Need advice about which tool to choose?Ask the StackShare community!

Qemu

100
129
+ 1
3
VirtualBox

30.7K
25.2K
+ 1
1.1K
Add tool

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.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

Manage your open source components, licenses, and vulnerabilities
Learn More
Pros of Qemu
Pros of VirtualBox
  • 1
    Performance
  • 1
    Easy to use
  • 1
    Free
  • 358
    Free
  • 231
    Easy
  • 169
    Default for vagrant
  • 110
    Fast
  • 73
    Starts quickly
  • 45
    Open-source
  • 42
    Running in background
  • 41
    Simple, yet comprehensive
  • 27
    Default for boot2docker
  • 22
    Extensive customization
  • 3
    Free to use
  • 2
    Mouse integration
  • 2
    Easy tool
  • 2
    Cross-platform

Sign up to add or upvote prosMake informed product decisions

What is 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.

What is 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.

Need advice about which tool to choose?Ask the StackShare community!

What companies use Qemu?
What companies use VirtualBox?
Manage your open source components, licenses, and vulnerabilities
Learn More

Sign up to get full access to all the companiesMake informed product decisions

What tools integrate with Qemu?
What tools integrate with VirtualBox?

Sign up to get full access to all the tool integrationsMake informed product decisions

What are some alternatives to Qemu and VirtualBox?
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).
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.
Docker
The Docker Platform is the industry-leading container platform for continuous, high-velocity innovation, enabling organizations to seamlessly build and share any application — from legacy to what comes next — and securely run them anywhere
libvirt
It is an open-source API, daemon and management tool for managing platform virtualization. It can be used to manage KVM, Xen, VMware ESXi, QEMU and other virtualization technologies.
Parallels
It is an application and desktop virtualization software vendor that offers management and delivery platforms for Apple macOS and Microsoft Windows desktop deployments.
See all alternatives