# VirtualBox Software Reviews, Demo & Pricing - 2026 > Review of VirtualBox Software: system overview, features, price and cost information. Get free demos and compare to similar programs. Source: https://www.softwareadvice.com/virtual-machine/virtualbox-profile --- [Home](https://www.softwareadvice.com/) / [Virtual Machine Software](https://www.softwareadvice.com/virtual-machine/) / VirtualBox Software Advice offers objective insights based on verified user reviews and independent product and market research. When our advisors match you to a software provider, we may earn a referral fee. Overview [Reviews](https://www.softwareadvice.com/virtual-machine/virtualbox-profile/reviews/)[Alternatives](https://www.softwareadvice.com/virtual-machine/virtualbox-profile/alternatives/) # VirtualBox 2026: Benefits, Features & Pricing On this page - Overview - User Interface - Popular Alternatives - Pros and Cons - Pricing and Plans - Features - User Reviews - Popular Comparisons ## Overview VirtualBox 4.6 [(887)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/virtual-machine/virtualbox-profile/reviews/) Pricing Pricing available upon request ### About VirtualBox VirtualBox is an on-premise desktop virtualization platform that helps businesses run and manage virtual machines across different operating systems (OS). Using the open virtualization format (OVF), professionals can import appliances and export virtual machines with additional product details such as vendor information or license text. VirtualBox allows enterprises to customize the user interface by adding the menu widget, mini toolbar or status bar as per individual requirements. Managers can enable Extensive Firmware Interface (EFI) for virtual machines and utilize the drag-and-drop interface to create ad hoc VM groups. Additionally, it lets users store and access the hard disk, CD/DVD or floppy images in Virtual Disk Image (VDI), ISO or RAW format. Key features of VirtualBox include remote machine display, branched snapshots, guest multiprocessing (SMP) and remote desktop (RDP) authentication. The product is available for free and support is extended via documentation, phone, email and other online measures. ## VirtualBox User Interface ## Popular VirtualBox Alternatives Main Product VirtualBox 4.6 [(887)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/virtual-machine/virtualbox-profile/reviews/) Ratings Breakdown - 4.32Ease of use - 4.67Value for money - 4.11Customer support - 4.47Functionality Pricing Available upon request Alternative Product [Microsoft Azure](https://www.softwareadvice.com/website-builder/microsoft-azure-profile/) 4.6 [(1960)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/website-builder/microsoft-azure-profile/reviews/) Ratings Breakdown - 4.15Ease of use - 4.19Value for money - 4.23Customer support - 4.58Functionality Pricing Starting at $0.00 per month Alternative Product [Vinchin Backup & Recovery](https://www.softwareadvice.com/archiving/vinchin-backup-and-recovery-profile/) 4.6 [(166)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/archiving/vinchin-backup-and-recovery-profile/reviews/) Ratings Breakdown - 4.72Ease of use - 4.58Value for money - 4.52Customer support - 4.55Functionality Pricing Available upon request Alternative Product [NAKIVO Backup & Replication](https://www.softwareadvice.com/server-backup/nakivo-backup-and-replication-profile/) 4.8 [(458)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/server-backup/nakivo-backup-and-replication-profile/reviews/) Ratings Breakdown - 4.81Ease of use - 4.76Value for money - 4.83Customer support - 4.68Functionality Pricing Starting at $99.00 one time Alternative Product [Iperius Backup](https://www.softwareadvice.com/vdi/iperius-backup-profile/) 4.5 [(189)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/vdi/iperius-backup-profile/reviews/) Ratings Breakdown - 4.60Ease of use - 4.68Value for money - 4.39Customer support - 4.54Functionality Pricing Starting at €29.00 one time Alternative Product [Google Cloud](https://www.softwareadvice.com/compliance/google-cloud-platform-profile/) 4.7 [(2290)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/compliance/google-cloud-platform-profile/reviews/) Ratings Breakdown - 4.48Ease of use - 4.42Value for money - 4.31Customer support - 4.60Functionality Pricing Available upon request ## VirtualBox Pros and Cons We analyzed 887 verified reviews for VirtualBox to find out what actual users really think. Select to learn more Flexible Testing And Development Setting up isolated test environments is straightforward with VirtualBox. You can quickly spin up VMs, clone them, take snapshots, and simulate networks, making it ideal for software testing, development, and training. It supports a wide range of operating systems and allows