18 Best Virtualization Software in 2026

Microsoft Hyper-V, previously known as Viridian and pre-released as Windows Server Virtualization, is a native virtualization solution available for Microsoft Windows and Windows Server.

Why I Picked Microsoft Hyper-V: I picked Microsoft Hyper-V because of how well it’s integrated into certain versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system. I like that it comes preloaded on all major versions of Windows 10 (except Home), making it easy to adopt for any power user that would need to run a VM.

Microsoft Hyper-V Standout Features and Integrations

Features that made Hyper-V for Windows Server stand out to me include the Virtual Fibre Channel, which allows you to connect the VM directly to your Fibre Channel. With this link, you can access your storage area networks (SANs), even within guest OSs, for functions such as live migration and multipath IO.

On Windows 10, you get a gallery function that allows you to manage your VM images in one place, whether you’ve created them yourself or downloaded them from another source. I appreciated how Microsoft makes this feature easy to use by providing you with an image that contains most of the resources you’d need for development in a virtual environment.

Integrations include native support for Microsoft System Center Suite, Windows Server Active Directory, Azure Services, and Windows Deployment Services.

Inuvika OVD Enterprise is a virtualization software solution that delivers Windows and Linux applications and desktops to users on any device.

Why I Picked Inuvika OVD Enterprise: I like that Inuvika OVD Enterprise delivers both Windows and Linux applications through a single interface, so your team can work across platforms without switching environments. It supports access from any device via web portals or local desktops. Its Zero Trust security model gives admins tight control over who can access what. Built-in multi-factor authentication adds another layer of protection. All data is encrypted during transmission to keep your information secure.

Inuvika OVD Enterprise Standout Features and Integrations

Features include fast deployment and configuration, allowing organizations to install the solution in just a few hours, compared to the weeks often required by traditional desktop virtualization software. Additionally, upgrades are straightforward and can be completed in minutes, ensuring that organizations remain agile and up-to-date with the latest features.

Integrations include Cisco Duo, WatchGuard Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP), Zadara, AuthPoint, XenServer, Nutanix AHV, VMware ESXi, Verge-OS, and Microsoft Active Directory.

Compute Engine is an Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) platform that lets you run cloud-based virtual machines.

Why I Picked Google Compute Engine: I picked Google Compute Engine because it runs on the Google Cloud Platform. This gives you access to reliable uptime and availability, processing capabilities, and low latency, all functions that would be beneficial for running a high-performance VM.

Google Compute Engine Standout Features and Integrations

Features in Google Compute Engine’s virtualization offering that I really like include the spot VM option. It allows you to buy unused instances for fault-tolerant workloads and increase your total computing power with discounts as high as 91 percent.

It also studies your usage and gives you personalized recommendations to improve your resource management.

Integrations include native support for Google Cloud services like SQL, Monitoring, Content Delivery Network (CDN), DNS, Load Balancing and Pub/Sub, BigQuery, and Kubernetes.

VMware Fusion Pro lets you run virtual machines on MacOS, with support for several guest operating systems, including Windows and Linux.

Why I Picked VMware Fusion Pro: I chose VMware Fusion Pro because of the Migration Assistant feature that lets you quickly transfer a physical Windows machine onto a VM running on Mac. You get multiple options in how you want to handle migration, including the mode of transfer (disk drive, ethernet, or wireless) and what to move (entire system along with user files or just the OS and applications).

VMware Fusion Pro Standout Features and Integrations

Features of VMware Fusion Pro that I liked include Unity View, which allows you to run individual Windows apps on Mac without needing to launch an entire VM environment. This allows you to test out smaller features quickly and without taking up too many resources.

I also liked that Fusion Pro has capabilities for running containers and Kubernetes clusters from your Mac device, letting you develop additional aspects of your app or website’s infrastructure from the same place.

Integrations are available natively with Docker, Kubernetes, GitLab, Jenkins, Visual Studio Code, Ansible, Bitbucket, Chef, Commvault HyperScale X, and Vagrant.

VMware Workstation Pro enables you to run virtual machines on any x86 OS, including Windows, Linux, and Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD).

Why I Picked VMware Workstation Pro: I picked VMware Workstation Pro because it offers advanced settings for the virtual network adapter, where you can simulate factors such as packet loss, latency, bandwidth, and MAC addresses. With these settings, you can create an environment that mimics the exact conditions you want to explore with your virtual machine.

VMware Workstation Pro Standout Features and Integrations

Features that stood out most to me include support for hundreds of both 32- and 64-bit guest operating systems, giving you plenty of options for how to configure your virtual machine. On Windows OSes, it has a command line interface (CLI) that you can use to develop and operate Kubernetes containers and clusters with networking and isolation features right within the virtual machine.

Integrations include native support for Docker, Kubernetes, OpenText Documentum, Forensic Explorer, vCenter Server, Qualys Web Application Firewall (WAF), Centreon, Akamai Guardicore Segmentation, and Glassware.

