KVM is often included among the best virtual machine software options, although it should be understood differently from most desktop virtualization tools. It is not an application that users simply open and operate on its own. KVM, short for Kernel-based Virtual Machine, is built into the Linux kernel and provides the low-level virtualization capability that allows Linux to run virtual machines with hardware acceleration.
In practice, KVM is usually part of a wider stack. QEMU handles device emulation and virtual machine execution, KVM provides hardware-assisted acceleration through the Linux kernel, and libvirt offers a management layer used by tools such as virt-manager, virsh, Cockpit, and other front ends. This is why users often see the combined term QEMU/KVM rather than KVM alone.
