Multipass vs VirtualBox

Multipass — Multipass is a lightweight virtual machine manager for Linux, Windows and macOS. It simplifies setting up virtual Ubuntu instances in just a few clicks, allowing developers to easily create reproducib

VirtualBox — Oracle VM VirtualBox is a free and open-source virtualization platform that enables users to run multiple operating systems on a single physical machine. Widely used for development, testing, and virt

Multipass offers Create Ubuntu VMs with a single command, CLI and GUI available, Built-in SSH access to VMs, Suspend and restart VMs while maintaining state, Share folders between host and VMs, while VirtualBox provides Emulated virtual machines for multiple guest operating systems, Snapshots to save VM state, Shared folders for host-guest file system integration, Virtual networking and NAT, Remote machine display.

Multipass stands out for Simple and easy to use, Lightweight and fast VM launches, Reproducible dev environments; VirtualBox is known for Free and open source, Cross-platform, Easy to set up and use.

Feature	Multipass	VirtualBox
Overall Score	N/A	1
Primary Category	Development	Os & Utilities
Pricing	Open Source	free

Product Overview

Multipass

Description: Multipass is a lightweight virtual machine manager for Linux, Windows and macOS. It simplifies setting up virtual Ubuntu instances in just a few clicks, allowing developers to easily create reproducible development environments.

VirtualBox

Description: Oracle VM VirtualBox is a free and open-source virtualization platform that enables users to run multiple operating systems on a single physical machine. Widely used for development, testing, and virtualized environments, VirtualBox supports a variety of guest operating systems and provides features like snapshotting, shared folders, and networking options.

Key Features Comparison

Multipass Features

• Create Ubuntu VMs with a single command
• CLI and GUI available
• Built-in SSH access to VMs
• Suspend and restart VMs while maintaining state
• Share folders between host and VMs
• Customizable CPU and memory allocation
• VM image caching to speed up launches

VirtualBox Features

• Emulated virtual machines for multiple guest operating systems
• Snapshots to save VM state
• Shared folders for host-guest file system integration
• Virtual networking and NAT
• Remote machine display
• Command line interaction
• Headless operation

Pros & Cons Analysis

Multipass

Pros

• Simple and easy to use
• Lightweight and fast VM launches
• Reproducible dev environments
• Native clients for Linux, macOS and Windows
• Active development and maintenance

Cons

• Only supports Ubuntu VMs currently
• Limited configuration options compared to other VM managers
• No snapshot or cloning support yet
• No built-in orchestration features

VirtualBox

Pros

• Free and open source
• Cross-platform
• Easy to set up and use
• Good performance
• Lots of configuration options

Cons

• Limited support options
• Less features than paid solutions
• Resource intensive

Pricing Comparison

Multipass

• Open Source

VirtualBox

• free