safe experimentation without affecting your main system. Cost-Effective Open-Source Solution VirtualBox is completely free and open source, making it accessible for individuals and organizations without budget concerns. Its no-cost model, combined with robust functionality, allows users to explore virtualization and run multiple operating systems without licensing fees or restrictions. Robust Virtualization Capabilities VirtualBox lets you easily create, configure, and manage multiple virtual machines across Windows, Linux, and Mac hosts. Its user-friendly interface, resource customization, and support for snapshots make it simple to run different operating systems side by side. The platform is free, flexible, and works well for both personal and educational use. Resource Demands And Sluggishness Users often experience slow performance, lag, and high resource consumption, especially on less powerful hardware or when running multiple VMs. Compared to other virtualization tools, VirtualBox can feel sluggish, with slower startup times and reduced responsiveness during intensive tasks. Challenging Usb Integration Configuring USB device passthrough in VirtualBox can be difficult and unreliable. Users report frequent issues with recognizing external devices, requiring extra setup steps, and occasional failures with the extension pack. Sharing peripherals like flash drives and printers often involves complex or inconsistent processes. Complex Network Configuration Network setup in VirtualBox is often confusing and prone to issues. Users face challenges with NAT, bridging, DHCP, and getting VMs to communicate on the same network. Adjusting network settings can be unintuitive, and transferring VMs between hosts may cause network configuration problems. ## VirtualBox Pricing and Plans Starting price: Pricing available upon request Free Trial Free Version Basic Pricing available upon request No plan information available ## VirtualBox Features - Popular features found in Virtual Machine Configuration Management Remote Access/Control Virtualization Virtual Machine Monitoring - More features of VirtualBox API Authentication DaaS Data Synchronization Desktop/Application Virtualization Desktop Virtualization Graphical User Interface Multi-Device Support Remote Monitoring & Management Remote Update/Installation VDI Virtual Server ## VirtualBox User Reviews Overall Rating 4.6 Ratings Breakdown 5 62% 4 32% 3 6% 2 0% 1 0% Secondary Ratings Ease of Use 4.3 Value for money 4.7 Customer support 4.1 Functionality 4.5 Nicolas R. Verified reviewer Computer Software 11-50 employees Used daily for more than 2 years Review source Reviewed September 2019 Great choice for VMs in Mac 5 I use Virtualbox to setup environments. I'm Mac user and I use daily vm to configure and deploy mainly linux distributions. Ratings Breakdown 5 Ease of use 5 Value for money 5 Functionality Pros: When I started using Mac it was a problem for me, but when I started using VirtualBoxVM everything became easier. Easy Setup, Easy VM setup and administration, Easy everything. Runs fast. Even if I keep some VMs open. Cons: I don't find any cons at all. Maybe the resource consumption, but that's really not on VirtualBoxVM, is cause of VMs assigned resources. Reasons for switching to VirtualBox Tryed parallels, but princing and performance made me decide for VirtualBoxVM Read More BB Benny B. Verified reviewer Computer & Network Security 2-10 employees Used daily for more than 2 years Review source Reviewed August 2023 VirtualBox review 5 Free Opensource & Multi platform application for managing and deployment of Virtual machines. No matter if a new OS inside your main system or virtualize your own computer and use it as a Sandbox... Ratings Breakdown 5 Ease of use 5 Value for money 3 Customer support 4 Functionality Pros: Easy to deploy new machines in no mater what your original desktop system comes from; you can virtualize a bunch of Linux, MacOS, Windows machines and ChromeOS & Android too! Cons: In a Windows Server environment, the Virtual machines can't start when booting the main Server OS (only after you login with Administrator credentials) and you need the help of third party programs to do that. In Linux environment is easier to deploy thanks to Cron. Reasons for choosing VirtualBox Because not only the price, but the availability to choose Open Source software. Reasons for switching to VirtualBox We switch to VirtualBox caused by the same available options as VmWare (we solved the trouble about starting as a service using a third party app) and VirtualBox is not only free but Open Source and multiplatform. Read More VR Verified Reviewer Education Management 501-1000 employees Used daily for less than 2 years Review source Reviewed April 2019 Great Virtual environment 