TrustRadius: an HG Insights company

Save this comparison

Save this comparison

Add Product

Recommended Comparisons

    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Oracle VirtualBox

    Score8.2 out of 10
    N/AOracle VirtualBox is an open source, cross-platform, virtualization software, enables developers to deliver code faster by running multiple operating systems on a single device.

    $0

    per month

    Ubuntu

    Score8.2 out of 10
    N/AUbuntu Linux is a Linux-based operating system for personal computers, tablets and smartphones. There is also a Server version which is used on physical or virtual servers in the data center.N/A
    Pricing
    Oracle VirtualBoxUbuntu
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Oracle VirtualBoxUbuntu
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Oracle VirtualBoxUbuntu
    Considered Both Products
    Oracle
    Chose Oracle VirtualBox
    Parallels works very nicely on Macintosh computers, but I prefer to use VirtualBox when possible because of the costly subscription fees and poor networking support of Parallels. I recommend VirtualBox as well for any user that wishes to experiment with various operating systems.
    Incentivized
    Chose Oracle VirtualBox
    I have used VMware ESXi for the purpose of running virtual productions servers. It's a different use case from VirtualBox, but they can be compared in some aspects:
    - Both have room for improvement in UI - but VBox is somewhat more intuitive
    - Both have decent performance in …
    Incentivized
    Chose Oracle VirtualBox
    Reasons why I prefer to use Oracle VM VirtualBox:
    • I've worked and taught in many environments where the OS used by others (or by me for employment reasons) is a mix of Windows and Mac OSX. Sometimes Linux is around if I can help it. Being familiar with VirtualBox means I won't …
    Incentivized
    Chose Oracle VirtualBox
    Considering it is free, the comparison seems slightly unfair, however my personal preference is still Virtual Box. The added features within Fusion are nowhere near important or useful enough to justify spending budget money on it. Therefore, despite VB being less aesthetically …
    Incentivized
    Canonical Ltd
    Chose Ubuntu
    Other alternatives for Ubuntu are Windows, Mac, Fedora, Mint Linux, Debian etc. While Ubuntu is free to use, Windows is an expensive OS, while for Mac you need to buy expensive Apple Hardware. I haven't had the chance to use other distributions of Linux, but as far as I know, …
    Incentivized
    Chose Ubuntu
    It has a very intuitive and user-friendly, slick interface compared to other operating systems like Windows or Mac OS. It is also much cheaper as it is an open source free operating system. The command line terminal is much easier to use than the Windows one. Besides, you can …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    95%
    Would buy again
    18 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    24 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    19 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    24 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    19 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    24 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    85%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    11 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    17 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    17 Answers
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    22 Answers
    Features
    Oracle VirtualBoxUbuntu
    Server Virtualization
    Comparison of Server Virtualization features of Oracle VirtualBox and Ubuntu
    Feature
    Oracle VirtualBox
    8.2
    50 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Ubuntu
    -
    Ratings
    Virtual machine automated provisioning8.036 Ratings00 Ratings
    Management console8.846 Ratings00 Ratings
    Live virtual machine backup8.236 Ratings00 Ratings
    Live virtual machine migration7.033 Ratings00 Ratings
    Hypervisor-level security9.029 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Oracle VirtualBoxUbuntu
    Small Businesses
    Proxmox VE
    Score9.2 out of 10
    CentOS Linux
    Score8.9 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    VMware vSOM (discontinued)
    Score10 out of 10
    IBM AIX
    Score9.4 out of 10
    Enterprises
    IBM PowerVM
    Score9.6 out of 10
    Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    Score9.1 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Oracle VirtualBoxUbuntu
    Likelihood to Recommend
    7.5
    (53 ratings)
    7.7
    (47 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    10.0
    (4 ratings)
    6.0
    (2 ratings)
    Usability
    10.0
    (7 ratings)
    9.5
    (2 ratings)
    Availability
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    8.6
    (6 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Configurability
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Oracle VirtualBoxUbuntu
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Oracle
    It is best suited when you want to have different operating systems on your laptop or desktop. You can easily switch between operating systems without the need to uninstall one. In another scenario, if you expect some application to damage your device, it would be best to run the application on the VM such that the damage can only be done to the virtual machine. It is less appropriate when time synchronization is very important. At times the VMs run their own times differently from the host time and this may cause some losses if what you doing is critical. Another important thing to take note of is the licensing of the application you want to run your VM. Some licenses do not allow the applications to be run on virtual servers so it is not appropriate to use the VM at this time.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Canonical Ltd
    If somebody whishes to be an IT professional, learning the basics of Linux is amust. Ubuntu [Linux] is one of the most beginner-friendly, widely supported, easy-to-use-relative-to-the-fact-that-its-still-linux OS on the market. As somebody who learned the basics of UNIX/LINUX on Ubuntu, it was a very good experience. It is customizable, has a lot of improvements over the years, and live up to be a viable alternative to any modern OS in 2021 as well.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Oracle
    • It is simple to install - there is no advanced knowledge required to begin building virtual computers
    • It is easy to use - adding new virtual machines is simple with wizard-based deployment
    • It enables easy portability - moving virtual machines from one host to another is straight-forward and simple
    • It is free
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Canonical Ltd
    • PACKAGE MANAGEMENT. You can update everything - OS installed software, you name it with either a few clicks in a GUI or a single command.
    • No bloatware.
    • No need for antivirus software.
    • Certainly the price is right.
    • My 83 year old grandmother has been using it - and because of this I rarely need to provide tech support. But I still visit my grandmother.
    • You can choose from a variety of user interfaces or rock it in the terminal.
