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bhyve vs KVM: catalog facts
bhyve	KVM
Free Free, included with FreeBSD.	Free Part of the Linux kernel, free and open source under the GPL.
Self-hosted, Command line	Linux
Included with FreeBSD, nothing extra to install Also available on illumos	Part of the mainline kernel, so no third-party modules are needed Near-native CPU performance through hardware virtualization extensions
Only runs on FreeBSD and illumos hosts Managed from the command line unless paired with a front end	Provides no user interface of its own; you need QEMU, libvirt or a front end Requires virtualization extensions enabled in firmware
Operating system	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License not stated	License: GPL-2.0
No account needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 1, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.