# KVM vs OpenVZ vs LXC — Why the Virtualisation Type Matters | NulNet > Own kernel, honest RAM, real swap, BSD or Windows images: full virtualization changes what a VPS can run. Here is why every plan here is KVM. No ID at signup. Source: https://nulnet.com/guides/kvm-vs-openvz/ [Home](https://nulnet.com/) / [Guides](https://nulnet.com/guides/) / KVM vs OpenVZ vs LXC — Why the Virtualisation Type Matters Hosting guide # KVM vs OpenVZ vs LXC — Why the Virtualisation Type Matters ![Dark server hardware: racks, switch ports, board macro](https://nulnet.com/img/photo-brand-2.jpg) Own kernel, honest RAM, real swap, BSD or Windows images: full virtualization changes what a VPS can run. Here is why every plan here is KVM. Published 2026-08-30 · Updated 2026-09-08 · NulNet Editorial **Short answer** Own kernel, honest RAM, real swap, BSD or Windows images: full virtualization changes what a VPS can run. Here is why every plan here is KVM. NulNet: VPS from $3/mo and dedicated from $30.80/mo annual. The map spans twenty-one locations — Reykjavik (Iceland) and Zurich (Switzerland) among them, plus Singapore, Dubai, Cape Town and fourteen others. Signup is email plus a 12-character password, or token-only. No KYC. Checkout is crypto-only across BTC, XMR, ETH, BNB, SOL, LTC, TRX, XRP, DOGE, DASH, ADA, GRAM (TON), and USDT (TRC-20/ERC-20/BEP-20/SPL). No payload or guest traffic logs; connection metadata ≤24h. DDoS included. One SKN company, one crypto checkout. Deploy at https://nulnet.com/deploy/. ## Containers vs virtual machines OpenVZ and LXC put every tenant on the host's shared kernel; memory is a burst-accounted pool that the host reclaims whenever a neighbour spikes. KVM instead hands each server a real kernel of your choosing with reserved RAM and its own swap. The monthly spread between the two models is a few dollars at catalog prices — Sentry sits at $7.50/mo list — and the behavioural gap opens precisely when your workload stops being a demo. Every plan in this catalog is KVM for that reason. VPS from $3* (fund $50+), storage 1–5 TB NVMe from $24/mo annual-eff, dedicated with IPMI from $30.80/mo. Crypto invoice, no KYC. [Launch now](https://nulnet.com/deploy/?kind=vps&plan=business/) ## What KVM gives that containers cannot - A kernel you pick: custom builds, BPF tooling, out-of-tree modules, DKMS drivers, WireGuard without provider blessing. - Windows and BSD images, which container-only shops structurally cannot sell. - Real swap, so a memory spike degrades latency instead of triggering a hard kill. - Unrestricted Docker and Compose, nested virtualization on the VPS lines, raw sockets for packet tools. - RAM that is yours: the 4 GB on Sentry is 4 GB of reserved ECC, not a slice of a contended pool. ## The failure modes of oversold containers Ask anyone who ran a busy site on oversold OpenVZ: the host hits memory pressure, the burst credit vanishes, and the OOM killer picks your database despite “your” usage looking small. Sometimes the kernel lacks a feature your stack needs, or an iptables module is simply absent, and no ticket changes either. Those are architectural outcomes, not one bad provider. Full virtualization removes the entire category, which matters more as workloads grow from toy to production. Is every plan here KVM or OpenVZ? KVM across the board: VPS, storage and dedicated. Full virtualization, a kernel you control, custom ISO support, and nested virt available on the VPS lines — no container fallback tier hides in the catalog. Is KVM slower than OpenVZ? Microbenchmarks give containers a small edge because they skip the hypervisor, but a benchmark you cannot rely on under load is not a plan. On current EPYC and Xeon hosts with ECC memory, the KVM overhead is a rounding error next to the isolation it buys. Can I run Docker on a KVM VPS? Yes, without restrictions: full Docker, Compose stacks, and nested virtualization where a lab or a build matrix needs it. If containers outgrow a shared host entirely, the no-KYC dedicated lineup gives the same root over exclusive metal. Does the virtualization type change pricing? The type itself is not a line item: the five-tier VPS ladder runs $5.49–$33.50 list with KVM everywhere, and the annual term takes 20% off. You are paying for CPU, RAM and NVMe, not for a hypervisor upsell. ## Related guides - [Minimum-data no-KYC checkout](https://nulnet.com/guides/anonymous-vps-crypto-no-kyc/) - [Buy a VPS with crypto](https://nulnet.com/buy-vps-with-crypto/) - [No-KYC VPS: requirements and limits](https://nulnet.com/no-kyc-vps/) - [Pay with Monero](https://nulnet.com/monero-vps/) - [Offshore VPS](https://nulnet.com/offshore-vps/) - [VPS vs dedicated bare-metal](https://nulnet.com/guides/vps-vs-dedicated/) - [Best no-KYC VPS 2026](https://nulnet.com/best-no-kyc-vps-2026/) - [FAQ: crypto VPS](https://nulnet.com/guides/faq-crypto-vps/) ## Checkout facts - **Price** VPS from $3/mo. Dedicated from $30.80/mo. - **Identity** No KYC. Token-only (no email) or email plus a 12-character password. No passport, phone, or card. - **Payment** Sixteen ways to settle, none of them a card: XMR and BTC lead, ETH, SOL, LTC, BNB and TRX follow, then XRP, DOGE, DASH and ADA, GRAM (TON) for Telegram-adjacent rails, and USDT on four networks — TRC-20, ERC-20, BEP-20, SPL. Live-rate invoice. - **Logs** No payload / no guest traffic logs. Billing and panel actions retained. Connection metadata ≤24h. - **Platform** KVM on ECC and local NVMe. DDoS filtering included. Facilities in 21 cities across four continents — the locations table lists each one's tier, uplink and governing law. Need Iceland or Switzerland plus no KYC? Those two carry a published premium (+20% / +35%); every other flag stays at base list. Pay BTC, USDT, XMR, BNB, XRP, GRAM (TON) or 10 more. Open deploy to pick a plan. ## Ready to launch? Build the box — VPS, storage or bare metal — create the password, pay the invoice that follows. [Launch now](https://nulnet.com/deploy/?kind=vps&plan=business/)[Dedicated](https://nulnet.com/dedicated/)