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KVM vs Xen Project: catalog facts
KVM	Xen Project
Free Part of the Linux kernel, free and open source under the GPL.	Free Free and open source, developed under the Linux Foundation.
Linux	Self-hosted
Part of the mainline kernel, so no third-party modules are needed Near-native CPU performance through hardware virtualization extensions	Type-1 hypervisor with strong isolation between guests Used in servers, embedded and safety-critical systems
Provides no user interface of its own; you need QEMU, libvirt or a front end Requires virtualization extensions enabled in firmware	Installed on bare metal, so setup is more involved than desktop VM apps Aimed at infrastructure builders rather than casual users
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-2.0	License not stated
Not stated if an account is needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026

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