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Hyper-V vs VMware ESXi 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
6.8
Organizations reported significant cost savings and ROI with Hyper-V over VMware, benefiting from included Windows Server licenses.
Sentiment score
5.7
VMware ESXi offers efficient management and time-saving benefits but faces concerns over pricing and potential cost-effectiveness compared to alternatives.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.7
Hyper-V support quality varies, with first-level mixed and higher levels better; users often rely on personal resources.
Sentiment score
7.6
VMware ESXi support is generally reliable but faces occasional delays and quality issues post-Broadcom acquisition, especially initially.
The technical support for Hyper-V is excellent
The technical support is very good
In the last three or four years, we did not require any support from VMware engineers, indicating its high reliability.
I rate the technical support from VMware as nine or ten out of ten.
Customer service and support are good; they are reachable, and at times remote support suffices.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.4
Hyper-V is considered scalable and effective, though performance varies with architecture planning and hardware compatibility in clusters.
Sentiment score
7.9
VMware ESXi is praised for vertical scalability and supports many virtual machines, though horizontal scalability needs improvement.
The scalability of Hyper-V is great; I would rate it nine out of ten.
vCenter Server can manage up to 1,000 ESXi servers within a single UI interface, allowing extensive deployment and management capabilities.
My customers are highly satisfied with its scalability.
The solution is scalable, allowing us to scale up or down regardless of infrastructure size.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Hyper-V is generally stable and reliable, with improved performance and security, though some experience occasional I/O instability.
Sentiment score
8.5
VMware ESXi is valued for its stability and reliability, with minor issues reported, making it ideal for business operations.
Automation is unavailable, and reporting is difficult.
ESXi is stable, and our business operations depend on it year after year.
 

Room For Improvement

Hyper-V seeks enhanced third-party integration, simplified management, and improved performance to compete with VMware in virtualization.
VMware ESXi is criticized post-Broadcom acquisition for high costs, complex setup, licensing challenges, and insufficient tech support.
All the actions are manual, and if customization is needed, it is difficult with Hyper-V.
Hyper-V should ensure the features of VMware are covered within its platform.
I suggest improvements in platform support and performance considerations for Hyper-V.
It's not cost-effective for small users and creates a gap for alternatives, while favoring larger clients.
Providing a mobile application for remote access to ESXi servers would be beneficial.
The cost of VMware ESXi is very high, especially after the acquisition by Broadcom, which led to price increases.
 

Setup Cost

Hyper-V is considered cost-effective and flexible, with competitive pricing and potential additional costs for management and features.
VMware ESXi is costly with high initial and annual fees, exacerbated by pricing changes and subscription model challenges.
Hyper-V is completely free and requires no licensing fee.
Until 2019, Hyper-V was a cost-effective solution because it was available as a free product.
The product is very cost-effective, though not fixed, as pricing tends to fluctuate over time.
The pricing is expensive, with the cost for customers ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 yearly.
Changes have made it cost-prohibitive for smaller users.
 

Valuable Features

Hyper-V is valued for cost-effectiveness, scalability, ease of use, and seamless integration with Microsoft solutions and Azure.
VMware ESXi offers cost savings, high availability, seamless migration, easy integration, and centralized management with reliability and stability.
It is completely free, which is a significant advantage.
I find the quick provision feature in Hyper-V to be extremely helpful.
The most valuable features of Hyper-V include high availability and management for virtual machine management.
As a level one or bare metal hypervisor, its unmatched scalability depends on underlying hardware, capable of managing large numbers of physical servers with one management platform.
Its capability to move virtual machines to physical machines is very efficient for our live environment.
ESXi is a virtualization platform that allows multiple applications to run on the same physical hardware, reducing costs significantly by transforming physical servers into virtual environments.
 

Categories and Ranking

Hyper-V
Ranking in Server Virtualization Software
3rd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
141
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
VMware ESXi
Ranking in Server Virtualization Software
9th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

NagendraC - PeerSpot reviewer
Quickly provisions virtual machines with ease and efficiency
I use Hyper-V primarily to create virtual machines (VMs) I find the quick provision feature in Hyper-V to be extremely helpful. Additionally, the ease of setup since we have been using it for a long time also adds value. Hyper-V supports the creation of VMs efficiently. Today, most backup tools…
Syed Ali Waqas - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficiently manages development environments with robust network integration
I recommend new users download and evaluate the free version from VMware's website. Once satisfied, they should purchase the professional version for a smooth and secure IT infrastructure. The professional version is cost-effective, allowing one to create multiple servers on a single server. I'd rate the solution ten out of ten.
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Comparison Review

it_user234735 - PeerSpot reviewer
May 10, 2015
Hyper-V 2012 R2 vs. VMware vSphere 5.5
I was won with Hyper-V 2012R2 recently and the table below based on customer RFP (edited). This articles all about technical, there is not related with TCO/ROI, licensing cost, “political”, etc. Another to noted is the Windows Server 2012 licenses is based on 2 socket CPU, meanwhile…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
38%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Government
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

How does KVM compare with Hyper-V?
KVM is better. But let's just look at the software instead of judging. Hyper-V was a free solution from Microsoft to virtualize Server or Client OS as it is a feature on Windows Server since 2008 a...
How does Proxmox VE compare with Hyper-V?
One of the best things about Proxmox VE is that it is open-source and very inexpensive. You get all of the same features as with the more well-known products. Proxmox VE is very easy to deploy - it...
What do you like most about Hyper-V?
The initial setup is not difficult at all. It is very easy.
What do you like most about VMware ESXi?
My customers are satisfied with the solution’s performance.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware ESXi?
VMware ESXi operates on a subscription model with core-based licensing; the pricing can change frequently. The product is very cost-effective, though not fixed, as pricing tends to fluctuate over t...
What needs improvement with VMware ESXi?
The cost of VMware ESXi is very high, especially after the acquisition by Broadcom, which led to price increases. Improving the cost structure would be beneficial.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Large customer base from all industries, all over the world. Two major Hyper-V customers are Telefonica and EmpireCLS.
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Hyper-V vs. VMware ESXi and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
832,138 professionals have used our research since 2012.