If you have never experienced virtual machine using virtualization software, you should know that they can be confusing a bit at first glance, and despite the many benefits, you may not for them. But we recommend you as system administrator, IT Professional, and software reviews and development you must use virtualization software like VMware Player or VirtualBox to create a different and multiple virtual machines for the different operating system to develop your network infrastructure or review and rest any applications on the different operating system.
But the main reason is that many people are not familiar with virtual machines, which has affected users’ experience of using these apps. If they are simple they have different uses. All of the virtual machines have two important capabilities. One is that with this virtualization software you can run another operating system virtually on your physical computer operating system. Second is that they provide the ability to run programs that not designed and supported for a specific operating system.
For example, you need to work with some applications which are designed for Mac operating system, just install any virtualization software on your Windows PC, and create a new virtual machine as system requirement and install the macOS virtually on your windows, and use it to use Mac Specific software.
The second part of the story is which one to use? For the following, we decided to touch on two of the most popular virtual machine programs for windows users, called VMware Workstation Player and Virtual Box, and make a comparison between them. So if you want to use virtual machines, don’t miss the comparison. To make an easier choice which one to use for your virtualization task.
VirtualBox vs VMware Workstation Price/Cost
While both VMware Workstation Player and Virtual Box are free virtualization software to use. But the only coast is if sometimes you have to pay to access certain features are more than just a paid program. VirtualBox core is licensed under GPLv2 and open-source software.
But VirtualBox “Add-ons” are licensed under Oracle and can only be used for free for educational purposes, marketing purposes, or specific tasks. On the other side of the field, VMware Workstation Player itself has two free and paid versions of VMware Workstation Player, which be called the version of VMware Workstation Pro.
VMware Workstation Player is mostly used for non-profit organizations, schools, students, or for home use. But if you want to use VMware Workstation commercially or professionally, you must get the VMware Workstation pro version. For beginners, the free version of both programs is enough to do what we said at the beginning of the article.
Convenience when used
For comparison, we did install and run Elementary version 0.4.1 operating system on both applications. VirtualBox has a setup Wizard section, and before launching (depending on your system), it suggests how much RAM and memory should be used.
Setting up a virtual machine with VirtualBox is as simple as clicking the start button and going through the steps you do when installing other programs. After a few minutes, you can easy use the virtual machine you have created.
The VMware Workstation Setup wizard is even more useful, and you can see some of the information you just find after installing VirtualBox (for example, how many CPU cores will be allocated to the virtual system) from the beginning of the installation.
But unlike VirtualBox which offers contacts for RAM and memory before launching, VMware Workstation doesn’t have this features, so you may have to doubts at the beginning of the installation. However, the VMware Workstation interface is relatively simple. And you’re definitely easier to connect with.
Performance and Functions
VirtualBox is one of the slowest virtual machine applications, but if we want to be fair, in general, the implementation of virtual machine must be done on powerful computer. Virtualization is slow, and if you have a powerful computer, you won’t notice the low VirtualBox Speed.
On the other hand, VMware Workstation Player/Pro perform very well. When we installed a virtual operating system on both applications with the same hardware, VMware Workstation found that VMware was no doubt much faster than VirtualBox.
So if you have a medium sized system or decide to spend a lot of time daily on virtual machines, naturally VMware Workstation is much better option for you with its good speed. Otherwise, you can take a look at VIrtualBox.
Compatibility and stability
Another interesting thing about virtualization software is that they allow users to create a clone of existing operating system installed in a virtual machine, and run it virtually on other computers. For example, developers can clone their Linux developer environments and run it on windows,
But for this features, virtual machines must first support the operating systems you want. If VMware Workstation was able steal the competition from VirtualBox in the section of “Performance” this is where VirtualBox can easily beat its rival
With VirtualBox, you can create a virtual machine, so called snapshot (Watch video games, you can continue the game from there when you save. Snapshot has a similar function), transfer virtual data and easily run it on another computer.
Unfortunately, Snapshot and the ability to create clones are not available in the free version of VMware Workstation. However, when it comes to “stability”. VMware Workstation is showing itself again. When you use VirtualBox, you see a variety of bugs and glitches. But on the other hand, VMware Workstation is more stable and these problems are very rare.
VirtualBox VS VMware Workstation features
Both the software being two of the best virtualization programs you can find on the internet and performing the same tasks like creating a totally great environment for you to experience using other operating without the need to sacrifice you own operating system. However, there are certain tasks or features that distinguish one from the other. There are certain features that the others can’t perform so well like each other. In this part of the article, we will talk about all the benefits you can take from the two of this software.
| Feature Comparison | VirtualBox (Free) | VMWare Player (Free) | VMWare Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seamless/Unity Mode | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 3D Support (vRAM) | 256 MB | 2GB | 2GB |
| Shared Folder/Drag and Drop | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cloning | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Encrypted VM | Yes | No | Yes |
| Virtual Network | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Remote Desktop | Yes | No | Yes |
| Snapshots | Yes | No | Yes |
| Run Multiple VM’s | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Memory Ballooning | Yes | Yes | Yes |
If you’re still hesitant to use one of the Virtualization software, the blow features, which are key features of booths apps, can help you choose between VirtualBox and VMware Workstation.
Advantages of VirtualBox
Figure 1: Snapshots – When you take a snapshot, all the mode of a virtual machines is saved at the moment and you can transfer it to another computer, similar to the mechanism of saving in video games. This feature is only available in the VMware Pro Version.
Figure 2: Extension Pack – With the VirtualBox add-on pack, you can add various features such as support for USB 2 and 3, virtual disk encryption, and more.
Figure 3: Seamless mode [for VirtualBox] – This allows you to use two operating systems simultaneously.
Advantages of VMware Workstation
Figure 1: Encrypted Virtual Machines – VMware Workstation has the ability to encrypt virtual machines. This means that if you enter the code, you can only use it if you have the password. You can also restrict the user’s ability to edit a virtual machine.
Figure 2: File Sharing – This features allows you to share data between two operating systems,
Figure 3: Share Data Transfer – Aside from sharing files, you can even drag and drop files between the guest and host operating systems. Apart from this, you can copy the clipboard on one and transfer it to the other.
Figure 4: Unity mode for [VMware] – This allow you to use two operating system simultaneously.
VirtualBox vs. VMware, Which one is the best?
You’ve probably read that none of the programs have absolute superiority over each other, and each of them can be selected depending on their performance. If pricing is important to you, and you want a program that is very compatible with other operating system, or even care about open source software, VirtualBox is the best option for you.
The reason for this decision is also clear, as we said, some of the features in VirtualBox in the VMware Workstation virtual machine are paid, and you have to have a pocket to have them. But if you’re not worried about the cost, you have a mid-range computer, and the speed and performance of the program are important to you, VMware Workstation will be a better option for you to choose.
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