Best Hypervisor Software in 2026
Updated
In short: Proxmox VE is ranked #1 of 23 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of UTM and crosvm. The best-ranked option with a free plan is UTM. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Proxmox VE at €10/mo.
Hypervisors let you run virtual machines, and their host platforms and guest OS support are central points of comparison. Check management interfaces, VM snapshots, and live migration, as well as the listed maximum vCPUs per VM and nested virtualization support. Free-plan availability and paid-from pricing add cost context to the technical criteria. Proxmox VE, OpenNebula, and UTM appear among the first entries, followed by oVirt and Harvester. Compare these capabilities with the host environment, guest systems, and workload management needs you have in mind.
23 hypervisor software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
Recognised 40% · Phone app 26% · Documented 20% · Free plan 14% of the score
- 1 Proxmox VE Android only RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 7.9€10/mo
- 2 UTM iPhone only RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 7.7Free Host platforms: macOS, iOSManagement interface: desktop
- 3 crosvm Android only RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.8 Host platforms: Linux, Android, WindowsGuest OS support: Linux, AndroidManagement interface: cli
- 4 Harvester No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.2Free Host platforms: ARM64, x86_64Guest OS support: SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6 and SP7; SUSE Linux Micro 6.0 and 6.1; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 and 10; Ubuntu 22.04 and 24.04; Windows 11; Windows Server 2025Management interface: web
- 5 KVM No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.2Free Host platforms: Linux
- 6 virt-manager No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.2Free Host platforms: Linux; OpenBSDManagement interface: desktop
- 7 VMware Workstation Pro No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.2Free Host platforms: Windows, LinuxManagement interface: desktop
- 8 oVirt No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.1Free
- 9 QEMU No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.1Free
- 10 OpenNebula No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.7
- 11 Oracle VirtualBox No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.7 Host platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, Oracle SolarisManagement interface: desktop
- 12 Parallels Desktop No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.6 Host platforms: macOSManagement interface: desktop
- 13 Proxmox Backup Server No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.6€46.67/mo
- 14 Scale Computing Platform No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.5
- 15 Cloud Hypervisor No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.4 Host platforms: Linux
- 16 Xen Project Hypervisor No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.4Free Host platforms: Linux, NetBSD, FreeBSD
- 17 ACRN Hypervisor No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.3 Host platforms: Intel x86 bare-metal hardwareGuest OS support: Linux, Windows, Zephyr, VxWorks, Xenomai, Celadon, AndroidManagement interface: cli
- 18 Firecracker No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.3 Host platforms: Linux
- 19 GNOME Boxes No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.3 Host platforms: LinuxManagement interface: desktop
- 20 Multipass No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.3 Host platforms: Linux, macOS, Windows
- 21 XenServer No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.3 Guest OS support: Windows, Linux
- 22 StratoVirt No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.2 Host platforms: x86_64, AArch64 with KVMGuest OS support: LinuxManagement interface: cli
- 23 XCP-ng Center No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 4.7
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 hypervisor software is ranked first on Samsung Mobile US Press?
Proxmox VE is ranked #1 of 23 with a score of 7.9. UTM is second and crosvm third.
How many of these have a free plan?
9 of the 23 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 mobile-first: a phone app alongside the web or desktop product, a free tier and the depth of its documentation. Paid placements never change a rank.