VirtualBox is an open-source virtualization solution offered and run by Oracle that supports host operating systems that include Windows, Linux, Mac, and Solaris.

Why I Picked Oracle VM VirtualBox: VirtualBox stood out to me almost immediately because it’s an open-source option from a reputable company. This means you can use it to build and test more bespoke functions without straying too far from your established workflows. With a free license for educational, personal, and evaluation purposes, you can get started with VirtualBox with relative ease.

Oracle VM VirtualBox Standout Features and Integrations

Features in VirtualBox that caught my attention include the extensive incorporation of other Oracle products and services. For example, you can move data and settings between your virtual machine and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), which I found was convenient for managing multiple environments both on-premises and in the cloud.

There’s also built-in Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) support that brings the hardware closer to the VM so you can manage its lifecycle with button events such as presses of the power button and closing the lid of a laptop.

Integrations are available natively for Kubernetes, OCI, Ansible, GitLab CI/CD, Jenkins, Docker, HashiCorp Terraform, Vagrant, OpenStack, and Veeam Backup and Replication. VirtualBox also provides an API and SDK to build custom integrations and extensions.

Parallels Desktop for Mac has more than 7 million users, over 100,000 of whom tested a preview build of the virtualization software to help the company develop native support for Apple silicon within a few months of release.

Why I Picked Parallels Desktop for Mac: Parallels Desktop showed up on my radar as soon as Apple announced its then-upcoming line of M1 chips because I was worried about how the switch would impact the performance of hypervisors. Luckily, Parallels swung into action and delivered a version of Desktop that runs natively on Apple silicon, with up to 30 percent better Windows VM performance, 150 percent less energy usage, and 60 percent better graphical performance, all within months of the M1’s release.

Features include Coherence Mode, which allows you to hide the full Windows environment but keep using individual apps if you find it too distracting. It was also able to detect what I needed to get it running. For example it scanned my Mac for Boot Camp installations and recommend suitable versions of Windows for download when it couldn’t find any.

Integrations are available via the Parallels Virtualization SDK, which you can use to build your own connections.

Red Hat Virtualization (RHV) is a Red Hat Enterprise-Linux-based virtualization solution. It supports containerized and cloud-native apps, processes, and resources.

Why I Picked Red Hat Virtualization: I chose RHV because of how easy it was to connect to Ansible, an automation tool from Red Hat. From there, I could define some key rules and constructs and implement full end-to-end automation. This meant I could scale my system with several new VMs and not worry about it getting out of my control.

Features that sold me on RHV include the fact that it’s based on KVM, making it easy to create multiple isolated VMs within Linux. Aside from isolation, it improves security by leveraging technologies such as Red Hat’s own Secure Virtualization (sVirt) and Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux).

Integrations are available natively with other Red Hat products, including Ansible Automation Platform, OpenStack, OpenShift, and Enterprise Linux. There’s also a REST API to build custom integrations.

IBM PowerVM is a server virtualization platform that supports Linux, IBM i, and AIX clients. It runs on the company’s Power Systems platform and takes advantage of its Remote Access Server (RAS) capabilities.

Why I Picked IBM PowerVM: The Active Memory Sharing feature in PowerVM stood out to me immediately because of how it improves resource management and scalability, both important for any growing or large-scale business. The feature sets up a pool of memory that’s shared between logical partitions as needed rather than allocating a fixed amount upfront to each.

IM PowerVM Standout Features and Integrations

Features that set PowerVM apart for me include Power Virtualization Performance (PowerVP), a monitor that gives you real-time insights and analytics on your VMs that you can use to drive management decisions in an enterprise setting. I especially appreciated remote restart capability, which improves availability by saving a partition’s configuration information so that, in case of outages or failures, it can reboot on a different server.

Integrations are available natively with other IBM products like PowerVC, System Director, Spectrum Scale, PowerSC, Tivoli Monitoring, and PowerHA SystemMirror, as well as third parties like Ansible, Red Hat OpenStack, and VMware vSphere.

Azure Virtual Machines from Microsoft work for Windows and Linux, creating instances in the form of images backed by cloud-based computing with prices determined by usage.

Why I Picked Azure Virtual Machines: Azure Virtual Machines’ VM insights feature caught my attention because of how closely it monitors the health of your VMs. It tracks metrics that you can use for functions such as data visualizations for workbooks, analytics for log queries, and dependency mapping.

Azure Virtual Machines Standout Features and Integrations

Features in Azure Virtual Machines that piqued my interest include Reserved VM Instances, which you can book in advance, to save up to 70% compared to the equivalent pay-as-you-go charges. With Hybrid Benefit, you can reuse licenses from on-premise deployments as you migrate to Azure, for further savings.

Integrations are available natively with other Azure cloud services, including Active Directory, Monitor, Backup, Data Factory, Automation, DevOps, Security Center, Functions, and Logic Apps.