Best/fastest hypervisor for virtualizing Linux/BSD on macOS

[mj_]

What would be the general consensus on the best Hypervisor to virtualize Linux & BSD on macOS Catalina?

So far I've been using VirtualBox to virtualize a bunch of CentOS Linux and FreeBSD VMs and quite frankly the GUI performance is abysmal, to say the least. Computing performance is great, and when running CPU intensive software or connecting remotely to my VMs (for example with SSH) I can't tell a difference between native execution in macOS and virtualized execution in VirtualBox. However, as soon as I need to use a graphical user interface things go downhill very rapidly. Even the most basic interfaces such as XFCE4 will slow down to a crawl. I've experimented a lot with various graphics controllers, disabled and enabled 3D acceleration, but it remains horribly slow in comparison. I'm also running a Windows 10 VM as well as a Windows XP VM for some legacy software. Windows XP is fast and responsive but Windows 10 is just as slow as any given Linux desktop.

As far as I can see the only other two viable alternatives are Parallels for $79 and VMware Fusion for $159. I ran the Parallels trial and the difference is like night and day. I've converted my CentOS 7, CentOS 8, Linux Mint, and Windows 10 VMs and they're all incredibly smooth and snappy. Even booting them up takes a fraction of the time now, which surprised me to be honest. Before I waste more time evaluating VMware Fusion as well, does anyone have experience with both? Is VMware Fusion any faster/snappier than Parallels? Does it offer anything in addition to Parallels that would justify its price premium? I wouldn't mind spending the money if it's worth it.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Mikael H]

VMware Fusion should have a free demo too, so just try it out. Also, unless you need advanced network configurations, you could probably run regular Fusion which is priced more competitively compared to Parallels than Fusion Pro.

That said, I don't have a clear personal preference between the two: Both are very good products. Fusion does integrate with vSphere to some degree, so if you have access to a VMware hypervisor setup at work, this may sway your preference.

 

[mj_]

Thanks, Mikael. I know there is a trial version of Fusion but to be honest I don't have the time right now to evaluate yet another software. My schedule is very tight as it is, and I was hoping for somebody with experience in both applications, but it looks like I will have to give it a try myself. Looking at the specs there seem to be two advantages of Fusion over Parallels: a) vSphere integration, which might or might not be beneficial, and b) support for RHEL8 while Parallels is still limited to 7.

Thanks also for pointing out my pricing mistake. For some reason VMware kept showing me the price for Fusion Pro, and I did not realize that there is also a non-Pro version of Fusion for the same price as Parallels.