snapshots;VM groups;Clean architecture; unprecedented modularity;Remote machine display	machine emulator and virtualizer; dynamic translation;
Statistics
Stacks 31.1K	Stacks 105
Followers 25.6K	Followers 131
Votes 1.1K	Votes 3
Pros & Cons
Pros 358 Free 231 Easy 169 Default for vagrant 110 Fast 73 Starts quickly	Pros 1 Easy to use 1 Free 1 Performance
Integrations
No integrations available	Linux KVM

What are some alternatives to VirtualBox, Qemu?

Proxmox VE

It is a complete open-source platform for all-inclusive enterprise virtualization that tightly integrates KVM hypervisor and LXC containers, software-defined storage and networking functionality on a single platform, and easily manages high availability clusters and disaster recovery tools with the built-in web management interface.

VMware vSphere

vSphere is the world’s leading server virtualization platform. Run fewer servers and reduce capital and operating costs using VMware vSphere to build a cloud computing infrastructure.

KVM

KVM (for Kernel-based Virtual Machine) is a full virtualization solution for Linux on x86 hardware containing virtualization extensions (Intel VT or AMD-V).

Parallels Desktop

Parallels Desktop for Mac allows you to seamlessly run both Windows and MacOS applications side-by-side with speed, control and confidence.

Parallels

It is an application and desktop virtualization software vendor that offers management and delivery platforms for Apple macOS and Microsoft Windows desktop deployments.

VMware Fusion

It gives Mac users the power to run Windows on Mac along with hundreds of other operating systems side by side with Mac applications, without rebooting. It is simple enough for home users and powerful enough for IT professionals, developers and businesses.

Xen

It is a hypervisor using a microkernel design, providing services that allow multiple computer operating systems to execute on the same computer hardware concurrently. It was developed by the Linux Foundation and is supported by Intel.

VMware vSAN

It is enterprise-class, storage virtualization software that, when combined with vSphere, allows you to manage compute and storage with a single platform. You can reduce the cost and complexity of traditional storage and take the easiest path to hyperconverged infrastructure and hybrid cloud. Evolve to an integrated hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) solution with vSAN to improve business agility, all while speeding operations and lowering costs.

Oracle VM Server

It is a zero license cost server virtualization and management solution that makes enterprise applications easier to deploy, manage, and support. Backed worldwide by affordable enterprise-quality support for both Oracle and non-Oracle environments, it reduces operations and support costs while increasing IT efficiency and agility.

Virtuozzo

It is an operating system-level server virtualization solution designed to centralize server management and consolidate workloads, which reduces overhead by reducing the number of physical servers required. Organizations use it for server consolidation, disaster recovery, and server workload agility.

Related Comparisons

Qemu vs VirtualBox: What are the differences?

Introduction

Architecture: Qemu is an emulator, which means it emulates the entire hardware of a guest operating system. On the other hand, VirtualBox is a hypervisor, which means it provides a virtualization layer on top of the host hardware and allows guest operating systems to run directly on the underlying hardware. This difference in architecture affects their performance and compatibility with different operating systems.
Supported Guest Operating Systems: Qemu supports a wide range of guest operating systems, including various versions of Windows, Linux, BSD, and even some exotic ones. VirtualBox, on the other hand, supports a similar range of guest operating systems but has better support for desktop operating systems like Windows, macOS, and Linux distributions.
Ease of Use: VirtualBox offers a user-friendly graphical user interface (GUI) that makes it easy to create, configure, and manage virtual machines. Qemu, on the other hand, is mainly command-line driven and requires more technical knowledge to use. However, Qemu provides more flexibility in terms of customization and configuration options.
Performance: Qemu's emulation approach makes it slower compared to VirtualBox, which uses hardware-assisted virtualization for better performance. Qemu can be resource-intensive and may not provide the same level of performance as VirtualBox, especially for CPU and memory-intensive tasks.
Networking: VirtualBox provides a range of networking options, including NAT, bridged networking, and host-only networking, allowing virtual machines to communicate with the host and other virtual machines. Qemu also supports similar networking options but may require more manual configuration.
Snapshot and Cloning: VirtualBox has a built-in snapshot feature that allows users to take snapshots of a virtual machine's state at a specific point in time. This feature is useful for creating backups and experimenting without risking the stability of the virtual machine. Qemu does not have a built-in snapshot feature, although it is possible to achieve similar functionality with external tools.

Qemu vs VirtualBox

Overview

Qemu vs VirtualBox: What are the differences?