KVM

KVM is ranked #4 of 26 in virtual machine software on Freedom251. It runs on Linux, Self-hosted. There is a free plan.

KVM plans and pricing

KVM open-source software Free Linux host · requires Intel VT or AMD-V virtualization extensions linux-kvm.org · 30 Sept 2026

Compared on virtual machine software

Free plan: Yes
Host platforms: Linux
Nested virtualization: Yes

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Free6.7

KVM

Guest architecture: both
VM snapshots: Yes
GPU acceleration: Yes
Virtualization: KVM is a full virtualization solution for Linux on x86 hardware with Intel VT or AMD-V extensions.
Guest systems: KVM can run multiple virtual machines with unmodified Linux or Windows images.
Virtual hardware: Each virtual machine has private virtualized hardware including a network card, disk and graphics adapter.
Open source: KVM is open-source software; its kernel component is in mainline Linux and its userspace component is in mainline QEMU.
Key features: The documented feature list includes live migration, nested guests, CPU hotplug, PCI hotplug, virtio devices and device assignment.
Production status: KVM is included in the mainline Linux kernel and is described as stable and fast for most workloads.
Migration support: KVM status documentation lists live migration of 32-bit and 64-bit guests between hosts.
Distribution support: Major community and enterprise Linux distributions provide KVM kernel modules and userspace, with distribution support available.
Downloads: Linux distributions usually package the KVM kernel modules and userspace tools, and Windows guest drivers are available separately.
Processor coverage: The processor support page documents virtualization support for Intel, AMD, ARM, PowerPC and 64-bit S390 systems.
Integration: KVM userspace code is developed in the QEMU mainline repository, and KVM feature documentation references QEMU, libvirt, OpenStack and oVirt as upper layers.
Price from: Free

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Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best Virtual Machine Software in 2026#4 of 26
Best Hypervisor Software in 2026#6 of 23

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Sources

linux-kvm.org/page/Main_Page· checked 20 Sept 2026
linux-kvm.org/page/Main_Page· checked 30 Sept 2026
linux-kvm.org/page/KVM_Features· checked 30 Sept 2026
linux-kvm.org/page/Status· checked 30 Sept 2026
linux-kvm.org/page/Getting_the_kvm_kernel_modules· checked 30 Sept 2026
linux-kvm.org/page/Downloads· checked 30 Sept 2026
linux-kvm.org/page/Processor_support· checked 30 Sept 2026
linux-kvm.org/page/Code· checked 30 Sept 2026
linux-kvm.org/page/VMchannel_Requirements· checked 30 Sept 2026
linux-kvm.org/page/KVM-unit-tests· checked 30 Sept 2026