Which hypervisor type runs on a host OS and cannot access hardware directly?

Type 2 hypervisors, also known as hosted hypervisors, run as an application on top of a conventional operating system (host OS). This means they do not have direct access to the underlying hardware; instead, they rely on the host OS to manage hardware resources. Examples include VMware Workstation and Oracle VirtualBox. Native, bare metal, and type 1 hypervisors are all terms for the same concept: a hypervisor that runs directly on the host hardware without an intervening operating system. This allows them to have direct access to hardware resources, offering better performance and security compared to type 2 hypervisors. Examples include VMware ESXi and Microsoft Hyper-V.