No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Dell PowerEdge R-Series vs HPE ProLiant DL Servers comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

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
6.1
Dell PowerEdge R-Series boosts ROI with enhanced performance, stability, cost-effectiveness, and reduced operational costs and staffing needs.
Sentiment score
3.1
ROI varies widely, with quick returns for some and up to 10% savings, influenced by deployment and downtime support.
By not having to worry about it, I would estimate we save two to four hours a week, depending on what's happening, such as if we need to spin up a new server, which would contribute to more time if done the old way.
Manager, Systems & Desktop Support at Tilson Home Corporation
In my immediate case for antenna analysis, Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers offer a reduction from days of computing to half a day or hours.
Senior Radio Frequncy Systems Engineer at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
The value of uptime to us is critical.
VP IT Operations at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
In terms of percentage, I am saving from 5 to 10%.
IT Consultant at SPE
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.5
Dell PowerEdge R-Series customer service is quick and efficient, despite some users finding repetitive questions annoying.
Sentiment score
6.7
HPE ProLiant DL Servers' support is responsive and knowledgeable, though experiences vary by region and initial contact challenges.
I would rate customer support for Dell PowerEdge R-Series a 10.
Coordenador De Infraestrutura at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Dell's service is outstanding in hardware support with the correct warranty.
Diretor at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
I would give Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers a ten because they're always able to answer all the questions we have; they reach a solution no matter how long it takes, and they don't give up.
Manager, Systems Security at a healthcare company with 501-1,000 employees
I feel very confident with HPE ProLiant DL Servers regarding reliability.
Technical Support at a tech vendor with 11-50 employees
We do not communicate directly with HPE's technical support because our local support company is primarily responsible.
Director / Chief Business Artchitect at SMARIF
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.6
Dell PowerEdge R-Series offers scalable solutions with flexible expansion, efficient performance, and seamless integration for diverse business needs.
Sentiment score
5.7
HPE ProLiant DL Servers offer scalable and modular expansion with some constraints depending on organizational needs and older models.
The scalability of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is excellent.
Software Engineer at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
Any outages or blackouts are limited to particular servers, not affecting the whole chassis or enclosures.
Senior Systems Engineer at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
We bought our product with scaling involved, and we've been scaling it up anytime we've needed more storage.
Director, Information Technology at TEXAS PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE GUARANTY ASSOCIATION
From our usage point of view, we rely less on onboard storage, depending instead on SANs and NAS, and the fiber connections and throughput are satisfactory.
Director / Chief Business Artchitect at SMARIF
I cannot give high marks for scalability since servers are designed to be standalone.
Technical Support at a tech vendor with 11-50 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
The Dell PowerEdge R-Series is lauded for its reliability, performance, and efficiency, ensuring stable and uninterrupted operations.
Sentiment score
5.8
HPE ProLiant DL Servers are praised for their reliability, minimal downtime, and consistent performance, preferred by many organizations.
Over four years, we've had less than 1 percent downtime.
It support lead at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
There is a feature to update the server while it is running, so there is no need to restart.
Manager, Regions Information Technology Security at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
We have truly not had any downtime on the infrastructure at all.
Director, Information Technology at TEXAS PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE GUARANTY ASSOCIATION
I can give HPE ProLiant DL Servers a rating of 10 for stability and reliability.
Technical Support at a tech vendor with 11-50 employees
Since the distributors are not physically present in Pakistan, that creates a risk for long-term large customers.
Director / Chief Business Artchitect at SMARIF
 

Room For Improvement

Dell PowerEdge R-Series needs better pricing, energy efficiency, modularity, AI features, security, NVMe options, and streamlined integration.
HPE ProLiant DL Servers face challenges with iLO, storage, noise, efficiency, pricing, scalability, support, software, and cloud solutions.
We need to know about any upcoming updates so that we can plan accordingly.
End User Manager at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees
The beneficial aspect of that feature was that we could skip the PowerStore and just have the Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers alone, as they also served as storage, which helped us save money.
Director Of IT at Star Kay White
This forces you to go up to a larger server to get the desired processor, which increases the cost.
Team Lead Infrastructure at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
Improvements could be made in database engine hosting services because, as it stands, the pricing of Oracle is too high from both the service and software solution perspectives.
Director / Chief Business Artchitect at SMARIF
Dell is much better, especially when configuring the internal storage of the server.
Technical Support at a tech vendor with 11-50 employees
 

Setup Cost

Dell PowerEdge R-Series offers competitive pricing with transparent licensing, despite rising costs due to supply chain issues and AI demand.
Enterprise evaluations find HPE ProLiant DL Server pricing either costly or competitive, with discounts and valued cost-to-benefit ratio.
They have been stable and running for years without performance downtime or significant disc failures.
Product manager at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
Some customers find it cheaper due to contractual agreements, while others find it expensive, especially when scaling up.
System Administrator at Tigs
The software associated with servers, like VMware subscription licenses, drives costs.
Software Engineer at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
 

