Technologies are generally provided to switch virtual machines based on processor power states. In some examples, a virtual machine manager (VMM) may determine that a processor configured to execute a first virtual machine (VM) is to execute a VM switch, and cause the processor to enter a low-power state and store a first VM state. The VMM, which may be a VM itself, may then replace the stored first VM state with a second VM state and cause the processor to exit the low-power state. When the processor exits the low-power state, it may load the second VM state and execute a second VM.