See the box entitled "Testing Environment" for a description of the system used for the tests in this article.įigure 2: The main windows of VMware Workstation Player (left) and VirtualBox (right) appear very similar. Keep in mind, however, that VirtualBox is free as in free speech as well as in beer (with a GPLv2 license) and VMware Workstation Player is free for personal use but does not have a FOSS-style free license.
This article compares the free versions of both tools, although you'll also find some notes about the add-on extension packages.
If you're tired of dual-booting or switching computers whenever you need to access a different OS, and you're shopping for a virtualization alternative, read on for a look at VirtualBox and VMware Workstation Player. The project website is a little vague on what to do if you want to use the VirtualBox extensions for commercial purposes, but the answer appears to be the VM VirtualBox package from VirtualBox parent company Oracle. You can use the extensions without cost for non-commercial purposes. VirtualBox is indeed a free and open source virtualization solution, but certain advanced features are collected into an extension pack that you'll need to install separately. VMware Workstation Player is only free for non-commercial uses if you want to use it for business, you'll need to buy a license. VMware does make a no-cost version of their VMware Workstation solution called VMware Workstation Player. The common conception is that VirtualBox is a free tool and VMware is a commercial solution with a price tag.
Several popular options exist for supporting virtualization on a Linux workstation two of the most popular alternatives are VirtualBox and VMware. Test an application? Switch to a different OS without shutting down? Run a program that only works in Windows? The possibilities are endless. For many users, virtualization is a daily part of the computing experience.
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