Best Virtual Machine Software in 2026
22 virtual machine software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
22ranked
14free plans on this page
€10/molowest paid tier
2 Oct 2026last checked
#1 Proxmox VE Top pick · 9.0 Free plan · €10/mo
#2 OpenNebula Runner-up · 8.5 Free plan · Free
#3 oVirt Also great · 8.2 Free plan · Free
- Free plan AndroidapiLinuxself-hostedWebWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- Free
- Host platforms
- ARM64
- Guest architecture
- KVM full virtualization and lightweight Linux containers
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms€10/mofirst paid tier About Proxmox VEVisit site - Free plan apiLinuxself-hostedWeb
- Free plan
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Free plan apiLinuxself-hostedWeb
- Free plan
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Free plan LinuxmacOSWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatformsFree About QEMUVisit site - Free plan LinuxmacOSself-hostedWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Host platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux, Oracle Solaris
- Guest architecture
- both
- VM snapshots
- Yes
- Nested virtualization
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Free plan Linuxself-hosted
- Free plan
- Yes
- Host platforms
- Linux
- Guest architecture
- both
- VM snapshots
- Yes
- Nested virtualization
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatformsFree About KVMVisit site - Free plan Linuxself-hostedWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Host platforms
- Windows, Linux
- Guest architecture
- x86_64
- VM snapshots
- Yes
- Nested virtualization
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Free plan Linux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Host platforms
- Linux, NetBSD, FreeBSD
- Guest architecture
- both
- VM snapshots
- Yes
- Nested virtualization
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Free trial WindowsLinux
- Free plan
- No
- Host platforms
- bare-metal x86-64 server
- Guest architecture
- x86_64
- VM snapshots
- Yes
- Nested virtualization
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Free plan LinuxmacOSWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Host platforms
- Linux, macOS, Windows
- Guest architecture
- both
- VM snapshots
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - WebRecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms
- Free plan iOSmacOS
- Free plan
- Yes
- Host platforms
- macOS
- Guest architecture
- both
- VM snapshots
- Yes
- Nested virtualization
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatformsFree About UTMVisit site - Free trial
- Free plan
- No
- Host platforms
- XenServer OS on 64-bit x86 bare-metal servers
- Guest architecture
- x86_64
- VM snapshots
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - LinuxmacOSWindows
- Free plan
- No
- Host platforms
- macOS
- Guest architecture
- both
- VM snapshots
- Yes
- Nested virtualization
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Free plan Linux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Host platforms
- Linux; OpenBSD
- Guest architecture
- both
- VM snapshots
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Free plan Linux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Host platforms
- Linux
- Guest architecture
- both
- VM snapshots
- Yes
- Nested virtualization
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Free plan Linux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Host platforms
- Linux
- Guest architecture
- both
- VM snapshots
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Web
- Host platforms
- bare-metal x86 hardware
- Guest architecture
- x86_64
- VM snapshots
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Free plan Linux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Host platforms
- Linux
- VM snapshots
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms -
- Free plan
- No
- Host platforms
- IBM Z and LinuxONE
- Nested virtualization
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms -
- Free plan
- No
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - WindowsRecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms
Is your platform on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which virtual machine software is ranked first on The Geeks Club?
Proxmox VE is ranked #1 of 22 with a score of 9.0. OpenNebula is second and oVirt third.
How many of these have a free plan?
14 of the 22 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Proxmox VE has the lowest first paid tier we found: €10/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on how quickly a newcomer can get going: documentation depth, a free tier or trial, and the platforms it runs on. Paid placements never change a rank.
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