KVM vs Parallels Desktop

Overview

KVM

Stacks189

Followers234

Votes8

Parallels Desktop

Stacks39

Followers76

Votes2

KVM vs Parallels Desktop: What are the differences?

## Key Differences Between KVM and Parallels Desktop

1. **Hypervisor Type**: KVM is an open-source Type 1 hypervisor, running directly on the host's hardware, providing bare-metal virtualization. On the other hand, Parallels Desktop is a Type 2 hypervisor, requiring an existing operating system to run as software on top of it.
   
2. **Supported Operating Systems**: KVM is primarily designed for Linux-based systems, offering robust support for various Linux distributions as both host and guest OS. Parallels Desktop, however, is focused on macOS and Windows operating systems, providing seamless integration and performance optimization for these platforms.

3. **Network Performance**: KVM generally offers better network performance for virtual machines, as it utilizes the host system's network stack directly without additional overhead. Parallels Desktop, while efficient, may experience slightly reduced network performance due to the abstraction layer imposed by the Type 2 hypervisor.

4. **Cost and Licensing**: KVM is free and open-source, making it a cost-effective solution for virtualization needs. In contrast, Parallels Desktop is a commercial product that requires purchasing a license, which may be a consideration for users looking for a budget-friendly option.

5. **Hardware Support**: KVM has broader hardware support due to its open-source nature, enabling compatibility with a wide range of processors and devices. Parallels Desktop, while versatile, may have limitations in terms of supported hardware configurations and peripherals due to its proprietary nature.

6. **Performance Optimization**: KVM, being a Type 1 hypervisor, typically offers better performance by directly accessing hardware resources, resulting in lower overhead and latency compared to Parallels Desktop, which operates at a higher level through the host operating system.

In Summary, the key differences between KVM and Parallels Desktop lie in hypervisor type, supported operating systems, network performance, cost and licensing, hardware support, and performance optimization.

Share your Stack

Help developers discover the tools you use. Get visibility for your team's tech choices and contribute to the community's knowledge.

View Docs

CLI (Node.js)

Manual

Detailed Comparison

KVM	Parallels Desktop
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 for Mac allows you to seamlessly run both Windows and MacOS applications side-by-side with speed, control and confidence.
-	Seamless;Easy Setup;Lightning Fast;Coherence mode;Retina Display Support;Touch Bar;Office 365 Integration;Automatic resolution change;Drag and drop;Picture-in-Picture;macOS guest support
Statistics
Stacks 189	Stacks 39
Followers 234	Followers 76
Votes 8	Votes 2
Pros & Cons
Pros 4 No license issues 2 Flexible network options 2 Very fast	Pros 1 Retina support 1 Works out of the box with zero config
Integrations
No integrations available	Vagrant Chef Docker

What are some alternatives to KVM, Parallels Desktop?

VirtualBox

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.

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.

Qemu

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.

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

KVM vs Parallels Desktop: What are the differences?

## Key Differences Between KVM and Parallels Desktop

1. **Hypervisor Type**: KVM is an open-source Type 1 hypervisor, running directly on the host's hardware, providing bare-metal virtualization. On the other hand, Parallels Desktop is a Type 2 hypervisor, requiring an existing operating system to run as software on top of it.
   
2. **Supported Operating Systems**: KVM is primarily designed for Linux-based systems, offering robust support for various Linux distributions as both host and guest OS. Parallels Desktop, however, is focused on macOS and Windows operating systems, providing seamless integration and performance optimization for these platforms.

3. **Network Performance**: KVM generally offers better network performance for virtual machines, as it utilizes the host system's network stack directly without additional overhead. Parallels Desktop, while efficient, may experience slightly reduced network performance due to the abstraction layer imposed by the Type 2 hypervisor.

4. **Cost and Licensing**: KVM is free and open-source, making it a cost-effective solution for virtualization needs. In contrast, Parallels Desktop is a commercial product that requires purchasing a license, which may be a consideration for users looking for a budget-friendly option.

5. **Hardware Support**: KVM has broader hardware support due to its open-source nature, enabling compatibility with a wide range of processors and devices. Parallels Desktop, while versatile, may have limitations in terms of supported hardware configurations and peripherals due to its proprietary nature.

6. **Performance Optimization**: KVM, being a Type 1 hypervisor, typically offers better performance by directly accessing hardware resources, resulting in lower overhead and latency compared to Parallels Desktop, which operates at a higher level through the host operating system.

KVM vs Parallels Desktop

Overview