What are the difference between containers and virtual machines?

Virtual machines and containers are both tools frequently used by developers to develop, test, and deploy software. On paper, they share many similarities: both run within a host operating system, allowing multiple applications to operate on the same hardware. They’re transferable between systems, provide isolation between applications and hosts, and can be easily set up. However, they’re really designed for totally different purposes. Here are a few ways containers and virtual machines differ.