6 VMware Alternatives You Can Use in 2024

Jun. 20, 2024

With the rise of online businesses, cloud computing has received a massive boost and will continue to usher even more with the forthcoming, fast-paced improvements in AI. Virtualization, allocating multiple virtual machines, and populating them with resources is an integral part of cloud computing; and platforms such as VMware are popular for the same. However, if you don’t like it, here are all the VMware alternatives you can use.

Microsoft Hyper-V

Hyper-V is an excellent VMware alternative if you’re already running a Windows server or the latest Windows version. Itsupports both Windows and Ubuntu Linux, and managing hosts is quite easy via the Hyper-V manager or from the Windows PowerShell.

One of the standout features of Hyper-V is the live migration feature, which, as the name suggests, doesn’t add downtime when migrating resources. Hyper-V also supportsnested virtualizationand since it comes bundled with Windows, you would only need to pay for Windows and the hardware, and it’d be free thereafter. Overall, Hyper-V is one of the best VMware alternatives you could use.ProsConsBuilt into Windows, making it cost-effectiveCould be a bit tedious to set upLive migration. No downtimeSupport for both Linux and WindowsGUI and PowerShell support

Red Hat is a popular name in the enterprise-grade virtualization and cloud computing community, and that’s because of the firm’s extensive list of products that make it easier for businesses and huge firms to host virtual machines and manipulate and store data.

RHV uses aKernel-based Virtual Machineaka KVM with Linux, which is not only faster but also very resource efficient. This also makes Red Hat Virtualization scalable for workloads, and more secure, and enterprises also getaccess to RHEL(Red Hat Enterprise Linux) which is dubbed as one of the best server Linux solutions out there.

Oracle’s VirtualBox is quite popular when it comes to VM solutions for both enterprises and personal computers. Hence, if you’re just starting out and looking to run VMs on a powerful server/PC, it’s a good alternative to VMware.

For starters, it’sopen sourceand supports running and running on almost all popular operating systems, including macOS, Linux, Windows, and the old-school BSD and Solaris. It’s quite scalable,supports snap-shottingto easily save the states of VMs, and also supports external devices. Besides, it performs quite well.ProsConsEasy to set up and useNot for enterprise usersSnap-shotting can come in handyNot suited for running high performance applicationsSupports lots of extensionsDecently scalable for a desktop VM application

Nutanix is one of the best alternatives to VMware thanks to its hybrid cloud model, which provides an agile cloud infrastructure to host your Virtual Machines and apps. It uses HCI (Hyper-converged Infrastructure) that not only gives you more power but also a better virtualization experience.

Besides, it’sextremely scalable while also being secure. If your business has a great number of users, Nutanix makes more sense as it offers a better user management system while being extremely cost-effective. It’s definitely one of the best alternatives to VMware.ProsConsEasy to set up and useVendor lock-inScalable and flexibleLack of individuals with expertise in NutanixGreat performanceExpensive initial investment costExtremely secure thanks to features like micro-segmentation

We’ve featured Parallels many times on the blog because it makes it easier to run Virtual Machines on different platforms. Parallels Desktop ismore suited for individuals. It’s cross-platform and the VMs created using the same integrate very well with the host. The performance is also on the good side as Parallels Desktop can make use of various technologies like dynamic resource allocation.

Besides, since it’s geared toward individuals, it’s extremely user-friendly. The best use case for Parallels is to effortlessly run various VMs on operating systems, like runningWindows on ChromeOSusing a VM. All good things come at a price, and Parallels Desktop is no different. If you’re looking for a good VM to run different operating systems onmacOS, Windows, or ChromeOS, Parallels Desktop is the answer and a good alternative to VMware.ProsConsEasy to set up and useCostlyScalable and seamlessGreat performance

Meant for enterprise users, SLES is a great alternative to VMware. For starters, it’s from what’s arguably one of the best companies pioneering cloud computing and taking the same forward, SUSE. They have all sorts of enterprise management systems, includingcontainer management and public cloud spanningacross different industries like Retail, Telecom, Pharma, etc.

SLES is open-source and is available across different cloud providers such as AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. Since itruns both KVM and Xen, it’s much faster, secure, and scalable. Besides, it’s also one of the longest-supported enterprise servers per version and is much easier on the pocket. Overall, it’s easily one of the best alternatives to VMware.ProsConsOpen source and secureInitial setup costsOpen-source and secureNot very easy to implement; Learning curveGreat performanceHigh availability

So these were some of the best VMware alternatives you can use. Some of the key pointers to remember in mind when making a decision are as follows:

What are your thoughts on the VMware alternatives mentioned above? Which VM provider would you switch to? Let us know in the comments below.