Best Virtual Machine Software in 2026
Updated
In short: Proxmox VE is ranked #1 of 26 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of VMware Workstation Pro and QEMU. The best-ranked option with a free plan is VMware Workstation Pro. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Proxmox VE at €10/mo.
Virtual machine software varies in the guest architectures and host platforms it supports, as well as how you manage virtual machines. Proxmox VE, OpenNebula, and oVirt appear among the first entries, with QEMU and Oracle VirtualBox also near the start. Compare host platforms and guest architecture, then consider GPU acceleration and nested virtualization for your workloads. VM snapshots and the management interface offer further points to weigh. Free-plan availability and “Paid from” provide cost details. The entries are ranked, giving you these listed criteria to consider against your environment and virtualization requirements.
26 virtual machine software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
#1 Proxmox VE Top pick · 9.5 Free plan · €10/mo
#2 VMware Workstation Pro Runner-up · 8.8 Free plan · Free
#3 QEMU Also great · 8.7 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 planPlatforms€10/mofirst paid tier About Proxmox VEVisit site - Free plan Linuxself-hostedWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Host platforms
- Windows, Linux
- Guest architecture
- x86_64
- VM snapshots
- Yes
- Nested virtualization
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Free plan LinuxmacOSWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatformsFree About QEMUVisit site - LinuxmacOSself-hostedWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Host platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux, Oracle Solaris
- Guest architecture
- both
- VM snapshots
- Yes
- Nested virtualization
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Free plan Linuxself-hosted
- Free plan
- Yes
- Host platforms
- Linux
- Guest architecture
- both
- VM snapshots
- Yes
- Nested virtualization
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatformsFree About KVMVisit site - LinuxmacOSWindows
- Free plan
- No
- Host platforms
- macOS
- Guest architecture
- both
- VM snapshots
- Yes
- Nested virtualization
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Free plan Linuxself-hosted
- Free plan
- Yes
- Host platforms
- Linux; OpenBSD
- Guest architecture
- both
- VM snapshots
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Linux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Host platforms
- Linux, NetBSD, FreeBSD
- Guest architecture
- both
- VM snapshots
- Yes
- Nested virtualization
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - LinuxmacOSWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Host platforms
- Linux, macOS, Windows
- Guest architecture
- both
- VM snapshots
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Free plan apiLinuxself-hostedWeb
- Free plan
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Free trial
- Free plan
- No
- Host platforms
- XenServer OS on 64-bit x86 bare-metal servers
- Guest architecture
- x86_64
- VM snapshots
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - apiLinuxself-hostedWeb
- Free plan
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Free plan iOSmacOS
- Free plan
- Yes
- Host platforms
- macOS
- Guest architecture
- both
- VM snapshots
- Yes
- Nested virtualization
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatformsFree About UTMVisit site - Linux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Host platforms
- Linux
- VM snapshots
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - WebRecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms
- AndroidiOSLinuxmacOSWebWindows
- Free plan
- No
- Host platforms
- XenServer OS on 64-bit x86 bare-metal servers
- Guest architecture
- x86_64
- VM snapshots
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms -
- Free plan
- No
- Host platforms
- IBM Z and LinuxONE
- Nested virtualization
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Free trial WindowsLinux
- Free plan
- No
- Host platforms
- bare-metal x86-64 server
- Guest architecture
- x86_64
- VM snapshots
- Yes
- Nested virtualization
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - LinuxWeb
- Free plan
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms€46.67/mofirst paid tier About Proxmox Backup ServerVisit site -
- Free plan
- No
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Linux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Host platforms
- Linux
- Guest architecture
- both
- VM snapshots
- Yes
- Nested virtualization
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Linux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Host platforms
- Linux
- Guest architecture
- both
- VM snapshots
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Web
- Host platforms
- bare-metal x86 hardware
- Guest architecture
- x86_64
- VM snapshots
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Linux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Host platforms
- Linux
- Guest architecture
- x86_64
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - LinuxmacOSWindows
- Host platforms
- Linux, Windows, macOS
- Guest architecture
- both
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms
Is your app 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 Everything Xiaomi?
Proxmox VE is ranked #1 of 26 with a score of 9.5. VMware Workstation Pro is second and QEMU third.
How many of these have a free plan?
7 of the 25 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 what each maker publishes: documentation depth, a free tier and the platforms it runs on. Paid placements never change a rank.