32GB RAM is the baseline for multiple VMs.

Yes, absolutely. If you’re running more than one or two virtual machines at the same time, 32GB is the sweet spot between cost and capability.

Each VM needs a chunk of RAM dedicated to it—Windows 10/11 with apps can eat 4-6GB easily. Linux lighter, but still. On 16GB, you’re choked after two VMs. Add your host OS and a browser, and you’re hitting swap constantly. Performance tanks.

With 32GB, you can comfortably run 3-4 typical VMs without fighting for memory. You can also give each VM enough RAM that the guest OS doesn’t feel sluggish. It’s not overkill—it’s the practical minimum if you do this regularly.

If you’re doing heavy server workloads or nested virtualization, go 64GB. But for most dev/test setups, 32GB is the right call.

Don’t try to run more than 2-3 heavy VMs on 16GB. You’ll hate it.