5 Ratings Breakdown 5 Ease of use Previously 3 5 Value for money Previously 3 5 Customer support Previously 4 5 Functionality Previously 4 Pros: This is a great product for making a virtual backup of my physical machine. I can use my computer virtually if it crashes until the hardware is repaired. Cons: I had some trouble with the virtual machine format. Read More MF Marc F. Verified reviewer Research 201-500 employees Used weekly for more than 2 years Review source Reviewed April 2023 Thinking Outside the Box: Virtualization with VirtualBox 4 As someone who enjoys developing mobile games with Android but preferring Apple hardware, I've found VirtualBox to be an incredibly useful tool. It's saved me a lot of money by allowing me to test my games on multiple virtual environments without having to purchase additional hardware.Altogether, I would highly recommend VirtualBox to anyone looking to create and manage virtual environments, especially if you're interested in developing mobile games using different hardware, or if you are looking for a solid playground for your software projects. Ratings Breakdown 4 Ease of use 4 Value for money 3 Customer support 3 Functionality Pros: I've found VirtualBox to be a powerful and versatile tool for developing Android apps and creating custom operating systems. It's flexibility and free-access allowed me to test my applications on multiple environments without having to purchase additional hardware, and thus saved me a lot of time and especially money! Cons: As someone who has used VirtualBox for various projects, I've come across a few cons worth noting. Firstly, the limited support for 2D/3D graphics can be a hindrance for developers working on graphics-intensive applications like mobile-games. Secondly, I've experienced occasional stability issues when running complex virtual environments or multiple virtual machines simultaneously. However, these kind of issues can be resolved by using VirtualBox Enterprise for little money. Reasons for choosing VirtualBox From my personal experience, I find VirtualBox to be a better option compared to Docker for certain use cases. VirtualBox's ability to run multiple operating systems and applications simultaneously using hardware virtualization is a huge advantage over Docker's limited support for running a single application or service. Additionally, VirtualBox offers stronger isolation between virtual environments, making it a great option for running multiple applications with conflicting dependencies. While Docker has its own advantages, I still find VirtualBox to be a reliable and versatile virtualization tool that suits my needs especially because VirtualBox allows VDI access. Read More Kevin M. Verified reviewer Information Technology and Services Self-Employed Used monthly for more than 2 years Review source Reviewed February 2020 Virtualization is awesome. 5 I use Virtual Box to provide multiple services while retaining a single server. For the classroom VirutalBox provides students with an environment where they can experiment while keeping the base operating system secure and locked. The ability to preserve aging software is critical to many companies I deal with. Inability to upgrade or lack of migration options often means that they need to keep these programs running while replacing broken or old hardware. Snapshots help me to keep perfect copies of system content and provide 100% restores. Ratings Breakdown 4 Ease of use 5 Functionality Pros: The ability to quick install and work inside a virtual operating system with having to build an entirely new system. No messing around with hard disks and bios. Its great when you want to test out Operating System alternatives or when testing current systems via hard disk imaging. Cons: No "out of the box" compatibility with Apple IOS operating system. This is obviously no fault of its creators as Apple has made use of its Operating System near impossible with its hardware but from a teaching perspective its a wasted opportunity especially for those learning helpdesk skills. Reasons for choosing VirtualBox Virtual Box is quick and very easy to install and configure and its survive the test of time while others are either become outdated or become not as simple to use. Read More VR Verified Reviewer Information Technology and Services 10000+ employees Used weekly for less than 2 years Review source Reviewed December 2019 Best virtalization tool by oracle 5 Mainly we use it to test on all major Operating systems as its portable to any System structure form UNIX to Windows Ratings Breakdown 5 Ease of use 5 Functionality Pros: Due to its open source nature and ease to use this is a best tool for any one from business to normal users allows use of any OS inside Windows (mainly) which makes testing