KubeVirt
A Kubernetes add-on that runs and manages traditional virtual machines alongside containers.
These buttons open the developer's own site, repository or store listing in a new tab. wares.gg does not host downloads.
About KubeVirt
KubeVirt adds a virtualization API to Kubernetes so virtual machines can be created and managed in the same cluster as containers. It is meant for teams that have adopted Kubernetes but still have VM-based workloads that are hard to containerize.
Existing VMs can keep running while applications are gradually split into containers, all in one shared environment. It can be tried locally on Minikube or Kind, in the browser on Killercoda, or on cloud providers. Version 1.8 was released in 2026.
Strengths
- Runs VMs and containers in one Kubernetes cluster
- Helps migrate VM workloads to containers gradually
- Can be tried locally on Minikube or Kind
- Actively released, with v1.8 in 2026
Limitations
- Requires a Kubernetes cluster and Kubernetes knowledge
- Not suited to running a VM on a single desktop
Details
- Pricing
- FreeFree and open source.
- License
- Apache-2.0
- Developer
- The KubeVirt contributors
- Platforms
- Linux, Self-hosted, Command line
- How it runs
- Self-hosted
- Account
- Not required
- Best suited for
- Kubernetes teams that still need to run virtual machine workloads
- Categories
- Virtual machines, Container tools
- Last verified
- Added
- Provenance
- Facts checked against the developer's own pages and store listings, 1 sources on file.
Alternatives to KubeVirt
Compare allSoftware that can replace KubeVirt for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.
Harvester
Hyper-converged infrastructure that runs virtual machines on top of Kubernetes.
Harvester provides VMs and containers on Kubernetes as a complete hyper-converged install on bare metal, expecting at least three nodes rather than acting as an add-on to an existing cluster.
OpenNebula
An open-source platform for building private and hybrid clouds that manage virtual machines and Kubernetes.
OpenNebula manages virtual machines and Kubernetes in one private cloud platform with scheduling and federation, rather than running VMs inside Kubernetes itself, and offers paid subscriptions.
OpenStack
A set of open-source components for running cloud infrastructure with virtual machines, bare metal and containers.
OpenStack runs VMs, bare metal and containers in large private clouds through APIs and a dashboard, but its many components make deployment complex.
Proxmox VE
A bare-metal server platform that runs KVM virtual machines and LXC containers from one web interface.
Proxmox VE runs KVM VMs and LXC containers from one web interface without Kubernetes, installing as a complete server operating system with backups included.
oVirt
Centralised management platform for KVM virtual machines across a cluster.
oVirt manages KVM virtual machines across a cluster with live migration and high availability, without Kubernetes, though its development has slowed considerably.
Similar software
Related functionality, not necessarily a direct replacement.
Kata Containers
An open-source container runtime that runs each container inside a lightweight virtual machine for stronger isolation.
KVM
The Linux kernel's built-in hypervisor for hardware-accelerated virtual machines.
libvirt
A toolkit, daemon and API for managing KVM, QEMU, Xen, LXC and other virtualization platforms.
OpenShift Local
A tool that runs a small OpenShift, MicroShift or Podman environment in a local virtual machine.
Rancher Desktop
Runs Kubernetes and containers locally on Windows, macOS and Linux, as an open-source alternative to Docker Desktop.
