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Citrix XenServer vs Nutanix AHV Virtualization comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 6, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.8
Citrix XenServer offers virtualization benefits, cost savings, improved management, and value with high availability despite higher licensing costs.
Sentiment score
6.3
Nutanix AHV dramatically cut costs and optimized efficiency, offering 45% savings, improved scalability, and reduced downtime within three years.
My clients generally maintain their Citrix infrastructure without shifting, suggesting stability and reliable operation as Citrix XenServer is fully established.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.1
Citrix XenServer support is knowledgeable and helpful, but slow response times and accessibility challenges can affect user satisfaction.
Sentiment score
8.8
Nutanix AHV Virtualization support is efficient and knowledgeable, providing proactive solutions and quick issue resolution with high satisfaction.
They do not provide adequate support for midsize businesses.
Since being acquired, Citrix's customer service has experienced delays in response time.
Their engineers are excellent and provide great supportability.
They provide prompt and quality responses.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Citrix XenServer is praised for its scalability, seamless expansion, ease of use, and suitability for diverse deployment sizes.
Sentiment score
8.4
Nutanix AHV Virtualization offers exceptional scalability, allowing easy node addition, minimal downtime, and flexible horizontal and vertical scaling.
Familiarity with Linux can enhance its performance and usability.
We can scale our systems easily without any downtime, making it a highly effective solution for dynamic environments.
Nutanix AHV Virtualization is very scalable; however, I might be underutilizing its capabilities.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Citrix XenServer is praised for stability, effective updates, strong support, and minimal issues, supporting enterprises of all sizes.
Sentiment score
8.5
Nutanix AHV Virtualization is praised for stability, reliable performance, and seamless management, despite occasional patch delays affecting ratings.
The solution is very stable.
Issues such as patch delays and the OVF format challenge affect its stability rating.
I would give the stability a seven out of ten at the moment, primarily due to the issues I've had with updates.
 

Room For Improvement

Citrix XenServer needs enhancements in startup, memory, backup, support, interface, and community, with better integration and reduced costs.
Nutanix AHV needs enhancements in deployment, support, interface, and integration, with focus on stability, pricing, and documentation.
Although the product is technically competitive, it is not widely known or used due to poor marketing.
Citrix needs to improve the hypervisor, specifically in security and performance.
This delay in patching creates risk, especially for government projects that require timely updates.
Using Lenovo hardware seems problematic with Nutanix AHV Virtualization, which demands careful consideration during updates.
These menus often show options like host, memory, and disk, however, they fail to provide insight into what's happening.
 

Setup Cost

Citrix XenServer offers free and paid versions, with paid providing enhanced features and support at a notable price.
Nutanix AHV provides cost-effective virtualization with no licensing fees, offering significant savings compared to competitors like VMware and Citrix.
It is cheaper compared to its competitors.
The pricing and licensing policy of Citrix XenServer is not transparent and quite confusing.
This has been advantageous as it does not require additional licensing costs for the hypervisor, contributing to overall cost savings.
Other solutions like Citrix and VMware have seen a significant price increase, whereas Nutanix hasn't increased as dramatically.
The pricing was reasonable compared to other competitors, though the storage was expensive.
 

Valuable Features

Citrix XenServer is favored for its high availability, ease of use, affordability, and seamless integration with Citrix solutions.
Nutanix AHV Virtualization is praised for its user-friendly interface, cost-effectiveness, automation, and robust disaster recovery features.
It provides secure access to applications and resources, which is crucial for us and our clients.
It is user-friendly and easy to deploy, making it an attractive option.
It is easier to manage than VMware in some ways, providing a good level of interaction.
The technology behind the backups is very efficient, enabling a reliable virtual environment.
 

Categories and Ranking

Citrix XenServer
Ranking in Server Virtualization Software
11th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
49
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Nutanix AHV Virtualization
Ranking in Server Virtualization Software
5th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
55
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Server Virtualization Software category, the mindshare of Citrix XenServer is 5.0%, up from 4.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Nutanix AHV Virtualization is 8.2%, up from 6.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Server Virtualization Software
 

Featured Reviews

Tonatiuh Torres Zamorano - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers comprehensive solutions for small and medium businesses with a straightforward setup
I find Citrix XenServer valuable for small to medium-sized businesses. It is user-friendly and easy to deploy, making it an attractive option. When included with Citrix virtualization solutions, it provides a comprehensive package with existing licenses. Despite being effective for small to medium infrastructures, it may not be the best hypervisor for larger deployments.
Zack Baraci - PeerSpot reviewer
High availability and user-friendly interface enhance manageability
I primarily use the core features of Nutanix AHV Virtualization ( /products/nutanix-ahv-virtualization-reviews ) at the moment. The high availability (HA), replication, and site-to-site replication are quite useful. Additionally, the usual hypervisor management functionalities are beneficial. Nutanix AHV Virtualization delivers a system that is very manageable, with a well-designed user interface. It is easier to manage than VMware in some ways, providing a good level of interaction.
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Comparison Review

VL
Jan 13, 2015
vSphere vs. RHEV vs. Hyper-V vs. XenServer
We have used the following functions: 1. Hypervisor: to ensure that the virtual server provide web and email services to the company, thus providing a stable operation a with single sign-on integration of an AD server and vCenter. 2. Network and Storage: centralized data server…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
51%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
4%
Comms Service Provider
4%
Educational Organization
26%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Citrix Hypervisor?
The core function enables multiple virtual machines to run on a single physical server. This maximizes hardware utilization and efficiency.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Citrix Hypervisor?
XenServer is considered cost-effective, as its licensing allows users to utilize the hypervisor as part of Citrix virtual app or desktop licenses. It is cheaper compared to its competitors.
What needs improvement with Citrix Hypervisor?
Citrix needs to improve the hypervisor, specifically in security and performance. Additionally, the response time from customer support has room for improvement, which could enhance the overall use...
How does Nutanix AHV compare with VMware vSphere?
To understand which is better - Nutanix AHV or VMware vSphere - you need to do a product comparison. Both products support hypervisors. However, Nutanix supports some of the most popular ones and m...
What do you like most about Nutanix AHV Virtualization?
Integration is the most valuable feature of the product.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Nutanix AHV Virtualization?
Nutanix offers a lower price compared to other solutions. This has been advantageous as it does not require additional licensing costs for the hypervisor, contributing to overall cost savings.
 

Also Known As

Hypervisor
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

U.S. Army Shared Services Center, SoftLayer, Educational Services of America, Independent Bank, and SK Telecom.
JetBlue, International Speedway Corporation, SAIC Volkswagen
Find out what your peers are saying about Citrix XenServer vs. Nutanix AHV Virtualization and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
847,862 professionals have used our research since 2012.