easy on other OS like Linux (all flavors) Cons: Not much any cons about this tool but it could be built more ease to use though its good but can be improved and all connections should be automatically detected inside virtual machine such though they work doesn't feel like real OS can adopt "NEW DESKTOP"like tech and improve it. Reasons for switching to VirtualBox Virtual machine is complicated and takes lot of time and system memory. Read More VR Verified Reviewer Government Administration 10000+ employees Used weekly for more than 2 years Review source Reviewed April 2022 VirtualBox as a tool to model configurations on virtual servers 4 Virtualbox allows us to simulate environments using virtualization in a practical way, accelerating implementations and configurations in services Ratings Breakdown 4 Ease of use 4 Value for money 4 Customer support 4 Functionality Pros: It is cross-platform, which allows easy installation on different operating systems. Cons: In some occasions it is necessary to have hardware that supports virtualization Reasons for choosing VirtualBox The economic cost was higher, which does not allow all team members to use it Read More Richard S. Verified reviewer Machinery 2-10 employees Used monthly for less than 2 years Review source Reviewed July 2022 Excellent alternative for virtual machines 4 I am somewhat experienced with VMWare Workstation, so I wasn't sure about switching to VirtualBox. Although it did require a little bit of getting used to, after learning the ropes I found that all of the features I knew and used were available to me, and for a significantly cheaper price. Ratings Breakdown 3 Ease of use 5 Value for money 5 Functionality Pros: One important distinction between VirtualBox and its more well-known counterpart, VMWare Workstation, is the noticeably lower price-tag on the former. VirtualBox does not share the almost absurd price of VMWare, yet possesses most, if not all, of the same features. Cons: It is slightly less intuitive than VM Workstation, leading to a steeper learning curve for those who are less familiar with virtual machine programs. It's not severe, but it is worth mentioning. Reasons for switching to VirtualBox The price difference was undeniable and necessary Read More VR Verified Reviewer Telecommunications 10000+ employees Used monthly for less than 12 months Review source Reviewed December 2020 VirtualBox review 4 I am satisfied with VirtualBox, as it has proven itself more than reliable, especially during the long sessions of troubleshooting on my Virtual Machine. Ratings Breakdown 4 Ease of use 5 Value for money 4 Customer support 5 Functionality Pros: Sometimes I tend to use VirtualBox for my Lab in order to replicate some issue reported by the Customer or to check certain settings in the Software which I support, because VirtualBox has proven itself as good and reliable in this field. Cons: I don't like the amount of space which normal lab requires for daily use, especially because I need sometimes to switch between a couple of Virtual Machines on my company's laptop, which lacks disc space. Reasons for switching to VirtualBox I was using VMware Workstation for some of my own projects, but after I started using VirtualBox on work, I completely switched to that Software instead. Read More Abdul Rahman M. Verified reviewer Computer Software Self-Employed Used weekly for free trial Review source Reviewed March 2021 Oracle virtual box 3 Ratings Breakdown 3 Ease of use 4 Customer support 3 Functionality Pros: It’s great we have many OS versions to install on the machine Cons: It’s a bit slow and bot too fast . And sone problems occurs Reasons for switching to VirtualBox I expected it be better byt at the end I moved again to vmware Read More Showing 1 - 10 of 887 Reviews [See All Reviews](https://www.softwareadvice.com/virtual-machine/virtualbox-profile/reviews/) ## VirtualBox Popular Comparisons [Microsoft Azure vs VirtualBox](https://www.softwareadvice.com/website-builder/microsoft-azure-profile/vs/virtualbox/)[Vinchin Backup & Recovery vs VirtualBox](https://www.softwareadvice.com/archiving/vinchin-backup-and-recovery-profile/vs/virtualbox/)[NAKIVO Backup & Replication vs VirtualBox](https://www.softwareadvice.com/server-backup/nakivo-backup-and-replication-profile/vs/virtualbox/)[Iperius Backup vs VirtualBox](https://www.softwareadvice.com/vdi/iperius-backup-profile/vs/virtualbox/)[Amazon EC2 vs VirtualBox](https://www.softwareadvice.com/virtualization/amazon-ec2-profile/vs/virtualbox/)[VMware Fusion vs VirtualBox](https://www.softwareadvice.com/virtual-machine/virtualbox-profile/vs/vmware-fusion/) [Compare All Alternatives](https://www.softwareadvice.com/virtual-machine/virtualbox-profile/alternatives/) ## See what companies are saying about Software Advice