You have three free ways to run virtual machines on a Windows PC, and they are genuinely different tools. Workstation Pro is the polished professional, VirtualBox is the open-source all-rounder, and Hyper-V is the one already built into Windows Pro. Here is the honest map of who should use which.
Since November 2024 made Workstation Pro free for everyone, price no longer decides this comparison - features, feel and fit do. None of the three is best at everything. This page gives each tool its honest strengths and its honest weaknesses, and ends with simple verdicts for the common cases: learning, office testing, and running a second OS daily.
Workstation Pro has the smoothest guest desktop experience of the three - strong graphics acceleration, excellent device support, mature snapshots and cloning, and virtual networking that behaves like real networking. It is the best choice for running a second OS as a daily working environment and for realistic multi-VM labs. The honest costs: the download needs a Broadcom portal account, and there is no paid support any more - help is documentation and community.
VirtualBox is open source, downloads in seconds with no account, and runs on Windows, Linux, macOS and Solaris hosts. For learning and light labs it is more than enough, and its snapshot and networking features cover most needs. The honest costs: desktop performance and 3D acceleration are a step behind Workstation, and watch the separate Extension Pack - that add-on is free only for personal and educational use, while business use of the pack needs a paid Oracle licence. The base package itself is free for everyone.
On Windows Pro, Enterprise and Education, Hyper-V is a built-in feature - enable it and you have a hypervisor with no download at all. It is strong for Windows and server guests and integrates with Microsoft's other tools. The honest costs: it is not available on Windows Home, its desktop-guest experience is less polished for daily use, and turning it on changes how your PC boots - other software that wants direct hardware virtualisation has to cooperate with it. Workstation Pro can run alongside Hyper-V using the Windows Hypervisor Platform mode, though the classic direct mode is the faster one on supported setups.
Learning IT and practising labs: Workstation Pro - the realistic networking and snapshots teach you the most, and it is free. A quick VM on any PC, zero fuss: VirtualBox - no account, tiny download, works everywhere. You already run Windows Pro and mostly host Windows or server guests: Hyper-V is already there. A second OS you will live in daily: Workstation Pro's desktop feel wins. And a real option people forget: you can install more than one - just do not run two different hypervisors' VMs at the same moment and expect perfect performance.
The video sets up Workstation Pro from scratch - watch it and you will know within minutes whether its way of working suits you.
Watch Full VideoYes, modern Workstation Pro can coexist with Hyper-V by running through the Windows Hypervisor Platform. It works, though purists note a small performance difference versus Workstation's classic direct mode. If you need WSL2, Docker Desktop or Hyper-V features, this coexistence is exactly what that mode is for.
The VirtualBox base package is open source under the GPL and free for personal and business use. The catch is only the optional Extension Pack - Oracle licenses it free for personal and educational use, and business use of that pack requires a paid licence. Offices that skip the Extension Pack owe nothing.
For typical desktop guests, Workstation Pro generally feels the smoothest, especially graphics and device handling. But the honest answer is that your RAM and SSD decide VM speed far more than the brand does - a VM starved of memory is slow on every hypervisor.