Valuable Features

Dell PowerEdge R-Series excels in reliability, expandability, seamless management, performance, and security, supporting demanding workloads with minimal downtime.
HPE ProLiant DL Servers are reliable, scalable, and cost-effective, offering enhanced management and efficiency for diverse IT infrastructures.
They keep running for at least five to seven years without any issues.
IT Manger at Dubai precast LLc
With PowerEdge Servers, I don't need a one-to-one ratio redundancy, which leads to about eighty percent downtime reduction.
Product manager at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
One of the valuable features is Active Directory, which helps in managing the network.
IT Manager at Misrconsult
The price-performance ratio is better than IBM counterparts, which is why we have opted for these solutions.
Director / Chief Business Artchitect at SMARIF
The most useful functions in HPE ProLiant DL Servers are its reliability and quick availability.
Technical Support at a tech vendor with 11-50 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Dell PowerEdge R-Series
Ranking in Rack Servers
1st
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
356
Ranking in other categories
Converged Infrastructure (1st), Data Center Networking (4th), Blade Servers (2nd)
HPE ProLiant DL Servers
Ranking in Rack Servers
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
160
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of Dell PowerEdge R-Series is 19.9%, down from 27.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE ProLiant DL Servers is 15.8%, down from 21.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rack Servers Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell PowerEdge R-Series19.9%
HPE ProLiant DL Servers15.8%
Other64.3%
Rack Servers
 

Featured Reviews

Jose Oliveira - PeerSpot reviewer
Diretor at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Local servers have delivered long-term ERP and virtualization performance while reducing cloud costs
In terms of improving Dell PowerEdge R-Series, to be honest, the product has so many options that I find it very difficult to improve it in terms of product itself. Of course, there will always be some technological evolution and new components, but what the product offers in each generation, and I've already followed five or six generations of Dell PowerEdge from generation 11 up to generation 17, it has always kept pace with technological innovation. In terms of storage, it's always extremely in line with what the market is offering. In terms of memory, each new generation always follows the newest RAM trends. Processors also have both AMD and Intel options. I believe the product already has very high maturity. The availability of redundant power supplies and the availability of off-band management via iDRAC are excellent. The product is already extremely solid and reliable. The most I could perhaps say is that sometimes in some operations, I find iDRAC a bit slow, but that's a characteristic of off-band management because performance comes from a separate card that has its own processor and its own memory, so sometimes it's not as fast as I'd expect from the machine itself. Overall, there really isn't much to say because the product is extremely robust and efficient.
ArifSheikh - PeerSpot reviewer
Director / Chief Business Artchitect at SMARIF
High availability servers have boosted hosted payment services but still need better local support
We are not using PowerVM because of certain limitations; it is on a back-end engine. However, we are using other components such as vSphere for some small interfaces, and those are the main components we are utilizing. Since these servers are fully dedicated to various high-end solutions, they have some embedded features that their kernel and applications are using, which are bound to that functionality. We may not provide an exact assessment on its usage, but we are considering those products for some AI solutions; however, we are currently in the review stage and have not concluded our evaluation on how those are utilized yet. We are aware of the pricing of HPE ProLiant DL servers, but not off the cuff. We have obviously acquired those solutions ex-Pakistan, so they are on the rise, and while we do not remember those prices offhand, they are generally better than the IBM series, although they are becoming slightly pricey in Pakistan due to processor shortages and demand. Improvements could be made in database engine hosting services because, as it stands, the pricing of Oracle is too high from both the service and software solution perspectives. If pricing can be reduced, especially for DB servers, that could have a direct positive impact on the overall solution. Regarding reliability, it has been satisfactory so far, but since the distributors are not physically present in Pakistan, that creates a risk for long-term large customers. They provide import-based services, necessitating us to over-invest in backup stock and offline servers. If there was a market presence from those players in Pakistan, it could benefit both clients and distributors by reducing the need for investment in backup inventory.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Rack Servers solutions are best for your needs.
921,665 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Construction Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Construction Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business126
Midsize Enterprise71
Large Enterprise159
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business56
Midsize Enterprise28
Large Enterprise98
 

Questions from the Community

When shopping for a rack server, would you go with Dell EMC Poweredge or Lenovo Thinksystem?
Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether the Dell EMC Poweredge or Lenovo Thinksystem rack servers were the better fit for us. We ultimately decided to go with Dell EMC Poweredge....
What needs improvement with Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers?
Because we've been looking at new Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers, it's quite hard to find the right specifications. You have to contact someone. I want the webpage to be easier for specify...
What is your primary use case for Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers?
My role in using or managing Dell PowerEdge R-Series involves updating the firmwares and keeping track of infrastructure when it comes to temperatures and monitoring. Perhaps this may occur in the ...
How do Lenovo ThinkSystem rack servers compare with HPE ProLiant DL servers?
Lenovo ThinkSystem rack servers offer flexibility and efficiency in order to meet mission-critical demands. I like that Lenovo blends outstanding performance, reliability, and manageability. The bi...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE ProLiant DL Servers?
The pricing of HPE ProLiant DL Servers depends purely on the configuration, and it is not affordable. However, if you look at the technical caliber of the server, if a customer invests that additio...
What needs improvement with HPE ProLiant DL Servers?
If I had to choose between HP and Dell, I would choose Dell's iDRAC over iLO. iLO is adequate, but Dell is much better, especially when configuring the internal storage of the server. Mostly wh...
 

Also Known As

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers
HP ProLiant DL series, HP ProLiant DL
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

NxtGen Datacenter, Medien-Service Untermain (MSU), Exasol, IndigoVision, Dayco
AmeriPride Services, iSource, Bolagsverket, BlueShore Financial, British Columbia Assessment Authority, National Stock Exchange, Cardlytics
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerEdge R-Series vs. HPE ProLiant DL Servers and other solutions. Updated: November 2026.
921,665 professionals have used our research since 2012.