Best KVM Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 platforms from virtual machine software ranked against KVM on the same published basis.
- 1KVM vs Proxmox VE
- 2KVM vs QEMU
- 3KVM vs VMware Workstation Pro
- 5KVM vs Oracle VirtualBox
- 6KVM vs Xen Project Hypervisor
- 7KVM vs virt-manager
- 8KVM vs Parallels Desktop
- 9KVM vs Citrix XenServer
- 10KVM vs oVirt
- 11KVM vs Multipass
- 12KVM vs UTM
- 13KVM vs OpenNebula
- 14KVM vs XenServer
- 15KVM vs GNOME Boxes
- 16KVM vs Scale Computing Platform
- 17KVM vs Citrix Secure Private Access
- 18KVM vs Proxmox Backup Server
- 19KVM vs IBM z/VM
- 20KVM vs Cloud Hypervisor
- 21KVM vs IBM PowerVM
KVM alternatives compared
| # | Platform | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Proxmox VE | 9.0 | Free plan | €10/mo | Android, API, Linux, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 2 | QEMU | 8.3 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 3 | VMware Workstation Pro | 8.2 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted, Windows |
| 5 | Oracle VirtualBox | 8.0 | No | — | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 6 | Xen Project Hypervisor | 7.8 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted |
| 7 | virt-manager | 7.5 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted |
| 8 | Parallels Desktop | 7.4 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 9 | Citrix XenServer | 7.3 | No | — | — |
| 10 | oVirt | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | API, Linux, self-hosted, Web |
| 11 | Multipass | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 12 | UTM | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | iOS, Mac |
| 13 | OpenNebula | 6.8 | No | — | API, Linux, self-hosted, Web |
| 14 | XenServer | 6.7 | No | — | Windows, Linux |
| 15 | GNOME Boxes | 6.5 | No | — | Linux |
| 16 | Scale Computing Platform | 6.5 | No | — | Web |
| 17 | Citrix Secure Private Access | 6.3 | No | — | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 18 | Proxmox Backup Server | 6.3 | No | €46.67/mo | Linux, Web |
| 19 | IBM z/VM | 6.1 | No | — | — |
| 20 | Cloud Hypervisor | 6.1 | No | — | Linux |
| 21 | IBM PowerVM | 6.0 | No | — | — |
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Questions about KVM alternatives
What is the best alternative to KVM?
Proxmox VE, number 1 in virtual machine software with a score of 9.0 out of 10. The others here: QEMU, VMware Workstation Pro, Oracle VirtualBox and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to KVM?
Proxmox VE is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 8 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
How are these alternatives ranked?
Ranked on how quickly a newcomer can get going: documentation depth, a free tier or trial, and the platforms it runs on.