    • Generally speaking, Ubuntu is as polished an OS as any you might pay for.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Oracle
    • I have had issues in the past when it has come to resizing VM disk storage. The issue is entirely detailed here: https://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/9103 -- the problem was caused because of having existing snapshots (which error message output was not detailing). I haven't had to deal with the issue due to my dynamic disk sizes not being small from the start anymore (this is mostly an issue for my Windows VMs where the base disk may need significant size for the OS). It looks like, for a resize, that a merge of all snapshots has to occur first -- one user on that list details a workaround to maintain snapshots by cloning the VM. (Note: 5.2 was just released a few weeks ago, and looks like it should prevent the problem happening in the future by properly informing users that it isn't possible with snapshots).
    • Certain scenarios, like resizing disks, required dropping into a terminal as there were no options to previously do so via the GUI. According to some recent posts, I've seen that v5.2 has added disk management stuff like that to the GUI (or will be adding it). I'm comfortable with dropping into the terminal, but in a teaching scenario or when evaluating the learnability of the tools, it complicates things.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Canonical Ltd
    • The repository system could be a little better, as some of the software needed is not easily available there.
    • Ubuntu sometimes does not play nicely or easily with some modern firmwares.
    • Some people report slow responses with newer versions of Ubuntu, although we have not experienced any.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Oracle
    I give this rating because virtual box is inexpensive but there is another product such as vm ware that can also be used
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Canonical Ltd
    While it works, we're finding that SNAP is getting more and more annoying, so we're probably going to migrate to Debian.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Oracle
    I love using the Graphical User Interface. The VirtualBox Manager is very easy to understand and use. You can quickly create, configure and manage all your virtual machines in one window. It makes operating virtual machines easy and simple. When using VBoxManage it gives the user comprehensive control over VirtualBox so that you can use automation and scripting at the command-line interface
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Canonical Ltd
    I gave it 10 out of 10 because it allows me to do the work I need on a server, such as running a website and database, and making developments. In addition, thanks to its easy and useful interface during installation, it can be easily installed. In addition, thanks to its easily accessible documents, when a problem occurs, it can be solved easily and quickly.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Oracle
    Dependency on the Host OS means it is as reliable as it is possible to be. Application errors are beyond the purview of the application.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Canonical Ltd
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    Oracle
    No issues, especially with the extensions addons.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Canonical Ltd
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Oracle
    Oracle have a very fast response rate and a strong user community. One can geet help from many sources if they choose to research for themselves.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Canonical Ltd
    We did not use the managed commercial support, but instead relied on community forums and official documentation. Ubuntu is very well documented across both instructional documentation from the developers themselves as well as informal support forums [ServerFault, YCombinator, Reddit]. It's easy enough to find an answer to any question you may have
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Oracle
    We really enjoy using virtual box. We do not require to buy expensive hardware but instead we can minimize costs and maximize profits.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Canonical Ltd
    It was all pretty much automatic for our use cases. It integrates nicely with Laravel Forge, which is our primary use case.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Oracle
    VirutalBox is very similar to using Vmware with the slight difference in appearance and what might be considered a less polished look. However, what it lacks in polish and looks it makes up for in functionality, easy of use and the wide range of operating systems and features it supports without the need of buying the full professional edition
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Canonical Ltd
    Windows 10: Expensive, with more security problems, more difficult to keep updated and less variety of free / open source applications. Its use encourages bad information security practices. OpenSuse Linux: A different distribution at source (Suse Linux), use of rpm packages (with fewer repositories and incompatible with Ubuntu Linux dpkg packages), and whose main objective is to be a "testing ground" for its paid version / professional, SUSE enterprise Linux.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Oracle
    The only problem I have found is that the deployment is dependent and intrinsically linked to the Host OS. This is different from bare metal solutions which remove that dependency on a Host OS. The latter is more reliable and removes a layer of potential failure.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Canonical Ltd
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    Oracle
    • Minimal-to-no support needed from the DevOps team.
    • Provides a direct and an easy way to access multiple VMs inside the same machines which enables performing various testing and QA tasks without the need to switch hardware.
    • Automatic provisioning using tools (esp. Vagrant) which enables developing a base image once, and allows for exporting/importing anywhere across the developers team.
    • Very cost-effective (no fees or monthly subscriptions).
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Canonical Ltd
    • Systems administration with Ubuntu is easy with little deep knowledge about it. Docs and community publications are great resources for any task you need to perform on any Ubuntu server and the organization can save several salaries of specialized sys admins in favor of more active roles.
    • Having been an Ubuntu user for many years personally, setting up new Ubuntu servers on my organization came with zero cost for me. I just deployed one instance from my hosting/cloud provider and started working right after it was running, no need to ask support or hire new staff for these tasks.
    • Replacing paid options with Ubuntu have also saved thousands of dollars on Windows Server licenses. I've migrated Windows/SQL Server based systems to Ubuntu/MySQL/PostgreSQL several times during my career and saved about USD 5000/year in licenses to many of them.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots