Citrix XenServer vs RHEV comparison

Citrix and Red Hat are both solutions in the Server Virtualization Software category. Citrix is ranked #11 with an average rating of 7.3, while Red Hat is ranked #13 with an average rating of 8.0. Citrix holds a 4.8% mindshare in SVS, compared to Red Hat’s 2.9% mindshare. Additionally, 82% of Citrix users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 79% of Red Hat users who would recommend it.

Citrix XenServer

Read 56 Citrix XenServer reviews

5,794 Views
5,678 Comparison Views

82% willing to recommend

RHEV

Read 36 RHEV reviews

3,774 Views
3,774 Comparison Views

79% willing to recommend

Citrix XenServer

RHEV

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 17, 2025

RHEV and Citrix XenServer are virtualization solutions for enterprise environments, with RHEV offering competitive pricing and support, while Citrix XenServer is praised for its extensive features.

Features: RHEV is known for efficient resource management, seamless Linux integration, and robust security with SELinux. Citrix XenServer offers advanced hypervisor capabilities, Windows environment support, and high availability with features like live migration.

Room for Improvement: RHEV could improve by simplifying its deployment process for Windows-centric teams, offering more intuitive interfaces, and enhancing third-party integration. Citrix XenServer may benefit from accelerating its storage management solutions, increasing its feature set in the free version, and simplifying its licensing models.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Citrix XenServer generally provides a more straightforward deployment, especially for existing Citrix users, and offers comprehensive support services. RHEV requires deeper Linux knowledge, which can affect deployment timelines, though it provides solid customer service.

Pricing and ROI: RHEV is cost-effective for open-source enthusiasts with lower setup costs leading to quick ROI. Citrix XenServer has a higher initial investment but offers capabilities that improve productivity, potentially resulting in long-term ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Citrix XenServer vs. RHEV Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Citrix XenServer vs. RHEV

September 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Citrix XenServer

Ranking in Server Virtualization Software

11th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

RHEV

Ranking in Server Virtualization Software

13th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Server Virtualization Software category, the mindshare of Citrix XenServer is 4.8%, up from 4.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of RHEV is 2.9%, down from 3.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Server Virtualization Software Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Citrix XenServer	4.8%
RHEV	2.9%
Other	92.3%

Server Virtualization Software

Featured Reviews

Jörg Köhler

Owner at AvalisNT AG

Consulting benefits from robust consulting while also recognizing the need for improved disk management

When it comes to optimization, that's one of the weaker points of Citrix XenServer, especially regarding disk management, which is somewhat clumsy. Backup-related issues and disk management should be improved. Especially concerning backup, as discussions with Veeam engineers about Citrix XenServer backup strategy indicate there might not be a solution from Veeam soon. License optimization is not such a significant problem, but licenses are quite complicated. Vendors constantly invent new license models, making it difficult to order the correct licenses needed. There is not a big difference between Citrix and VMware products because Citrix can implement Windows and Linux anyway.

Read full review

Sujeet-Kumar

Project Manager Cloud Infrastructure at Path Infotech ltd

The solution is scalable and affordable, but it lacks features, and it is not easy to manage

Management of RHEV is not as easy as VMware. Some features do not work. The product does not provide features similar to VMware’s VMotion. After creating the cluster, the VM is moved to another node if we move down. However, the VM does not move the parent node automatically. It has to be moved manually. VMware moves it automatically. RHEV moves it to the parent node only if we restart. Everything can be handled in VMware through the GUI. However, in RHEV, some things can be managed through UI, and others cannot. We have to troubleshoot and use CLI. A few features of the product do not work as well as those in VMware.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I find it very easy to manage and at a cost that small customers would never refuse (free)."

"What I like the most is the support of the GPU Graphics and the VM Live migration."

"The price is the solution's most valuable feature."

"The initial setup is easy."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is very fast. It also works very well for physically small servers."

"This solution allows the end users to clone, start, stop, or remotely control their VMs."

"There's no complexity in using the tool, especially with the VBI integration. It works very well and has proven to be a stable platform. I have experienced attacks, such as ransomware, but my Citrix Hypervisor virtual machines were protected. This is due to its hardened operating system and DNS, which successfully protected the virtual machines on that platform."

"The solution's security is its most valuable aspect."

More Citrix XenServer pros

"Customers are moving to open source and Red Hat is the leader in this particular space. I think customers feel more confident running Red Hat Virtualization than VMware."

"The solution is overall very good with all the facilities. It is user friendly, easy to configure, has documentation, and support is available."

"Technically, the main reason why I'm using Red Hat is because of its stability."

"When you purchase RHEV, you are essentially buying a subscription license. This license can be integrated with various client types, including these integrations with the subscription."

"The initial setup is fairly straightforward and well-documented. The process is very similar to its competitors. The success of your setup depends on how well you plan."

"We find the ease of use of this solution to be invaluable. It is user-friendly and integrates well with other software."

"One of the most valuable features of this solution is the popularity of the OS."

"It is a scalable solution."

More RHEV pros

Cons

"Live migration is something that can be improved."

"You need a licensed account to look up technical support."

"The main problem with Citrix Hypervisor is getting readily available backup solutions for it. It would be wonderful if Hypervisor were better integrated with third-party backup solutions."

"The solution needs better backup facilities that are available for virtual machines to create servers on."

"It needs improvement with the security features."

"Integration with other vendors and other applications could be improved."

"Overall, I can't think of a feature that is lacking. We've been pretty satisfied overall."

"I would like the possibility of updating the hypervisor by applying security patches."

More Citrix XenServer cons

"It lags behind in that you need to go to something like Fedora to get all the extra bells and whistles."

"A few features of the product do not work as well as those in VMware."

"When we do a direct comparison, then obviously VMware does better in terms of having Fault Tolerance and doing active disaster recovery and these kind of things. This is something that can be improved within Red Hat."

"I would love to see better documentation and ease of use."

"The availability of technical expertise with the solution may be limited in some areas."

"The solution should be made more user-friendly."

"While everything needs improvement in some way, I have no specifics."

"Red Hat by itself is not scalable. But you can have third party add-ons like Ceph to make it massively scalable."

More RHEV cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Citrix Hypervisor can be fairly expensive."

"The pricing and licensing is so important. Customers do consider the price seriously."

"We used it only for some desktop licenses, so the pricing is great. We used the free licenses for server virtualization."

"The licensing is straight forward based on usage and features."

"I am fine with their license support. What we have right now is permanent, so I don't have a problem with their license."

"This solution is open source, it's free."

"While it is free for small networks, the pricing is high if your network grows past a certain size."

"There are three editions available and I believe they are perpetual licenses."

More Citrix XenServer pricing and cost advice

"I believe we pay on a yearly basis."

"We have to pay extra for vulnerability and fault tolerance."

"The solution does not require licencing but a subscription is necessary, which is very affordable."

"The price of RHEV is high. It is an open-source solution, the price should be less. The price should not be on par with a solution, such as VMware. It's not more or equal to VMware, it's less, but the difference should be more substantial."

"Price-wise, RHEV is okay, in my opinion."

"Its price depends on the use cases."

"We buy a license for commercial use, and we also use the free editions."

"RHEV offers pricing based on a per-physical-machine licensing model."

More RHEV pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

Thang Le Toan (Victory Lee)

CIO at Robusta Technology & Training

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…

Read full review

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	29
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	18

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	22
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	10

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.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Citrix Hypervisor?

Licensing with Citrix XenServer is very cost-effective. Organizations save substantial money because competing solutions, such as VMware, cost double or triple. If you are using Citrix load only, t...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Citrix Hypervisor?

I would say I would need a self-service portal as an additional feature to see in the future to make it even better.

See all answers

What do you like most about RHEV?

The initial setup is fairly straightforward and well-documented. The process is very similar to its competitors. The success of your setup depends on how well you plan.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for RHEV?

It's the open source. There's not much cost. It's very minimal comparably. Compared to what I am paying for VMware, it's negligible.

See all answers

What needs improvement with RHEV?

The RHEV management plane could be improved, particularly the management interface. Something more similar to a Google, Amazon, or Azure interface might attract people to use its management interfa...

See all answers

Comparisons

Proxmox VE vs Citrix XenServer

Compared 30% of the time

VMware vSphere vs Citrix XenServer

Compared 19% of the time

Hyper-V vs Citrix XenServer

Compared 15% of the time

Nutanix AHV Virtualization vs Citrix XenServer

Compared 9% of the time

More Citrix XenServer Competitors

VMware vSphere vs RHEV

Compared 32% of the time

Proxmox VE vs RHEV

Compared 31% of the time

Hyper-V vs RHEV

Compared 12% of the time

KVM vs RHEV

Compared 10% of the time

More RHEV Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Citrix XenServer

October 2025

Download Citrix XenServer product report

Buyer's Guide

RHEV

October 2025

Download RHEV product report

Also Known As

Hypervisor

Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization

Overview

Citrix XenServer provides virtualization with high availability and robust security, offering seamless VM migration and centralized management through XenCenter. Its expansive compatibility and integration enhance its appeal, particularly for SMBs.

Citrix XenServer is recognized for its user-friendly virtualization capabilities, facilitating dynamic scalability and efficient resource management. It supports a wide range of operating systems and integrates with Citrix solutions for improved operations. Businesses benefit from its affordability and ease of deployment. Despite its strengths, users seek improvements in third-party tool integration, network and backup management, and storage flexibility. High costs, limited Linux support, system complexity, technical support, and hardware compatibility remain challenges. An updated and intuitive interface is in demand for more seamless operations across platforms.

What are the key features of Citrix XenServer?

User-Friendly Virtualization: Simplifies virtualization operations with efficient management tools.
High Availability: Ensures continuous access to virtualized resources.
Robust Security: Protects virtual environments with comprehensive security protocols.
Seamless VM Migration: Facilitates easy migration of virtual machines across environments.
Centralized Management: XenCenter provides centralized control for resource management.
Dynamic Scalability: Supports scaling of resources as per business requirements.
Real-Time Performance Monitoring: Enables monitoring and optimizing of system performance actively.
Unlimited Virtual Machines: Offers the capacity for deploying numerous virtual machines without limitations.

What benefits and ROI can users expect?

Cost Efficiency: Competitive pricing model reduces virtualization costs.
Comprehensive Virtualization: Complete solution for desktop and server virtualization needs.
Ease of Deployment: Quick and straightforward setup process minimizes downtime.
Integration with Citrix Solutions: Enhances functionality with existing Citrix technologies.

In diverse industries, Citrix XenServer is leveraged for server and desktop virtualization, cloud automation, and infrastructure management. Many deploy it for virtual desktop infrastructure, application delivery, on-premises data centers, and to support Citrix application delivery like XenApp and XenDesktop. Enterprises migrating from VMware often find Citrix XenServer cost-efficient for these applications, serving as a main computing platform for enterprise applications including ERP systems and SQL Servers.

Citrix

Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization, or RHEV, is a leading open standard enterprise virtualization management solution. This solution supports virtualization of servers and desktops using the same infrastructure and a single easy-to-use interface.

Because RHEV is based on open standards, it is vendor-independent and a lot more cost effective and flexible than proprietary solutions.

Red Hat

Sample Customers

U.S. Army Shared Services Center, SoftLayer, Educational Services of America, Independent Bank, and SK Telecom.

Qualcomm and Bonham's Auction House.

Buyer's Guide

Citrix XenServer vs. RHEV

September 2025

Free Report: Citrix XenServer vs. RHEV

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