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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
Hyper-V reduces IT costs as a cost-effective virtualization option, often achieving significant ROI through server maintenance and energy savings.
Sentiment score
5.7
VMware ESXi saves time and money initially but may result in higher long-term costs despite improved efficiency.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.9
Hyper-V support experiences vary; first-level is inconsistent, second-level better, with documentation often helpful for troubleshooting.
Sentiment score
7.8
VMware ESXi support is responsive and effective, but some users note delays post-Broadcom acquisition, affecting satisfaction.
Technical support from Microsoft is excellent, rated ten out of ten.
The technical support for Hyper-V is excellent
The technical support is very good
I rate the technical support from VMware as nine or ten out of ten.
In the last three or four years, we did not require any support from VMware engineers, indicating its high reliability.
Their technical support is good, and I am satisfied with it.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.4
Hyper-V is flexible and scalable, accommodating growth well, but effectiveness depends on infrastructure and has some VMware limitations.
Sentiment score
7.9
VMware ESXi offers scalable solutions, efficiently managing virtual environments with excellent vertical scalability, despite some licensing challenges.
The scalability of Hyper-V is great; I would rate it nine out of ten.
Hyper V can support over two hundred virtual processors and around 12 TB of memory.
My customers are highly satisfied with its scalability.
vCenter Server can manage up to 1,000 ESXi servers within a single UI interface, allowing extensive deployment and management capabilities.
The solution is scalable, allowing us to scale up or down regardless of infrastructure size.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
Hyper-V is generally stable but less so than VMware, dependent on configuration and occasionally impacted by updates and resource limits.
Sentiment score
8.5
VMware ESXi is praised for stability and reliability, with most users rating it highly despite occasional performance issues.
Automation is unavailable, and reporting is difficult.
Frequent Windows updates can impact stability compared to VMware ESXi.
ESXi is stable, and our business operations depend on it year after year.
 

Room For Improvement

Hyper-V requires improvements in cloning, licensing, features, performance, configuration, networking, storage, management, and integration compared to VMware.
VMware ESXi requires simpler licensing, improved usability, cost reduction, enhanced support, better scalability, and features like remote access.
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.
The cost of VMware ESXi is very high, especially after the acquisition by Broadcom, which led to price increases.
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.
 

Setup Cost

Hyper-V is cost-effective with favorable licensing, though additional costs for features and support can impact the overall expense.
VMware ESXi is often seen as expensive, with high initial and annual costs and a confusing licensing model.
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.
Hyper-V's licensing costs are lower compared to VMware, making it cost-effective for smaller workloads.
The product is very cost-effective, though not fixed, as pricing tends to fluctuate over time.
Changes have made it cost-prohibitive for smaller users.
The pricing is expensive, with the cost for customers ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 yearly.
 

Valuable Features

Hyper-V provides cost savings, scalability, and seamless Windows integration, making it ideal for efficient business virtualization.
VMware ESXi is highly regarded for its reliability, user-friendliness, resource optimization, and efficient management of virtual machines.
It is completely free, which is a significant advantage.
It offers the stability needed for non-enterprise data centers and has improved over time.
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.
All the features of VMware ESXi are very beneficial, particularly for virtualizing our infrastructure.
 

Categories and Ranking

Hyper-V
Ranking in Server Virtualization Software
3rd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
142
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
VMware ESXi
Ranking in Server Virtualization Software
8th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Server Virtualization Software category, the mindshare of Hyper-V is 14.5%, down from 15.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware ESXi is 0.6%. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Server Virtualization Software
 

Featured Reviews

Ananth Narayana Rao - PeerSpot reviewer
Cost-effective and good for small workloads while addressing update-driven challenges is needed
I use Azure Monitor and other monitoring solutions to support clients in Accenture's managed services. We support multiple environments, primarily on cloud platforms like Azure and AWS, and also on-premises environments with operating systems like Windows, Linux, and Solaris, among others…
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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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Server Virtualization Software solutions are best for your needs.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

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
37%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Government
5%
Manufacturing Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

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: March 2025.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.